MoMu's Renovation and the Future

Entrance hall MoMu

Since the renovations in 2021 we present the story of Belgian fashion on a permanent basis and give our visitors a deeper look into our own world-renowned fashion history.
Kaat Debo, director MoMu

MoMu was closed for renovation and reopened in 2021. During the renovation, it was not able to visit the museum building on the Nationalestraat in Antwerp.

The image shows a render of how the entrance hall will look like. Upon entering, the staircase will be on the left and right in front will be the cash register. — Render entrance hall MoMu 2020

Since its opening the museum has committed to holding temporary exhibitions, working closely with the designers to position fashion in an extensive scenography supporting the story of the pieces. MoMu’s own extensive collection, comprising about 30,000 objects, has been less frequently exhibited because of the lack of physical space within the museum. Until 2021.

The image shows three silhouettes from the MoMu collection. From left to right silhouettes from Haider Ackermann, Ann Demeulemeester and Raf Simons are shown. — From left to right: Haider Ackermann, Ann Demeulemeester and Raf Simons

The image shows three historical dresses. From left to right: A summer dress in striped cotton decorated with satin ribbon from 1898 - 1900, A dress and skirts in chintz, India, ca. 1770 - 1790 and a dress in cambric, decorated with pleated flounces, 1875 — Historical silhouettes from the MoMu collection. Donated by Jacoba De Jonge

In charge of the modifications to optimize the infrastructure were B-architecten who respected the building’s original signature designed by Marie-José Van Hee. This means that the spacious entrance hall and the sculptural wooden staircase remained untouched.

The image shows a pallet transporter in the middle of an aisle in our MoMu depot. The transporter is used to move the heavy boxes. — Moving the depot at MoMu

Respectful, but extensive update.

Rougly 800m² of additional public exhibition space was created to house a permanent exhibition for the permanent collection. This allows visitors to visit MoMu while thematic exhibition are being changed. Also, an auditorium with retractable stage was added enabling MoMu to put on more readings, conferences and Q&A sessions.

In addition, MoMu Library also received a make-over and expanded its infrastructure to house the museum’s study collection. Besides reading books and magazines, visitors can study and handle the objects. Behind the scenes, the depots and restoration studios were completely renewed, which allows MoMu to store collections and archives for future generations in a high-quality infrastructure under the best possible conditions.

The image shows the side view of the MoMu building at Nationalestraat with a new entrance with revolving door, new door for the emergency exit and an extra access to the multipurpose room. — Renewed entrance Nationalestraat with tourniquet. Changes are indicating in red.

The image shows the side view of the MoMu building at the Drukkerijstraat with a new floor, a blind façade, a high auditorium, an educational space above the garage and a new gate. — Renovation of Drukkerijstraat. Changes are indicated in red.

Closed for renovations, open to inspire at other locations.

MoMu definitely did not take a break but took it elsewhere. The museum stepped out into the world. Its collections of Belgian fashion is the largest in the world and can be seen from Paris to New York

In September, the exhibition "Soft? Tactile Dialogues" was held on location in the Maurice Verbaet Center in Antwerp. This exhibition presented the work of Belgian textile artists from the 1970s and ‘80s in an inspiring dialogue with contemporary artists who express themselves freely in textiles.

MoMu continued to organise workshops and birthday parties for children, and a varied selection of guided tours for adults, all on location in Antwerp.

The renovation of MoMu was made possible thanks to an impuls subsidy of Visit Flanders, support from the City of Antwerp and the Province of Antwerp and own resources of the museum.