BRUSSELS.- From 14 October 2026 to 31 January 2027, Bozar presents the unprecedented exhibition The Fabric Decides, in which works by the Belgian artist Edith Dekyndt (b. 1960, Belgium) and pieces from the archives of the fashion designer Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895–1972, Spain) engage in dialogue for the very first time. The exhibition highlights their shared fascination with materials, their transformations and the traces left by the passage of time.

“Through her meticulous exploration of the Balenciaga archives, Edith Dekyndt reveals unexpected points of convergence and subtle dialogues between contemporary art and haute couture,” explains María Inés Rodríguez, the exhibition’s curator. The Fabric Decides brings together some fifty works by Edith Dekyndt – including around thirty being shown for the first time – and over thirty pieces from the Balenciaga archives. It reveals how, for both these creators, fabric transcends its role as a mere medium to become an active force in the creative process. The exhibition focuses on materials, gestures, the body and the transformations of objects.

Two perspectives on material

Since the mid-1980s, Edith Dekyndt (b. 1960, Belgium) has built a practice based on subtle phenomena: variations, deposits, traces, alterations, and materials whose properties are involved in shaping the forms they take. Her working processes allow various phenomena and materials to determine, to a degree, the work’s ultimate form. The body is also present, either directly or through gestures, objects and the traces it leaves behind.

This attentiveness to process finds an echo in the work of Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895–1972, Spain). Particularly during the Parisian part of his career, from the 1930s up to the 1960s, the couturier developed an exceptional understanding of materials and their possibilities. His garments were constructed through a close interplay between material, cut and body: the fabric, with its weight, suppleness or resistance, contributes to the form in its own right.

María Inés Rodríguez points out: “The practices of Dekyndt and Balenciaga converge in their exploration of materiality, temporality, forms and textures.”

Artworks and archives in dialogue

The exhibition brings together works created especially for this occasion or selected from Dekyndt’s earlier practice, as well as sketch- and notebooks from her own archives. These elements resonate with the garments, accessories, samples and documents from the archives of Maison Balenciaga.

The exhibition unfolds across three rooms. A monumental veil by Dekyndt, inspired by a textile sample from the Balenciaga archives, spans the Rotonde Royale in the Centre for Fine Arts, structuring our visit. In another room, working processes are juxtaposed, encompassing observation, experimentation and a focus on the properties of materials. In another ensemble, the passage of time and the different lives of the objects become apparent through the garments, which bear witness to a history shaped by use, appropriation and preservation.

Archival work lies at the heart of this exhibition. By exploring the archive of the Maison Balenciaga, Dekyndt draws out connections between techniques, textures, construction details and different time periods.

Dekyndt, who has visited the Balenciaga’s Archives more than six times, reflects: “I was moved by the silent presence of bodies within the clothes. Even in their absence, they remained perceptible in the folds, tensions and distortions of the fabric, evoking the movement of the body and the wearing of the garment." She adds: “These objects are imbued with memories: the material becomes the intersection of the body, time and the environment."

A title borrowed from Balenciaga

The title of the exhibition, The Fabric Decides, is a quote attributed to Cristóbal Balenciaga. It suggests that the fabric possesses its own qualities, limitations, memory and possibilities, which themselves drive the process of constructing the form.

Edith Dekyndt: “‘The fabric decides’ is a quote from Balenciaga that applies perfectly to my practice. I like to let the fabric express itself […]. Balenciaga, too, was someone for whom the fabric took centre-stage. Instead of using drawings as a definitive reference, he would, so to speak, use the fabrics to 'sculpt' pieces.”