Miren Arzalluz visits us to receive the Felicidad Duce Award
The curator Miren Arzalluz, director of the Paris Fashion Museum and the recent winner of our Felicidad Duce Award 2023, visited us in early February to attend the award ceremony in recognition of her career, which the jury described as "coherent, rigorous, and brilliant", and her significant contribution to the fashion sector at an international level.
In her acceptance speech, Miren highlighted that "Fashion studies are still an emerging discipline, although much ground has been covered in a short time", and celebrated that this evolution "inspires to continue paving the way and reflecting". Furthermore, she recognized Felicidad Duce as "an extraordinary, entrepreneurial, and creative woman capable of forging her own path".
The jury president, Charo Mora, explained during the presentation of the awardee that her choice was "unanimous on the day of deliberation", and praised Miren for being a reference who inspires with her "rigor and professionalism". Charo was responsible for presenting the award alongside our general director Sílvia Viudas.
"I am more moved than I thought," confessed the former head of collection and exhibitions at the Cristóbal Balenciaga Foundation and director of the Basque Etxepare Institute. Miren defined herself as "a passionate historian" and argued that "through fashion we understand who we are and how we build ourselves, express ourselves and understand the history of society from all its economic, technological, cultural, artistic, and political complexity".
The first non-French director of the Palais Galliera, a world-renowned institution, stated that her work has allowed her to "discover the history of many entrepreneurs and creators who found in fashion a powerful tool for emancipation, independence, and freedom". She dedicated the award to women who have played a leading role in the industry and lamented that some of them still do not have all the recognition they deserve. She also emphasized the importance of museums in their role of "spreading knowledge and promoting reflection".
During her visit, the Bilbao-born curator gave interviews to various media outlets and to Estel Vilaseca, head of our Fashion area, with whom she sat down to review her career.
Miren Arzalluz adds her name to the roster of the Felicidad Duce Award, which includes fashion personalities like Jean-Paul Gaultier, Teresa Helbig, or Pablo Coppola. Congratulations!