Approaching Grand Hornu, the former coal mining complex in southern Belgium, in the heart of Hainaut, one is immediately struck by the scale and discipline of its architecture – neoclassical buildings, workers’ housing, and vast halls that once thrummed with the machinery of the industrial era. From 28 September 2025, this commanding industrial backdrop hosts the exhibition Woven Whispers, curated by the Belgium is Design project (a participant in Milan Design Week 2025). Here, in the CID, textile design takes centre stage, asserting itself with renewed vigour.
The historical weight of the industrial production complex, a UNESCO World Heritage site, informs every glance. Textiles weave into the narrative of “labour, production, and dense factory networks. Fabrics that once ‘worked’ a hundred years ago now ‘tell stories’.” The industrial interiors of the CID – whether coal, textiles, or steel once defined them – invite a dialogue between past and future. Their massive structures and expansive galleries, born of industrial aesthetics, provide fertile ground for experimental design and textile objects that defy convention.
Crossing the threshold, sound is softened, and lighting is carefully orchestrated. Artworks are arranged so that the textures and surfaces of the fabrics themselves become the protagonists. Metal cables suspend forms like floating platforms, lifting them from their industrial foundations and allowing both body and material to “breathe.” The visual language announces textiles as active participants in space. Studio HIER approached the exhibition as a choreography, orchestrating movement within stillness. The cables also form an aerial grid, evoking the very act of weaving. Textile panels hang as if poised for spontaneous motion. Heavier objects rest on low-legged platforms, appearing suspended in a moment of gentle lift. Light and mirrored surfaces amplify the sensation of movement. Within the hall, a quiet dynamism emerges: visitors witness fleeting moments usually hidden within the workshops, brought to life in this extraordinary industrial setting.
Фото Caroline Dethier
The exhibition features 18 designers and studios – ranging from young experimentalists to established creators confidently working with serial production. On the stands and suspended structures sit inflatable lamps made from pig intestines, felted tapestries, ultra-fine recycled leather, and a carpet crafted from plastic sheeting. Each material sets its own conditions – raffia (a fibre from palm leaves) resists control, plant roots create natural patterns, and bioactive textiles engage in a dialogue with the human body.
I would like to highlight three designers, each representing a distinct creative approach.
Rosie Broadhead – Skin Series (biodesign)
Rosie works at the intersection of textiles and biology. Her projects explore fabric as an active material – incorporating bioactive components and materials that support the body. In the context of the exhibition, such works move textiles out of the realms of interior design and fashion, placing them instead within the domain of bodily technology, health, and sensory experience. By creating an interface between the body and care, between matter and the living, the designer charts a path where textiles become an integral component of both bodily and environmental ecosystems.
Xavier Servas “Pumpkin”
“Pumpkin” is an inflatable light sculpture made from thin pig intestine skin, which slowly expands when a fan is switched on, evoking the gradual process of a fruit ripening. Suspended in the air (doubling as a lamp), the object appears to come alive – soft light permeates the material, creating a play of shadows and volume. The unusual combination of archaic craft and contemporary technology transforms Pumpkin into a dynamic, almost living element of the exhibition, illustrating an exploration of form, material, and spatial interaction. The designer’s approach to the art object is, one might say, performative – by including the piece in the installation, Xavier initiates a subtle performance.
Stefanie Everaerts – Kniterations
Stefanie explores the possibilities of industrial knitting in the creation of adaptive objects. Using a simple knitted structure, she produces elastic forms that change appearance when deformed, revealing unexpected colour combinations. This approach combines traditional craftsmanship with contemporary digital technologies, enabling the production of scalable and functional pieces. The work evokes a sense of grandmotherly knitting, reimagined and modernised by the granddaughter.
The exhibition engages with the country’s heritage, where the textile industry has been a cornerstone of the economy for centuries. Textiles, particularly wool in Flanders, formed the backbone of the medieval economy, making cities such as Bruges and Ghent among the wealthiest in Europe, and later driving the industrial revolution in the 19th century. Today, designers are shifting the focus of textile design, placing sustainability, interdisciplinarity, and material as a carrier of new meanings at the centre.
Woven Whispers leaves the impression of a process that is still unfolding. Belgian textiles speak with subtlety, yet with confidence – not in a shout, but in a whisper that compels attention. The contrast between the coal mine of the past and the textile laboratory of the future heightens the sense that we are witnessing a transition – from history to idea, from hand to technology, from object to system.