May 21, 2025
The BHV is celebrating the creativity and expertise of European Flax-Linen with an immersive scenography. Medy Ty, Valérie Chaleyssin and Chantal Malingrey reveal the key points of this sensorial and engaging experience.
The Parisian department store is showcasing European Flax-Linen through an immersive scenography…
You are offering, this year, an exclusive setting for European Flax-Linen. What is your message?
To spotlight the wealth of Flax-Linen in all its forms. This material presents infinite possibilities and serves as a remarkable creative playground.
Ever more present in fashion, lifestyle and even beauty, Flax-Linen reveals its inspiration through a truly compelling production process – from field to finished article – which we wished to unveil to a very broad audience.
Your scenography is most spectacular. What were your inspirations?
We began with the idea of the “Grands Gestes du Lin", (Great Flax Gestures). We sought to create something impactful to celebrate both the products and the value of craftsmanship, marrying the power of large scale staging with the material’s natural elegance.
Our inspiration was drawn from fashion, art and the regions at the heart of its heritage (France, Belgium and the Netherlands). First hand meetings with Flax-Linen farmers enabled us to weave a coherent narrative and timeline.
Opposite, Medy Ty - BHV Artistic Director
How do you anticipate customers will react?
We have designed a striking scenography with a route that spans the entire store.
Our ambition is to surprise Parisians and all our visitors, offering them an experience that evokes emotion – both for the material and for our artistic vision.
The Alliance and BHV have been partners for six years. This year, you are taking a further step with this ambitious initiative…
Valérie Chaleyssin : With these years of partnership, we know one another’s challenges intimately and work in a climate of great trust. This allows us to push further and to dare more. We share a commitment to continuous innovation to highlight both craftsmanship and creativity. This year, we aspired to create a landmark event – both artistically and in our engagement with partners – and naturally turned to the Alliance to write a new chapter together.
It was an XXL challenge to honour Linen through an artistic, educational and commercial journey, and it proved a profound source of inspiration for all the teams involved.
Chantal Malingrey : From our very first collaboration, genuine bonds have formed between the Alliance and BHV Marais. We share many values and wish to demonstrate to BHV’s clientele the exceptional expertise and creativity of European Flax-Linen, as well as its environmental virtues, in order to accelerate the necessary collective awareness. Once again, we aimed to surprise and delight. Our bet? To place Flax-Linen centre stage with an engaging and educational experience built around an XXL scenography: the Great Flax Gestures.
Opposite, Valérie Chaleyssin - BHV Marketing & Communication Director
How many visitors do you anticipate, and how will you immerse them in the Flax-Linen world ?
VC : We expect between 25,000 and 30,000 visitors per day to discover this exceptional installation. Our first aim is to astonish them with a highly “Instagrammable” scenography, then to deliver a joyful, immersive experience.
Our store’s role is to entertain, but also to introduce multiple universes. Together with the Alliance, we will unveil the behind the scenes of the Flax-Linen supply chain, and we are delighted to welcome Flax-Linen producers who will, better than anyone, convey their passion for this material.
CM : Our intention is to reveal every facet of Flax-Linen. Today, this plant fibre can be found everywhere: in fashion and accessories, home linens and home décor. As the quintessential natural fibre, linen fully meets the expectations of consumers seeking creative, contemporary and virtuous products, with origin and traceability guaranteed by Masters of Flax Fibre™ (formerly European Flax™) and Masters of Linen™ certifications.
This spectacular exhibition will remain in the minds of all your customers. What message would you like to convey?
CM : All too seldom do we acknowledge that Europe is the world’s leading Flax-Linen producer. It symbolises the excellence of skills and know how that form part of a truly modern heritage.
Moreover, European Flax-Linen is now the material of choice for a way of life that favours more natural and more virtuous products.
VC : We wish to demonstrate that Flax-Linen is a noble and inspiring material through powerful artistic gestures and a 180° panorama of creation, featuring products from every sphere – even the most unexpected – for Flax-Linen never ceases to surprise us.
Les Grands Gestes du Lin,
from 3 May to 8 June 2025,
BHV, 52 rue de Rivoli 75004 Paris
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