MUDE opened to the public in May 2009 offering a non-stop programme of varied perspectives and design languages. Our aim is to breathe new life and energy into the Baixa, turning Lisbon’s downtown area into a space where contemporary creation can be debated and contribute to underlining the city’s place among the major capitals of culture.

The programme starts with two major exhibitions – Preview, From Corbusier to Alaïa and It’s forbidden to forbid – and the publishing of a catalogue, which is original in both concept and format.

EXhibition: Preview

Preview presents a group of pieces that heralded significant changes over the 20th century, in both design and fashion. Russel Wright, Jean Prouvé, Hans Wegner, Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand, Charles & Ray Eames, Olivier Morgue, Verner Panton, Alessandro Mendini, Droog Design and Marc Newson are some of the featured designers.

Fashion takes centre stage, with this being its first public presentation. Among the pieces on show are Pierre Balmain’s cocktail dress, the mini skirt by André Courrèges, Paco Rabanne’s metallic suits, swimsuits by Rudi Gernreich, S’Angelo and Bill Gibb’s ‘hippie’ pieces and, from more recent times, work by Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier and John Galliano.

Three years after the Museum of Design at the CCB was closed to the public, Preview presents 170 iconic design and fashion pieces from the 20th century: unique works looking to (re)invent the Present and create the Future. Today, many of these works are timeless objects that continue to amaze or lead us to reflect on our own age. Every visitor will be invited to go on a journey through time. A journey on which they will meet works that changed habits, mentalities and attitudes, and that still pose questions for the future. With no visual barriers, the exhibition is set in the stark, half-ruined space of the Banco Nacional Ultramarino’s former main office; a major production staged through objects, space, sound and image.