The European Presidency gives pride of place to Belgian creativity
On 1 July Steven Vanackere, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Olivier Chastel, the Secretary of State for European Affairs, as well as representatives of the French, Flemish and German-speaking Communities and of the non profit-making association ‘Les Petits Riens’ are launching the exhibition ‘Fashion & Design – Second Hand Second Life’, in the presence of Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council.
This exhibition, product of an initiative by and cooperation between the French, Flemish and German-speaking Communities within the framework of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, takes place from 1 July to 31 December 2010 in the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels, headquarters of the Council of the European Union. It promotes Belgian creativity while taking its inspiration from the "European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion".
The exhibition includes 11 creations by stylists and six creations by Belgian designers made from second-hand items and clothing ferreted out at the Petits Riens. Some of these unique pieces have been specially created for this exhibition in order to stress the importance of the Belgian Presidency of the European Union and to herald the next annual Petits Riens fashion show, to be held by the association in October 2010 in order to generate funds. For six months, creations by the following will be on show: Ann Eckers, Christian Wijnants, Christophe Coppens, Delvaux, Natan, Christophe Van Liedekerke, Chrystl Fisher, Monsieur Bul, MoutonCollet, Kris Van Assche, Sigi, Lennart Van Uffelen, Kasper Hamacher, Thierry Bataille, Pascal Koch, Pol Quadens and the Petits Riens.
This project would not have been possible without the collaboration of the Petits Riens, a non profit- making organisation which collects, sorts and resells second-hand items throughout Belgium in order to finance numerous social projects designed to help the homeless and needy families.
