MoMu Highlights: Fall-Winter

A MoMu guide will take you through the temporary exhibition Masquerade, Make-up & Ensor and provide an insight into the collection presentation, which includes masterpieces by Martin Margiela, A.F. Vandevorst, Ann Demeulemeester, Raf Simons, … Afterwards, you will pay a short visit to the exhibition Jan-Jan Van Essche - Kayal. The MoMu Library is also included in the programme.

The exhibition Masquerade, Make-up & Ensor presents work by make-up artists and visual artists who delve more deeply into such themes as the representation of women, physical and digital face filters, distorted body images and the ritual of making up.

Throughout history, people have viewed make-up with suspicion and compared it to wearing a mask, a mask behind which – in particular – a woman would hide. Today, make-up has become a multibillion-dollar industry that nonetheless confronts us with our physical impermanence, imagined imperfections and existential fears. But make-up is also a means of personal expression, artistic experimentation and freedom.

MoMu’s collection presentation looks back at four decades of Belgian fashion, complemented by a selection from the museum’s historical collection. The exhibition gives an overview of the most important protagonists of Belgian fashion, based on the themes that characterise the distinctive nature of the MoMu Collection.

Starting from the Khayal collection (spring-summer 2025), Antwerp-based fashion designer Jan-Jan Van Essche offers a glimpse into his world. Garments designed by Van Essche embody a quiet dynamic. His generous approach does not follow the Western tradition of restricting freedom of movement. He offers every body, regardless of gender, age or norms, the space to shape the garment. Executed in artisanal fabrics made of natural fibres, his discrete creations stimulate our conscious awareness.