THE ART OF THE PATTERN. INVITATION TO MINAKANI
Exhibition from 7 March to 20 September 2026
In amongst our wardrobes, you’ll find rails overflowing with a small illustrated world. The various characters, animals, flowers and abstract forms coexist in harmony. These patterns that adorn our clothes have one thing in common: they are sketched by the hand of designers whose names are often unknown to the general public.
Frédéric Bonnin is one of its representatives and since 2005 has been creating bunches of designs that bloom each season on the fabrics of fashion designers. Minakani – a word of Persian origin that translates as “woman” and “garden” – is the name of his studio that is a full-blown factory of poetic images. A master of composition, he explores the tension between artist’s design, colour and space with works that are both dynamic and joyful.
Breaking free from his preparatory drawings, Minakani’s imagination is deposited on the fabrics, clothing and accessories that are presented in the museum’s cubicles devoted to textiles and fashion.
Scientific curator: Amélie Boron, head of the fashion collection and Norah Mokrani, head of the “Tissuthèque” (fabric library), La Piscine – André Diligent museum of art and industry.
Exhibition management: Amélie Boron and Norah Mokrani, assisted by Renée Vanderhaeghen, La Piscine – André Diligent Museum of Art and Industry.
The scenography was completed thanks to the generous support of Tollens paint.
This exhibition is presented in the spaces dedicated to the permanent collections, with free admission on every first Sunday of the month.
Caption: Minakani, Print on taffeta, 2005. Roubaix, La Piscine – André Diligent museum of art and industry.
