Autumn at MAD Brussels
The autumn season at MAD Brussels is dedicated to design talent across generations, spanning product development, accessory design and sustainable fashion. Through a double exhibition, we explore the ideas and practices shaping the design landscape today. 'Future Generation: The MAD Graduation Show 2026' presents the work of thirteen recently graduated designers from fashion and design programmes, offering a glimpse into how a new generation of makers is shaping the future of Belgium’s creative sector. Alongside this, MAD Brussels celebrates twenty years of the 'Designer of the Year' award with an exceptional reunion bringing together all laureates since 2006. Together, the two exhibitions foster a dialogue between established names and emerging talent, highlighting the richness, diversity and continuity of Belgian design.
Future Generation: The MAD Graduation Show
From imaginative figures to a ceramic installation inspired by a rural interior and textiles made from reclaimed cardboard. In keeping with annual tradition, the group exhibition Future Generation once again presents the winners of the MAD Graduation Prize 2026 to the public, showcasing a diverse range of graduation projects. Seven creative institutions are represented in the exhibition, highlighting the Brussels talent they have nurtured and graduated this year: the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles, College of Art and Design, Ateliers Saint Luc, École supérieure des arts Saint Luc, Haute École Francisco Ferrer, La Cambre and LUCA School of Arts.
Whether in textile design, interior design, industrial product development, accessories or fashion, this year’s selection of graduates once again demonstrates the wealth of creative talent in Brussels. A total of 14 laureates - and 13 projects in total - will be presented at MAD Brussels from 1 October to 12 December. We are highlighting three of the graduates as a glimpse into the many surprising projects to be discovered throughout the exhibition.
Léa Destercke Hock (Fashion Design & Modelling, Haute École Francisco Ferrer) presents A Playground Between Blue and Yellow. Her debut collection explores the tension between control and balance, translated into a refined interplay of patterns and colours. Léa describes it herself as “Contemporary Nobility”: bringing beauty back to the streets while creating garments that respond to the needs of tomorrow, without compromising on aesthetics or comfort.
Arwen Coïc (Industrial Design, La Cambre) presents her project Topologiques, in which she explores how sand - a material that appears chaotic - spontaneously organizes itself according to the laws of physics. She developed a technique that fixes the sand in the precise state in which it naturally comes to rest. The resulting sculptural forms are at once inevitable and unpredictable, mathematically structured yet organic in character.
Etienne Madamet (Accessories, La Cambre) explores the presence and representation of bodies that deviate from societal norms. This forms the starting point for his collection Cadavre-Exquis. By combining excess, kitsch and figures such as Winnie-the-Pooh, clowns and other popular icons with exceptional craftsmanship, the accessories blur the boundaries between pop culture and craft. Each silhouette creates a hybrid world in which difference is not seen as a deviation, but as a source of creativity.
The thirteen projects of the MAD Graduation Prize 2026 and the participating institutions are:
- Claudia Mbutshu – Fashion Design, EPS Saint-Luc
- Léa Destercke Hock – Fashion Design / Design Produit Mode, Haute Ecole Francisco Ferrer
- Dominic Hughes – Scenography, École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Visuels de La Cambre
- Etienne Madamet – Fashion Accessories, École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Visuels de La Cambre
- Imane Ben Amar et Jihan Afrikh – Interior Design, LUCA School of Arts
- Élise Denis Fellmann – Interior Architecture, ESA Saint-Luc
- Beatrice Meunier – Ceramics, École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Visuels de La Cambre
- Arwen Coïc – Industrial Design, École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Visuels de La Cambre
- India Coppolecchia – Fashion & Accessory Design, College of Art and Design
- Léo Seignez – Textile Design, École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Visuels de La Cambre
- Mira Van Den Neste – Executive Masters in Knitting Design, ARBA-ESA
- Florian Delmotte – Textile Design, ARBA-ESA
- Celia Giannini – Fashion Design / Mode Eco Concept, Haute Ecole Francisco Ferrer
Icons – 20 Years of Designer of the Year
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In 2006, Belgium’s first Designer of the Year title was awarded. The prize was originally created by Interieur Kortrijk and the magazines Knack Weekend and Le Vif Weekend, and was awarded to Brussels-based designer Alain Berteau. Over the years, various partners joined the initiative, and the title grew into a true benchmark within the Belgian design landscape. Twenty years on, the list of laureates reads like a best of the best of what Belgium has to offer in contemporary design: from ceramic designers and silversmiths to product and lighting designers. Innovation, originality and sustainability have often been key themes throughout. The award also reflects how the design landscape has evolved over the years. Whereas twenty years ago the focus was primarily on product development in its purest form, recent years have seen a growing interest in collectible design. This shift is also reflected in the list of laureates, which includes names such as Muller Van Severen, Alain Gilles, Nedda El-Asmar, Julien Renault and Linde Freya Tangelder, all leading figures in their respective fields.
To mark this anniversary, all these names will come together in an exhibition at MAD Brussels, where the new Designer of the Year 2026 will also be announced. The exhibition runs from 1 October to 12 December. On Tuesday 13 October, the new Designer of the Year will be announced in collaboration with the magazines Knack Weekend and Le Vif Weekend. The name is available upon request under embargo.
The participating designers are
Alain Berteau (2006), Nedda El-Asmar (2007), Stefan Schöning (2008), Sylvain Willenz (2009), Bram Boo (2010), Nathalie Dewez (2011), Alain Gilles (2012), Jean-François D’or (2013), Marina Bautier (2014), Muller Van Severen (2015), Vincent Van Duysen (2016), Unfold (2017), Frederik Delbart (2018), Linde Freya Tangelder (2019), Sep Verboom (2020), Sébastien Caporusso (2021), Studio Biskt (2022), Julien Renault (2023), Paulineplusluis (2024), Maarten De Ceulaer (2025).
Try again?
Finally, MAD Brussels will also present the results of an open call organised in collaboration with TRY AGAIN?, a European initiative focused on industrial reuse, led by sustainability agency Impact Valley. MAD Brussels invited designers and makers to take part in the open call, challenging them to give glass containers from the pharmaceutical industry a new life by transforming them into reproducible design objects or a small-scale furniture collection. Selected designers whose work will be exhibited include Jean-Maki Simon, Raphaëlle Bosmans, and Arthur Cany (Acope Studio) alongside a wider cohort of participants who answered the open calls. The winning designs will be exhibited at MAD Brussels during the opening evening of the aforementioned exhibitions on Wednesday 30 September.
Practical Information
1 October to 12 December: 'Icons – 20 Years Designer of the Year' and 'Future Generation: The MAD Graduation Show'
The winner of Designer of the Year 2026 will be announced on 13 October and will be featured in the Icons – 20 Years Designer of the Year exhibition from 14 October onwards.
The exhibitions take place at MAD Brussels, Nieuwe Graanmarkt 10, 1000 Brussels. They are open to the public free of charge from Wednesday to Saturday, 11am to 6pm, with online reservation required via mad.brussels.
Images can be downloaded immediately by clicking on the images in the press release. For further information or interview requests, please contact:
