Lately, we’ve started to think seriously about Montreal’s fashion scene and community. In addition to Montreal style, celebrated and copied (the highest compliment) in punk fashion magazines, the city’s designers are gaining visibility and an international clientele.
We think of Em&May’s studio, which we visited in Mile End, immediately reminiscent of thepunk warehousesof New York fashion houses in the 80s and 90s. We think of Kim Gordon’sX-Girland SofiaCoppola’s Milkfed, large apartments converted into streetwear factories and wild fashion shows.
We also think of Montreal’s heritage and its history of textile factories, and the H. Fisher & Fils store. The sewing store was preserved by the Jewish Museum of Montreal after the death of its owner and can be visited today.
But with Trames composites, it is Laval’s tradition of textile crafts that is highlighted through some twenty works that combine fiber and technique.
Echoes, Ryth Kesselring (2024) linen thread, silver thread, electronic components, magnets, wood
Composite Weaves
The exhibition opens at the Alfred-Pellan Gallery on January 25, 2026, and presents the work of four Quebec artists who use fabric as their medium. Embroidery, weaving, sewing—the techniques are different but share a common thread of blending with other art forms (literature, installation, sculpture, etc.).
Wifi Boy, Cindy Dumais (2021) / embroidery on cotton, 165x152cm
Stanley Février – from the Musée d’Art Actuel / Département des Invisibles (MAADI)
Julien St-Georges Tremblay, curator of this exhibition, has brought together the works of Alissa Bilodeau, Cindy Dumais, Ryth Kesselring, and Laïla Mestari. The works of these four artists, like on a loom, are presented as a “four-strand weave.” Their themes and works are intertwined—the forest, the net, the threshold, the skin.
A door of knots, a door of notes, a door of knots, Laïla Mestari (2022) – textile construction and embroidery, 259x156cm
These works are rare, significant, and rarely exhibited in galleries. You have until April 12 to see them, but we recommend going as soon as possible…
Practical information
Where? Alfred-Pellan Hall, 1395 Boulevard de la Concorde Ouest, Laval (a 5-minute walk from Montmorency metro station)
When? Open Tuesday to Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. / Thursdays, open until 8 p.m.
*The opening reception is on January 25, 2026, at 2 p.m. – it’s free and open to everyone
How? Free admission
Great exhibition!