- The MoMu and Woolmark present: "UNRAVEL. Knitwear in fashion" exhibition in Antwerp, Belgium.

27 April 2011

It's old-fashioned, confined and for women. There are a lot of prejudices about knitting, but often it's forgotten that knitwear is a very creative and luxurious product. It demands courage and challenges one to experiment. Reason enough for the Mode Museum Province of Antwerp (MoMu) to show visitors what it really is about. In the coming six months MoMu, together with Woolmark, presents the exhibition UNRAVEL – a fascinating story about the changing relationship between fashion and knitwear. A festive opening took place at March 15th.

It's a busy night in Antwerp's Nationalestraat. Belgium roams to the big city en masse for the opening of 'Unravel'. Slowly the MoMu's centre hall fills with a remarkable mix of people. On the stairs, women are knitting. And on the side Belgian designer Walter van Beirendonck sips on a drink. Journalists warmly welcome each other at the entrance. But also the Hon Dr. Brendan Nelson, Australia's ambassador in Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union is present. He praises the exposition and hails the craftsmanship of the curators.     

AMBASSADOR

With a taste of humour Nelson enthusiastically speaks about his slight sense for fashion, the importance of wool for Australian farmers and his associations with knitwear. "When I came to see this I really didn't have much understanding what it would be about, other than that it would be important to my country and in particular my country's wool producers. Until at least tonight my impression of knitting and fashion was probably confined to ladies knitting tea cosies and Colin Firth's character in Bridget Jones Diary when his mother gave him this horrible jumper for Christmas."

According to the ambassador that impression changed after he got a sneak preview of the exhibition. "I must say that this exhibition has inspired and transformed my understanding of the importance of wool and knitting, and its role in fashion. But much more than that, its role in human development in economic, social and cultural change." His tone becomes more serious: "We export almost half of the world's wool and 80% of the super fine Merino. And so for us your use of wool, your innovative and inspirational adaptation of use of it is extremely important to us."

PALMETTO OF SHOWPIECES

During a walk by the beautiful pieces from the UNRAVEL collection, Karen Van Godtsenhoven, co-curator together with Emmanuelle Dirix,  tells more about the exposition. According to her, it shows knitting is far from old-fashioned. But above al, UNRAVEL shows how the product never ceases to be a source of inspiration to many fashion-designers. "Knitwear has so many different shapes and faces. It's a great way for a designer to express his own vision", Van Godtsenhoven says.  

UNRAVEL comprises a quality collection of works by prestigious fashion labels and leading designers, such as Vivienne Westwood, Missoni and Sonia Rykiel. A wide palmetto of showpieces is being served to visitors of the exhibition, with an emphasis on fashion and the every day interpretation. The various roles has played in social- and fashion-evolutions are addressed thematically. 

The sculptural silhouette of Swedish designer Sandra Bucklund, consisting of four impressive dresses, is extraordinary. This magnificent piece features as the exhibition's campaign image. And then there's the so called 'phat knits' by Dutch designer Bauke Knottnerus. Especially for UNRAVEL he manufactures some unique pieces, among them an extensive piece of knitwear that can not be avoided when entering the exposition. Leading Italian spinner Zenga Baruffa provided the Merino yarn for the elements of this piece.  

WOOL

Karen Van Godtsenhoven understands well why designers like to work with wool. "It's a natural and breathing material that really suits knitwear. Thanks to the technique, wool helps creating living fabrics. That's why knitwear initially became popular as material for sportswear. But also the suppleness, making the material fit the body, is an important reason for designers to pick wool. Nowadays, using natural unprocessed sorts of wool is popular among the new generation of designers. This has to do with the sculptural and structure effects of natural wool." 

It was a logical step to closely work with Woolmark for this project, says Karen. "Their principles about using natural sorts of wool correspond with those of most fashion designers. They chose quality materials above synthetic materials. With the current knitting trend and the popularity of knitwear among young designers, wool is definitely back as the material to express your own individuality." Working together with Woolmark suited the curator. "It went smooth and grew out to become more than just a sponsorship. Many other projects were initiated, like workshops and the knitting days."

COUSY

The MoMu and Woolmark worked closely together with Cousy while making the exhibition happen. Cousy is one of the last active knitting-work companies around in the Belgian fashion segment. This collaboration was very important. "Cousy plays an important, symbolic and also economic role for the designers nowadays. Thanks to their elaborate passion and knowledge they can still address a Belgian company in stead of having to go to the Far East", the curator says. Cousy knitted various scenographic elements for the exhibition, like walls, screens and couches. It also did some knitting for the entrance and exposition area.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Curator Karen Van Godtsenhoven finds it rather hard to pick her favorite piece of the exposition: "There are some eye catchers among them that I think are very special. Like a sophisticated men's vest from the 17th century, the original Trompe l'oeuil pattern-cardigans by Elsa Schiaparelli and one of Chanel's oldest archived pieces. But I am also a fan of the work of Sandra Backlund and for example the Canadian designer Mark Fast."

The exposition definitely gives food for thought. Van Godtsenhoven believes visitors are being stimulated to look at knitwear in a new way. "Knitwear has become such a part of our daily lives and haute couture. Many people who love fashion mainly see the design. They look through the clothes and forget about the fabric. This exhibition pays attention to all of wool's aspects and shows how special the product really is. UNRAVEL simply is a story that needed to be told."

Left: Deputy of the Province of Antwerp - Rik Röttgen Right: Australia's ambassador in Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union – Dr Brendon Nelson	Deputy of the Province of Antwerp - Rik Röttgen	Ingrid Oomen of Woolmark and Dr Brendon Nelson

Momu Blog:

• http://blog.momu.be/2011/exhibition/unravel/
• http://blog.momu.be/2011/presspr/unravel-vernissage/
• http://blog.momu.be/2011/exhibition/phat-knits/

Further information: Email Ingrid.Oomen@wool.com or visit www.momu.be