By Darién Maslov Lescrauwaet, Lauriane Smets and Myrte De Vidts Magazin L. Beer Corbel, Rue St. Jean, Brussels (architect: Dubois-Petit), plate from Moderne Städtebilder, Abt. 1: Neubauten in Brüssel, 1900, photographic plate, Museum of Architecture, Berlin Institute of Technology. Fur occupied a prominent place in Brussels’s urban culture. It was stored in commercial warehouses and basements, sorting rooms and cold-storage facilities. It was worked in ateliers and workshops,

By Sara Schelstraete, Rosalie Schepers, Lien Mary and Silke Palmans Sorting the animal furs in the workshop of former furrier Raymond Mallien at Grand Sablon 40, c. 1920, Brussels, Center for Documentation, urban.brussels. inv. nr. 20030729. Classifying Fur: The Belgian fur trade did not simply use animal skins; it sorted, named, ranked and (re)valued them. In this system, animals became legible as commodities through a language of classification. Their value was not fixed by

By Madeleine Dieleman and Mauro De Clerck Photographer unknown, façade of Grand Sablon 40, the fur store of Raymond Mallien, date unknown, photographic print, Centre for Documentation. Rights unknown. The fur salon and manufactory of the Belgian furrier Raymond Mallien, located at 40 Grand Sablon in Brussels, is one of the most striking commercial premises associated with the Belgian fur industry. It brings together the public spectacle of a luxury salon with the practical i

By Theodora Dantchouk and Mercédes Claerhout Georges Paul Leroux, Interior of Raymond Mallien’s showroom at the Grand Sablon, Brussels. , c. 1920, mural, Private collection. Photo: © Theodora Dantchouk. In the sale of fur garments, carefully orchestrated sales strategies played a crucial role. At the heart of this process stood the showroom: a deliberately designed space where clients could admire the latest fashions and try them on. More than a simple retail environment, the

By Tineke De Witte and Kirsten Russo Raymond Mallien, (Printer: Jean Malvaux), Alberta, c. 1909–1910, printed paper, Collection Vliegende Bladen, inv. no. BIB.VLBL.HFIII.F.004.13/05 During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the fur catalogue developed within a changing commercial culture of production, print and consumption. New manufacturing methods expanded the availability of luxury goods, while developments in printing and photography, such as halftone rep

By Shee Roeting and Myrte De Vidts Salon de la Mode (Otto Wolff, 84 rue de la Montagne, Brussels), La conservation des fourrures, trade circular with summer fur-storage tariff, c. 1900–1910, printed paper, Vliegende Bladen, Ghent University Library, inv. no. BIB.VLBL.HFI.P.044.07. Owning fur involves continuous care. As garments made from organic matter, like skin and hair, fur objects remain vulnerable to insects, moisture, odour and decay. During the late nineteenth and ear

By Aurin Geirnaert and Hannah Veragten Cephas, Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), 2018, Cap Tourmente, Quebec, Canada, Wikipedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). The history of fur is usually told from a human perspective: as a story of trade, craftsmanship, fashion, and hard economics. Within this narrative, the animal rarely appears as anything other than a raw material. Yet animals have shaped human histories not merely as resources to be used, but through their bodies, behaviours, move

Explore the refinement of dressmaking in Brussels at the end of the 19th century through this ivory afternoon ensemble.

Discover the colonial foundations that led to ivory becoming fashionable in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Discover more about fashionability in cities outside of Brussel through this stylish 20th century summer dress with Art Nouveau lace.