Dear Shaded Viewers,
The Cité de la dentelle et de la mode and the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Calais are jointly presenting Maurizio Galante & Tal Lancman: Haute Couture, Design, Art — an exhibition that unfolds across both institutions.
For decades, Maurizio Galante and Tal Lancman have moved fluidly between couture, object design, and art, occupying a space where precision meets fantasy. Clothing and texture, surface and object — in their hands, everything seems alive, animated by material and detail.
Since the 1990s, Galante’s couture practice — and, from 2003 onwards, his collaborative work with Lancman — has built a world defined by transformation. Feathers, lace, pearls, ceramics, metal, glass, leather, textured silks: materials shift and evolve, becoming sculptural forms charged with movement and emotion.
Maurizio Galante and Tal Lancman. Photo by Azzurra Primavera.
There is humour here too, alongside curiosity and a spirit of play. Their work opens a conversation between disciplines, techniques, craftsmanship, and people. Couture reaches beyond the garment, extending into objects, interiors, and installation. Duality. Humanity.
Fashion historian, author, and independent curator Lydia Kamitsis has long championed the dialogue between fashion, art, and cultural heritage. For twenty years, she served as Director of Research at the Sorbonne, helping to shape a new generation of researchers, curators, and specialists devoted to the study of fashion and clothing heritage.
In this exclusive interview, Lydia discusses the exhibition, its connection to Mexican culture, and the role students have played in bringing the project to life.
Maurizio Galante & Tal Lancman: Haute Couture, Design, Art runs from 13 June 2026 to 3 January 2027 at the Cité de la dentelle et de la mode and the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Calais, France.
As Lydia puts it: “Beauty and freedom will save the world.”
Yours digitally,
Pedro
