Visit to the Musée de l’Impression sur Étoffes in Mulhouse

My summary

A testimony to Mulhouse’s industrial past

The textile industry, and more specifically cloth printing, played a key role in Mulhouse’s economic and social development from the 18th century onwards. The town was a major center of the textile industry, particularly for printed cloth, including the famous “indienne”, a cotton fabric decorated by hand or machine.

The Musée de l’Impression sur Étoffes de Mulhouse dates back to 1833, when the industrialists of the Société Industrielle de Mulhouse decided to preserve their textile creations and enrich the collection with pieces from all over the world. The aim was to stimulate textile designers by offering them a source of inspiration and a learning tool. The collection, which has grown over the years, has become a resource center for the textile industry.

In 1955, an association was formed to create a museum dedicated to this heritage, now housing over 6 million samples and many rare textiles, as well as a variety of techniques such as ikats and batiks. The Musée de l’Impression sur Etoffes was born!

Permanent collection

The museum boasts an impressive collection, considered one of the most important in the world in this field, with over 6 million designs. Of course, it’s impossible to see everything, but you can admire printed fabrics from different eras, from Indian to contemporary creations.

The contemporary creations highlight the fresh look taken at this ancient know-how, demonstrating its continuing influence on fashion and design. I have to admit that I didn’t really realize this before visiting the museum.

The diversity of the pieces shows the evolution of styles, techniques and fashions over the centuries, with pieces from Mulhouse and all over the world. It’s truly magnificent!

The museum also boasts textile printing machines, enabling visitors to understand the different techniques, including plate and cylinder printing.

Animations

MISE also offers creative workshops and demonstrations of printing techniques, providing a nice interactive dimension in my opinion, although I haven’t had the chance to try one out.

Temporary exhibitions

The museum regularly organizes temporary exhibitions highlighting particular aspects of fabric printing, in relation to artistic trends or collaborations with contemporary designers. They’re always very beautiful: don’t hesitate to drop in!

Store

If you’d like to bring back some nice souvenirs from Alsace, I can’t recommend you enough a visit to the museum store, which is full of beautiful local things. I don’t usually recommend museum stores, but this one is definitely worth a visit. During the Christmas market, you’ll also find some lovely products in the boutique aux Etoffes on the first floor of the town hall. I never miss a trip there every year and always buy a few Christmas presents there!