Fashion as art: Jean-Charles de Castelbajac’s exhibition at Les Abattoirs

Les Abattoirs in Toulouse is currently hosting a major fashion exhibition dedicated to Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, reaffirming fashion as art through the work of one of France’s most visionary designers. Titled L’Imagination au pouvoir, the exhibition runs until August 23rd, 2026, and brings together nearly 300 works, offering an immersive journey into a creative universe where garments become ideas, symbols and acts of freedom.

A fashion exhibition without borders

Conceived as the first exhibition at Les Abattoirs fully devoted to fashion, the project presents clothing alongside drawings, photographs, design objects and large-scale installations. Rather than following a strict chronology, the exhibition unfolds through a thematic parcours that highlights Castelbajac’s constant dialogue between fashion, contemporary art, music, history and popular culture. Specially commissioned installations set the tone, transforming the museum space into a vivid manifesto of imagination in motion.

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac’s artistic journey: from the 1960s to today

Spanning almost six decades of creation, the exhibition traces a practice that emerged at the end of the 1960s and continues today. Castelbajac’s approach dissolves traditional boundaries: clothing is conceived as protection, armour or shelter, but also as narrative surface. Text, poetry, symbols and colour play a central role, reflecting his fascination with literature, pop art and childhood imagery. His instantly recognisable palette and graphic language affirm his belief that art and fashion are inseparable forms of expression.

Upcycling in fashion as a creative act

One of the exhibition’s key threads is upcycling in fashion, a principle Castelbajac pioneered early in his career. From coats made out of blankets to garments assembled from mops, bandages or industrial textiles, his work transforms modest materials into conceptual statements. Accumulation, collage and hybridisation echo major artistic movements such as Arte Povera, Nouveau Réalisme and conceptual art, positioning reuse not as constraint but as liberation.

Collaborations and a living legacy

The exhibition also highlights Castelbajac’s extensive collaborations across disciplines, from artists and photographers to musicians and designers, as well as his work for major fashion houses and cultural institutions. These encounters underline a joyful virtuosity and an enduring ability to reinvent fashion as a space of experimentation, emotion and reflection.

At Les Abattoirs, L’Imagination au pouvoir presents fashion not as a mere trend but as a total art form that continues to question, protect and inspire.