The exhibition entitled “20 suits for Europe. Designers converse with literature” is the creative result of twenty designers from Spain, Belgium and Hungary being inspired by the works of other Spanish, Belgian and Hungarian writers and poets.
The exhibition entitled “20 suits for Europe. Designers converse with literature” is the creative result of twenty designers from Spain, Belgium and Hungary being inspired by the works of other Spanish, Belgian and Hungarian writers and poets. The first destination of the itinerant exhibition will be Brussels, where it will be open to the public in the Hotel de Ville, the headquarters of the city council in the Belgian capital, from 3 February to 4 April. It will then go to Budapest and Madrid.
The project is part of the special cultural programme organised by the Spanish Presidency in coordination with Belgium and Hungary, the other two countries in the “EU trio”. This multidisciplinary and transnational context gives the exhibition an additional artistic element, as well as a marked European flavour, providing a metaphor for the constant exchange experienced by Europe's citizens and its cultural diversity.
The creative exhibits of “20 suits for Europe” are from twenty designers: twelve Spanish, four Belgian and four Hungarian. They were commissioned to 'dress' the prose and poetry of another twenty Belgian, Hungarian and Spanish writers in an initiative that goes beyond fashion and literature. It is a clear example of the dialogue between the arts that defines today's society.
“20 suits for Europe” is a project curated by Concha Hernández and organised by the Spanish Presidency through the Cervantes Institute, Ministry of Culture, the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX) and the Association of Fashion Creators of Spain in collaboration with Wallonie-Bruxelles Design/Mode, Modo Bruxellae, the Flanders Fashion Institute and the Ministry of Education and Culture of Hungary.
Twenty suits for twenty texts
In the case of Spanish literature, the experience was based not only on Spanish authors, but also on famous Latin American writers awarded the highest distinctions in Hispanic Literature (the Miguel de Cervantes Prize, Prince of Asturias Award, Reina Sofía Poetry Prize), such as Juan Gelman, Álvaro Mutis, Carlos Fuentes and the Nobel Prize winner, Gabriel García Márquez.
María Zambrano, Miguel Delibes, José Ángel Valente, Antonio Gamoneda and Carmen Martín Gaite were some of the Spanish authors included in the show. Hungarian and Belgian literature was also included using recreations of the works of Sándor Márai and Hugo Claus, respectively. The process of selecting the works considered various literary genres (prose, poetry, essays, etc.), while the inclusion of “Cien años de soledad” was an explicit tribute by the organisers to Gabriel García Márquez's greatest work.
The list of Spanish designers - all of whom belong to the Asociación de Creadores de Moda de España (Association of Fashion Creators of Spain) - included Devota & Lomba, Victorio & Lucchino, Carmen March, Hannibal Laguna, Miguel Palacio, Purificación García, Amaya Arzuaga, Roberto Torreta and Lydia Delgado. To these were added the Belgian fashion designers Michael Guerra, Katrien Van Hecke, José Enrique Oña Selfa and Anna Heylen; and the Hungarian designers Tamás Náray, Miklós Pazicski, Kati Zoób and Natália Gyulai.
List of designers and writers
- Spain:
Devota & Lomba for “Cien años de soledad”, by Gabriel García Márquez.
Agatha Ruíz de la Prada for “LLona llegó con la lluvia”, by Álvaro Mutis.
Victorio & Lucchino for “Soles”, by Juan Gelman.
Carmen March for “Cinco horas con Mario”, by Miguel Delibes.
Jesús del Pozo for “Los años con Laura Díaz”, by Carlos Fuentes.
Hannibal Laguna for “Latitud. Mandorla”, by José Ángel Valente.
Miguel Palacio for “La Reina de las Nieves”, by Carmen Martín Gaite.
Purificación García for “Jardín”, by Dulce María Loynaz.
Davidelfin for “Exentos II”, by Antonio Gamoneda.
Amaya Arzuaga for “Delirio y Destino. La loca”, by María Zambrano
Roberto Torretta for “Carlota Fainberg”, by Antonio Muñoz Molina.
Lydia Delgado for “Barrio Maravillas”, by Rosa Chacel.
- Belgium:
Michael Guerra for “Les aveugles”, by Émile Verhaeren.
Katrien Van Hecke for “Het verdriet van België”, by Hugo Claus.
José Enrique Oña Selfa for “Ni d'Eve ni d'Adam”, by Amélie Nothomb.
Anna Heylen for “Dertig”, by Stefan Hertmans.
- Hungary:
Tamás Náray for “La porte”, by Magda Szabó.
Miklós Pazicski for “Vos jours sont comptés”, by Miklós Bánffy.
Kati Zoób for “Les Confessions d'un bourgeois”, by Sándor Márai.
Natália Gyulai for “99 poésies”, by Zsuzsa Takács.
A tower of Babel for the senses
“To dress a poem, a character, the magic of the imprecise moment that only literature allows; this is 20 dresses for Europe”, says Concha Hernández, the curator, in the exhibition catalogue. “The history of Europe in novels .../... And above all, or at the same level, the gown conceived from the direct inspiration of that literary fragment. They are all here to be enjoyed, for taking pleasure from an exhibition that is a model for intercultural dialogue, a tower of Babel for the senses”.
And she concludes, “This coming together is an invitation to get to know our designers and writers, all of us reminding each other of the common territory that we share: Europe”.