25 September 2024
“The Collection”: A Tale in 5 Acts
“The Collection” is a stroll in 5 acts through Delvaux’s history; an ode to Art Nouveau; a Surrealist exploration; an immersive experience with E-ink and a fertile dialogue with the artist Harry Nuriev.
La Reference – A Chapter in Delvaux’s History
In 1908 Delvaux lodged the first world patent for a women’s leather handbag, becoming the inventor of the modern handbag. Never seen before by the public, this very creation, ‘le Princesse,’ will be on display. Guests will be able to explore a slice of Delvaux’s historical museum outside the walls of its Brussels headquarters, L’Arsenal.
Placed inside an amphitheatrical setting, the collection provides a dramatic glimpse into over a century of bold innovation and creativity, cementing Delvaux’s place as a pioneering force in luxury.
Art Nouveau – Le Language de la Nature
This collection draws inspiration from the sensual lines and organic forms of Art Nouveau, particularly the work of Belgian architect Victor Horta, one of the founders of the movement, whose transporting designs can be found throughout Brussels.
Art Nouveau was a reaction to the rampant industrialisation of the 19th Century, and dedicated to the wonders of nature and craftsmanship. Delvaux infuses this ethos into its leatherwork, creating whimsical designs, blooming flowers, exquisite embroidery and sculpted masterpieces that echo the profound elegance of nature.
Sur:Real – The Magritte Touch
Not long thereafter, the Surrealist movement emerged, dreamlike, with the publication of André Breton’s Surrealist Manifesto in 1924. To celebrate its centenary and Delvaux’s patronage of the “Surréalisme” exhibit at Centre Pompidou, this collection pays tribute to la Maison’s long-standing relationship with Belgian Surrealist René Magritte.
This season, Delvaux’s atelier not only expands its surrealist vocabulary with complex embroidery and printing of Magritte’s iconography onto its emblematic styles, but transcends interpretations of the artist’s masterpieces to create a language all its own with inventive, unexpected additions to the Vagabond and Brillant families.
Helios – An Immersion with E Ink
In an exciting leap into the future, Delvaux has partnered with E Ink to weave its coded ‘paper’ into a futuristic ‘tapestry’ with Delvaux’s leather mastery. The result of 2 years of close collaboration and research, this partnership marks the first time any luxury Maison has embraced technology completely, allowing for a dynamic, revolutionary marriage between the timeless, living material that is leather and the inventive materials of the future.
Transforming le Caprice and le Pin with its proprietary technology, this groundbreaking innovation enables each special piece to alter its appearance with the touch of a button.
A Dialogue with the Artist
Born from shared values, Delvaux and the artist Harry Nuriev are a harmonious blend of contrasts. Nuriev’s use of cool, resolutely utilitarian materials like steel, mirror and lacquer, provided the perfect complement to the warm sensuality of Delvaux’s materials and designs.
Known for his radical designs that blur the lines between the real and the virtual, and keen to incorporate historic layers into his designs, Nuriev’s imaginative scenography responds both to the 18th Century setting, as well as Delvaux’s multilayered collections, without compromising any of its integrity. His utterly timely aesthetic is the perfect match for Delvaux’s timelessness, allowing both to move forward along a profoundly unique continuum, where the past, present, and future of Delvaux’s craftsmanship converge.
