Art in all its forms at Galerie HVL 

Two young fashion designers make their debut in the world of exhibitions, accompanied by a young painter.
Like painting, photography and sculpture, fashion design will be given pride of place at our exhibition in May 2023.

On the fashion side, Elisa Godfroid and Lionel Virgile are part of the "Upcycling" trend. On the picture rail, you can discover the work of Mathilde Peiffer.

Presentation of the artists :

Elisa Godfroid was born in Verviers in 1992. From an early age, she was drawn to all things creative, and travelled a lot. Painting, drawing, materials, architecture, fashion and design have always been part of her life.

After studying fashion design at the Haute Ecole Helmo Mode, she quickly seized an opportunity to move to Paris, where she lived for eight years.
Over the years, she has held a number of positions. Quickly launched as a freelancer, she was able to cut her teeth and immerse herself in the hard core of fashion. She has worked as a photo stylist, as an assistant and in the editorial offices of various magazines, and as a consultant for several brands.

Having recently returned to Belgium, she has launched her own brand, "La Seule Shop", in line with the upcycling trend. From her "Appart-elier" in Heusy, she makes her creations using high-quality fabrics and lets her imagination run riot.

Passionate, her watchword is sharing. Thanks to her inspirations and desires, the designer wants to take us on a journey, telling stories using colours, materials and volumes. She creates unique pieces in which every detail is important. She believes that there are no limits to creativity, that fashion belongs to everyone, and that the most important thing is to feel good.

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Lionel Virgile is a 26-year-old designer from the Verviers region. Introduced to dressmaking by his mother, he developed a passion for design and fashion that has stayed with him ever since.
Having had no formal training, this self-taught designer started out with a view to making unique clothes for himself. He was inspired by some of the great designers who produced pieces that made him dream, and decided to create his own world.
Receiving positive feedback from friends and family, he decided to offer his services and launch his own brand, Pacific Boys.

As part of the upcycling trend, he too works with old clothes, mainly second-hand. His favourite material is denim. He is particularly fond of this material and the multitude of possibilities that are inherent in this type of fabric.
In a style he describes as "ordered chaos", with a streetwear bent, he makes one-off pieces. He creates garments that are sometimes completely reassembled using his sewing machine in his workshop.

He believes that each of his creations has its own story. He gives a new lease of life to the clothes he recovers and adds a part of himself to them, in an eternal cycle, an eternal restart.

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Mathilde Peiffer, aka La Choza, is a 28-year-old painter, also from Verviers. An enthusiast of the brush since childhood, she worked discreetly for many years and only began to reveal her work at a late age. Following an exhibition at a private venue, she held her first public gallery exhibition at Galerie HVL.

The creative spirit is part of her everyday life: after a master's degree in industrial design, followed by training in web development/code, she now works as a web interface designer. Passionate about her work, she brings the same energy to her life as an artist.

The young painter is inspired by nature and its colours, the landscapes she has discovered, animated films and comic strips. Her colourful style is a cross between the influences of Jean Dubuffet, Doodle Art and Pop Art.

A globe-trotter at heart, she also draws inspiration from her adventures and experiences, including an almost three-year trip to Australia. Incidentally, her artist name 'La Choza' originated during a trip to Patagonia, Chile, following a snowstorm in the Andes.