Raoul Dufy weaves his art at the Banking Museum in the Var

Following the success of the Andy Warhol exhibition (and its 40,000 visitors), the Musée de la Banque in Hyères is taking a completely different gamble. Until November 16, the world of Raoul Dufy is in the spotlight. We know the painter, a master of color, steeped in Fauvism before being transformed by Cézanne. But Dufy also worked extensively in textiles and fashion, an often overlooked aspect of his career.

Obviously, in this year of the 40th anniversary of the Hyères Fashion Festival, and with the city's ambition to become a "territorial hub of cultural and creative industries" dedicated to fashion, this makes perfect sense. "An exhibition like this is rare. It features technique, materials, and history. It combines fashion, couture, and know-how, all enriched by archives. There is a real place in museums for what we now call design, and which used to be part of the decorative arts. It's important to show this link between art and couturiers," emphasizes Isabelle Maeght, who helped the city put together this exhibition and facilitate meetings with the Brochier Soieries house, which lent most of the pieces.

Dufy, inspired by Hyères

Before discovering the various pieces on display, it is important to understand how the painter made the leap into fashion. "It began with the illustrations for Guillaume Apollinaire's collections, called Le Bestiaire. After that, Paul Poiret noticed this work, met Raoul Dufy and asked him for designs for his dresses," explains Franck Mei, director of the Musée de la Banque and co-curator of the exhibition. The collaboration was concluded under the watchful eye of Charles Bianchini, then head of one of the largest silk houses in France. "This gave a certain freedom to Raoul Dufy, who created up to 3,000 designs for Bianchini-Férier," continues Franck Mei.

Among the dresses on display, a Paul Poiret design welcomes visitors with Dufy's "Perse" motif: a major and timeless piece. The exhibition is then organized around five major themes: Stylized Bestiary, Scenes from Life, Celebrated Flowers, Myths and Marvels, and Textile Abstraction. In addition to the printed fabrics created by Dufy for the Bianchini-Férier workshops and haute couture pieces—such as designs by Chanel, Agnès b., and Christian Lacroix, all of which drew inspiration from his motifs—the installation also retains a local flavor. The hangings that mark the exhibition's journey through the heart of the museum feature prints of Dufy's works inspired by his time in Hyères, such as his depictions of Place Stalingrad, the bandstand, and the city's fountains.

"He created around thirty paintings in Hyères. We have no trace of him here, except his work - and that's the main thing," smiles the site director.

Learn more

Raoul Dufy and Fashion at the Banking Museum in Hyères. From July 18 to November 16. Tuesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission: €7.