Delvaux Tempete XL Chimera.
There is little need to introduce the house of Delvaux to those who appreciate subtle but statement-making style. Founded in the Kingdom of Belgium in 1829, around the time when cultural greats like Felix Mendelssohn, Victor Hugo and Frédéric Chopin were making their mark on the European continent, Delvaux has maintained its special niche in the history of fine luxury as the oldest fine leather goods house in the world as well as the inventor of the modern handbag.
Given the period of its birth in 19th-century Europe, a time where luxury was at its zenith as well as of rapid and profound change, as depicted in the visual transition of the historic and classic style of the great Old Masters to modern and original art movements, Delvaux has always captured this zeitgeist in its extensive archive but equally continues to carve its own profound artistic direction as the world turns.
It is in this spirit that Delvaux unveils its sartorial dialogue with Belgian artist Kasper Bosmans. Together, the 195-year-old maison and young Lommel-born talent explore a new visually divergent approach to marrying art and savoir-faire. Just 34, Bosmans’ practice has always interwoven the worlds of painting, sketching, sculpture and installation, all the while drawing from popular culture, mythology, anthropology, art and literature.
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It was Jean-Marc Loubier, CEO of Delvaux, who first discovered Bosmans’ work during a visit to the WIELS Foundation in 2022. Discovering his oeuvre, at the time inspired largely by historic emblems, imagery and identity, to overlap yet deeply connect to Delvaux’s creations, a creative exchange unveiled, resulting in the inspired (and inspiring) Mutualism collection.
For this, Bosmans turned to the emblematic silhouettes of Delvaux’s over 3000 strong design archive to interpret the house’s classics, namely the Brillant, Tempête, Pin and Cool Box, infusing each of them with his unique artistic spirit and exuberance. The end result? A collection of ground- and boundary-breaking bags that blurs the line between utilitarian product and objet d’art, yet is proudly Belgian to the core. With its bold motifs, generous use of colour and updated, innovative take on antiquated symbolism, each of Bosmans’ 10 interpretations for Delvaux offers up a wearable time capsule that bridges past, present and future all at once.
