Etnomanie
Ellie Uyttenbroek

One hundred ethno-historical photos from the World Collection of the Nederlands Fotomuseum have been selected by Rotterdam stylist Elly Uyttenbroek and digitally styled in collaboration with designer Mary Pelders Vos. With the edited ethno-historical photos, Uyttenbroek makes us aware of the fact that clothing and style from other times and cultures can be a lasting source of inspiration.

Etnomanie is a tribal style bible. Fashion stylist Ellie Uyttenbroek (known from Exactitudes) made a personal selection from the ethnographic photo collection of the Nederlands Fotomuseum. With her eye for fashion, she selected one hundred posed portraits, from 1850 to the present, with attention to individual expression, silhouette, pose, outfit, styling, body decoration, accessories and other fashionable details. The starting point was style, which according to the books is something like attitude, approach, habitus, posture, mode, way of doing things and taste. In addition to historical information about the photos, Uyttenbroek places her stylistic observations, which make the viewer aware of the beauty and the autonomous visual power of these diverse portraits. The ethnographic photo collection of the Nederlands Fotomuseum, originating from the Wereldmuseum, is renowned for its ethnographic photos from the Middle East, North Africa, Indonesia, Asia and America. In this ‘world collection’, man, from 1850 to the present, is central in all his manifestations.