ams.TRAM.gram
Too often it is forgotten that culture and fashion are closely linked, whereas fashion is actually a manifestation of culture.
The Grand Curtius, in partnership with HELMo Mode and the Diocesan Heritage Department in Liège, has launched a bold project combining heritage, fashion and sustainability.
From the first week of the academic year, the 2nd year students on the Bachelor in Design threw themselves into an intensive creative process based on upcycling textiles.
Following an immersion in the plentiful textile collections at the Grand Curtius and awareness raising of the diversity and codification of ecclesiastical garments – their shapes, colours and symbolism –, they took on the challenge of designing a steward’s waistcoat for the future Liège tramway. Each participant received a kit, respectively supplied by their professor and the Diocesan Heritage Centre in Liège, made up of an item of work clothing and a deconsecrated ecclesiastical garment, with the assignment of exalting these noble materials of the past (broderies, trimmings and textiles) by producing a modern and sustainable creation.
Following on from a historical tradition by which women’s opulent robes were reused make garments of religious clothing, this project reinterpreted this practice by adapting it to the demands of the modern professional world. This approach, which is at the crossroads of design, history and upcycling, resonates with the identity of the Liège tram system and the historical heritage of the Prince-Bishop’s city.
The adventure continued with a photo shoot and production of a film highlighting the creations by displaying them in emblematic locations: the Grand Curtius museum complex, the Saint Paul Cathedral and the model of the future tram system at the Public Transport Museum.
The culmination of this approach is the “ams.TRAM.gram” exhibition, which can be discovered at the Grand Curtius. It presents these unique items in dialogue with the textile collections in the permanent exhibition. This layered perspective of the past and present offers a fresh take on textiles and their uses, underlining the richness of heritage and know-how reinterpreted through the prism of modern creativity.
This educational and responsible project offered the students a unique experience of recycling, while contributing to a local and sustainable artistic initiative. Through revisiting recycled textiles, this helped raise their awareness of the need to safeguard religious heritage. They also actively participated in a more responsible and committed approach to design.
Practical information
> Grand Curtius - Féronstrée, 136 - 4000 Liège, Belgium
> From 18th April 2025 to 29th June 2025
> The exhibition is open every day from 10.00 to 18.00 (except on Tuesdays) for the admission price to the permanent collections at the Grand Curtius.
> Admission prices
Adult: € 9
- Senior, group, unemployed: € 5
- Article 27 concessions: € 1.25
- Free admission: people under 26 years old, teachers, MuseumPassMusée holders and, on the first Sunday of each month, everybody.
This project has been developed in partnership with HELMo Mode and the Diocesan Heritage Department in Liège.
Visual: ams.TRAM.gram Exhibition 2025 - Copyright City of Liège - Grand Curtius