Underwear Museum moves from Brussels to Lessines

Brussels' famous Slip Museum has found a new location in Lessines, in Hainaut province. The museum, run by Belgian artist Jan Bucquoy, was until last year located above the now closed café De Dolle Mol. Bucquoy (pictured) has mixed feelings about the move: “I am pleased that the museum will move to the city of Magritte,” he told Bruzz. “But it still feels almost like Manneken Pis is leaving Brussels.”

Since its establishment in 2009, the Underwear Museum has become a household name in the capital, mainly for its quirky collection of underpants belonging to notable Belgians, including Axelle Red, Didier Reynders, Michel Preud'homme and, more recently, Yvan Mayeur. Bucquoy was forced to close the café and look for another location for the museum when the building's lease expired in 2015 and the Flemish Community cut off financing.

Part of the museum's collection was temporarily housed at restaurant Chez Claude in Rue de Flandre while Bucquoy looked for a new permanent location. "I could not afford to keep the museum in Brussels after losing the subsidies,” explains Bucquoy. “That's when I started soliciting other cities, in search of a new home for the Underwear Museum.” It was Lessines city councillor Lou De Pryck who first responded to Bucquoy, welcoming the museum to the birthplace of Belgian artist René Magritte.

In a symbolic gesture, Brussels mayor Yvan Mayeur on Friday handed over a pair of his underwear to Bucquoy, to be displayed in the museum at its new location.