"Tentoonstelling '20 Dresses for Europe' vormt bewijs van de mogelijkheden van een interculturele dialoog" (en)

The exhibition curator, Concha Hernández, in front of the design by Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada, inspired by "Ilona llegó con la lluvia", by Álvaro Mutis.

After its premier in Brussels and its journey through Budapest, the “20 Dresses for Europe. Designers and Literature” exhibition reaches Madrid, where it will remain at the Cervantes Institute until 23 May.

The exhibition is the result of creations by 20 designers from Spain, Belgium and Hungary based on the same number of texts by Spanish, Belgian and Hungarian writers and poets. The project forms part of the special cultural programme organised by the Spanish Presidency, in coordination with the other two countries which make up the "Trio Presidency". The curator of the exhibition, Concha Hernández, reviews the project.

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  What is “20 Dresses for Europe”? It is, above all, an aesthetic proposal. It is an exhibition designed to bring together the pleasure of reading literary texts with the evocative power of the dresses inspired by these texts. And, above all, it is an exhibition that aims to show the immense wealth of our writers and fashion designers. We believe that the Spanish language is one our greatest assets abroad and the fashion industry is a cultural industry that generates wealth and is in continual expansion.
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  How would you sum-up the exhibition after its tour through Brussels and Budapest? Very positively. There have been thousands of visitors to this exhibition, which began its European odyssey in February, and this has been supported by the venues where it has been shown, which are truly splendid: L'Hôtel de Ville in Brussels, the Petofi Literary Museum in Budapest and now the halls of the Cervantes Institute in Madrid.
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  The Presidency Trio of Spain, Belgium and Hungary is at the very heart of the exhibition. How has the initiative been received in Europe? Spain has been determined that the special cultural programme should include a significant number of joint projects with the other EU Trio counties, Belgium and Hungary. “20 Dresses for Europe” is the clearest example of this intercultural dialogue it hoped to forge with the countries which will be taking up the baton of the European Presidency. Both in Brussels and in Budapest the exhibition has been highly praised by the press, which have highlighted its originality, subtlety... the capacity for dialogue with other countries.
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  What aspects of the exhibitions held in Brussels and Budapest would you highlight? In Brussels, I would highlight the creation of the space reserved for poets - a beautiful Gothic room which called on visitors to reflect, delight and contemplate the beauty of the texts and the dresses. In Budapest, I would emphasise the thrill that our fashion and our literature were on show in such a prestigious museum.
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  The choice of designers, texts and authors must have been a complicated one. How did you go about it and which authors/texts and designers were omitted that you would have liked to have included? When selecting the writers in Spanish, one of the criteria was that they had all received the highest awards in the world of Hispanic arts - national prizes, the Cervantes prize, Príncipe de Asturias awards or the Reina Sofía Award for Poetry. We also wanted a tribute to the Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez. We understood that authors from the Americas, considered and admired as our own, had to be included, our shared language being the bond. In the case of the Belgian and Hungarian authors and designers, we worked closely with the respective cultural departments and relevant organisations, listening to their suggestions. When it came to choosing the texts, I ensured they were suitable for evoking images in order to make the designers' creative tasks a little easier. I also took account of the special featuring role of powerful female characters, such as Álvaro Mutis' “Ilona”; Carmen Martín Gaite's “Reina de las Nieves”; Antonio Muñoz Molina's “Carlota Fainberg”; the mysterious “Adrienne” described by Miklós Bánffy in “Los días contados” or “Amélie Nothomb”, the protagonist in “Ni de Eva ni de Adán”.
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  And the poetry… Yes, the poetry in this project is fundamental, as the ultimate purity of the language, and because I wanted it to be one of the main creative stimuli for the designers, one of their greatest challenges. In the choice of Spanish designers, I must stress the inestimable collaboration of the Spanish Fashion Creators Association, joint organisers of this exhibition, and invaluable partners on this European adventure. Many designers and writers were left out who I would have like to included ... Perhaps in a second edition!
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  Culture is one of the most important flag-bearers of the Spanish Presidency of the EU and this exhibition is one its most important examples... Culture has immense powers of communication and Spain possesses huge cultural wealth. It was obvious that our country had to exploit this opportunity to show the immense tide of creativity it has and to affirm its European spirit, creating meeting points with the countries with which it jointly forms the EU Trio. This exhibition is proof that intercultural dialogue is possible and that an exhibition can become an enriching Tower of Babel for the senses, and remind us of Europe, this common territory we share.

Useful links

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  Video of the exhibition ’20 suits for Europe’ taking place in Brussels
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  More information on the exhibition ’20 suits for Europe’