Joint exhibition: Trans-Formations & Future Generation

From the original design of the famous SPA bottle to an inclusive public urinal. Autumn at MAD Brussels is all about Brussels design talent from all ages. Future Generation showcases the graduation projects of 14 recent graduates, putting Brussels on the map as a capital of creativity. In a second exhibition, Trans-Formations, the spotlight is on design alumni from the prominent school La Cambre, celebrating the institute's 100th anniversary.

1. TRANS-FORMATIONS

In the run-up to its 100th anniversary in 2027, the École nationale supérieure des arts visuels de La Cambre (ENSAV), founded by Henry van de Velde, is putting its alumni in the spotlight through a series of exhibitions. To this end, La Cambre and Les Amis de La Cambre are joining forces with the CID – Centre for Innovation and Design and MAD Brussels. Starting in October, the Brussels centre for fashion and design will present an exhibition featuring former students from industrial design, textile design, interior architecture and accessories. The central theme is transversality, a key concept in La Cambre's education. In an increasingly complex world, designers are transcending the boundaries of their discipline. They combine craftsmanship with science, art with technology, and add marketing or even artificial intelligence to their creative process.

Sarah Levy © Hanna PallotKRJST Memory For Forgetfulness @ Alexander PopelierJuliette Huercano Hidalgo - Poignee D'Amour © Clotilde Billiette

A few highlights among the former students who will be exhibiting: Juliette Huercano-Hidalgo obtained her degree in interior architecture at La Cambre and later founded her own label Juliette Leone. During her studies, she was introduced to other disciplines such as fashion, industrial design and ceramics, which broadened her perspective on design. Juliette's work explores the relationship between the body, objects and space, detached from traditional connotations. She approaches fetishism not from a sexual perspective, but as a ceremonial language with references to religion, tribal culture and physicality. Krjst Studio was founded by Justine de Moriamé and Erika Schillebeeckx, both graduates in Fashion Design from La Cambre. In 2012, they launched their first couture collections. Their practice quickly evolved towards textile art such as tapestries and installations. Today, Krjst explores a free, non-typological form of expression in which hand-woven and embroidered jacquard pieces function as contemporary mythologies. Each work is the result of a slow, conscious creation, in which ceremonial techniques and experimental approaches merge into a reflection on time, memory and change.

Sarah Levy began her career as an architect after graduating from La Cambre, however, ten years later, she shifted her focus to accessory design. In 2018, she completed a master's degree in Accessories at the same school, where she transformed her background in architecture into an experimental design language for leather goods. Each bag from the Habit collection acts as an extension of the body, designed to subtly guide behaviour and movement. Jean-François D’Or, an industrial designer by training, was inspired to create Audace by a conversation with a neurosurgeon. What stayed with him was the courage needed to embrace the unknown and question existing certainties. This idea was translated into a fragile object: an egg that balances on a wooden pedestal thanks to a hidden magnet. During Trans-formations, the work will be activated during a performance by cellist Benjamin Glorieux, who will make his way between the wobbly objects while playing his cello.

Jean-François D'Or - AUDACE © E BELLOWMaak & Transmettre - Anderkids © Lucie DizierJean Paul Emonds Alt Prototype Bouteille Spa © La Cambre

2. Future Generation:The MAD Graduation Show

From a inclusive public urinal to 3D-printed ballerinas. In line with annual tradition, the group exhibition Future Generation: The MAD Graduation Show presents the winners of the MAD Graduation Prize 2025 to the public and showcases their graduation projects. Whether it's textile design, interior design, industrial product development or fashion design, last summer's selection of graduates proves once again how much creative talent Brussels has to offer.

Eva Laffut studied Fashion & Accessory Design at CAD. Her collection Like a Girl explores the liberation of the female body by breaking through gender stereotypes and social dress codes. She reinterprets classic feminine garments with transparent plastic as a symbol of protection and exposure, a nod to Barbie in her box. Her work questions the boundary between private and public spaces, and what women are or are not “allowed” to reveal nowadays. Simon Aubry Picaudot designed the collection entitled Plaisir d'Offrir, Joie de Recevoir during his final year studying Ceramics at La Cambre. His project takes place in the twilight zones of desire: a park after midnight, a deserted car park, a rest area along the highway. The objects that emerge from this give shape to that desire: raw, coded and embodied.

Tariel Tato Oragvelidze © George ElizbarashviliIsis Michalon © Michka De MeulemeesterEva Laffut © Martin Pilette

Isis Michalon studied interior design at LUCA School of Arts. In her project PISSE, she explores how patriarchal norms translate into the design of public spaces. Taking a critical look at existing infrastructure, she designed a gender-neutral urinal: a sleek, foldable metal object designed for simplicity and inclusion. Florentin Mathon obtained a bachelor's degree in industrial design and a master's degree in accessories at La Cambre. For his collection Silent Remains, he combines traditional techniques such as cire perdue with 3D printing, leatherworking and silversmithing to create baroque ballerinas, boots and heels. The designs resist the uniformity of modern design and show how accessories can evolve over time: they wear out, develop a patina, transform.

The fourteen winners of the MAD Graduation Prize 2024 and the participating schools are:

Florentin Mathon © Florentin MathonSimon Aubry Picaudot © Pia PoleseMira Van Den Neste © Olivier Donnet

Practical Information

October 3rd until November 15th, 2025: Trans-Formations & Future Generation

Both exhibitions are held at MAD Brussels: Nieuwe Graanmarkt 10, 1000 Brussels. The exhibitions are open to the public free of charge from Wednesday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Images can be downloaded immediately by clicking on the images in the press release. For more information or interview requests, please contact: