Over 900 set and costume designs created for La Monnaie by Edmond Delescluze (1905 - 1993) and his wife Suzanne Fabry (1904 - 1985) have been preserved. When he began work as a designer, Edmond created costumes and sets under the supervision of his father, but later became responsible for the set workshop himself. Suzanne took over the management of the costume workshop.
This archival fund was kept at the studio-home of Émile Fabry, Suzanne’s father. The couple moved in there in 1945. La Monnaie welcomed back this unique collection in 2011, thanks to support from the Léon Courtin-Marcelle Bouché Fund.
In addition to the sketches, the collection contains numerous models and posters, as well as plans and some draft set designs by Pierre Devis (1846-1919) and Jean Delescluze (1871-1947). They provide a welcome addition to the set models and costumes kept at La Monnaie. Since the actual costumes and sets were not kept, this collection is the only colour heritage that remains from the period. Moreover, as photographic material from the 1940s and 1950s is particularly rare, for a certain number of productions the material in this collection is the only iconographic material available today.
