We found ourselves inside the recently renovated Museum of Applied Arts in Brno, and after the incredible portion of design the local exhibitions serve, refreshments are in order. The authors of the overall idea chose a multi-layered concept in which design is intertwined with fashion and art. The work of Czech designers permeates from the showcases and into the museum space itself, changing the established notion of what a museum interior looks like. When Hans Christian Andersen wrote his most famous fairy tale, the building didn’t exist; its neo-Renaissance façade saw the light of day in 1882. And since then, almost everything has changed in the field of design and creativity. We, too, can marvel along with the mermaid at everything that can be illuminated, sat on, and drunk from, and shudder or laugh in the face of the monumental sculpture Demon of the Growth by Krištof Kintera. It asks us disturbing questions. How many dresses will a bride try on before she finds the right one?

How many magazines and websites will she go through? How many rings will she try on? It’s good to step back from time to time and look with new eyes at the objects we are surrounded by. Through the eyes of a mermaid who is simultaneously enchanted and frightened, who doesn’t want more than she needs, because if she ends up going home to the bottom of the sea, it might be a bit cramped. But we still wish the brave girl that longed-for wedding, and she can have it right in the museum. The Moravian Gallery, to which the museum belongs, rents the ceremonial spaces not only for design lovers.