Bernadette Antwerp S/S 21
© Laurence Ellis
Mikio Sakabe A/W 21 © Ikeno Shiori
© D'heygere
© PlusThirtyTwo
Merryl Rogge A/W 21
© Sloan Laurits
'Our' designers are also motoring forward, even without physical store locations. The flourishing mother-daughter label Bernadette by Charlotte De Geyter stars in Vogue shoots, as well as being worn by world stars such as Michaela Coel and Dakota Johnson. Meryll Rogge, who previously caused a furore at Dries Van Noten and Marc Jacobs, is sold worldwide - with fellow alumnus Eduard Both from CAP Studio on board as knitwear designer.
The online store for surrealistic accessory label D’heygere saw the light in 2020, as a new addition to cult designer Stephanie D’heygere's impressive track record. Raphaële Lenseigne’s label Adult. is the place to be online for pioneering, gender-inclusive footwear. Another innovative hit is Mikio Sakabe’s ‘Grounds’ sneakers, based in Tokyo. Also outstanding are, the sustainable slow fashion by Maddalena Annunziata, the future-forward collections by Flora Miranda and the textile designs by Wiesi Will. Hyein Seo and Taro Horiuchi are breaking grounds in Asia, Europe and far beyond. In 2020, Wujic Jo, from master generation '17, unveiled his label ‘Wujic Jo Antwerp’, with a celebrated collection of ‘artwear’ glasses.
Gennaro Velotti launched his own brand Esse Gi Esse, while working for the historic Courrèges label. The structural and dark romantic side of Cédric Jacquemyn has attracted a loyal following, while Niels Peeraers’ unique accessory label continue to evolve in Asia and Europe. Sarah De Saint Hubert designs ethically made wardrobes for both rock stars and the general public. You can buy Donavon Tjons' work online from Yngr. Meanwhile, a young crowd is gathering around creative collective PlusThirtyTwo, whilst Dilan and Lezan Lurr are breaking the boundaries of sustainable fashion with Namacheko.
So, ‘Antwerp fashion’ is certainly out of the box, which attracts global attention. The city is and remains, now more than ever, an experimental incubator for fashion. Causing the emergence of a creative diaspora that stretches from Antwerp, across Flanders, to the rest of Belgium and far beyond. Young entrepreneurs demonstrate that they can also find their way to the spotlights, even without formal fashion training. After all, in 2019, Arte Antwerp won the prize for ‘Belgian Fashion Brand of the Year’ and HNST can claim the title of the world's most sustainable jeans label. I Love Mr Mittens emerged on Instagram as a hobby and now celebrates almost ten years of commercial success. Shops with pure design DNA, such as Louis, Graanmarkt 13, VIER, Thiron, Kaai, Komono, Ophélia Lingerie, Studio Collect, Lies Mertens and Wolk are an essential part of Antwerp's fashion (hi)story. Every one of these names flies the flag for a city that fuels and encourages endless creativity, energetic know-how and rough edges, driving fashion aficionados around the globe quite crazy.
Today
If you hear the words ‘Antwerp fashion’, they usually refer to alumni from the Fashion department at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. With an abundant source of talent, the Fashion department and Antwerp are undeniably linked. A unique universe where students can take the time to grow and fine-tune their own signature and vision. Each year, the world-famous course welcomes students from around 40 different countries. This is how the ‘Antwerp’ or ‘Belgian’ label became an international quality label from the 1980s, but it is certainly not limited to designers with the Belgian nationality – or those with a master’s degree from the Academy. Whatever their background, the stream of locally-bred talent appears endless. While Antwerp's original great names continue to develop their reputation, young talent, along with the broader Belgian fashion community, is causing quite a stir in the international fashion industry.
Demna Gvasalia, who graduated from the Fashion department in 2006, quickly broke through from the cult collective Vêtements, to be appointed Creative Director at Balenciaga in 2015. Not forgetting Rushemy Botter and partner Lisi Herrebrugh, who joined the top echelons of Nina Ricci thanks to their award-winning label BOTTER. Glenn Martens has been receiving international acclaim for years with Y/Project, and became Creative Director at DIESEL in 2020. Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski worked for The Row, Céline and Maison Martin Margiela, and is currently Artistic Director at Hermès. Meanwhile, as established names themselves, the Antwerp generation from the 1990s continues to evolve: Kris Van Assche was Creative Director of Dior Homme for 11 years, and has been managing Berluti since 2018. After a series of iconic collections for Dior and Calvin Klein, Raf Simons officially joined Prada as ‘Co-Creative Director’ in 2020.
In recent years, stars from the Fashion department have regularly obtained international awards. In 2020, Minju Kim, from South Korea, was named winner of the first season of the Netflix title ‘Next in Fashion’ and Sander Bos reached the final in ‘Making the Cut’ on Amazon Prime Video, judged by names such as Naomi Campbell and Joseph Altuzarra. Sabine Skarule won the H&M Design Award 2020, which was an important boost for emerging labels. Beauty phenomenon Cécile Paravina was chosen as a finalist in 2020 by the British Fashion Council in their ‘New Wave’ round. In the same year, Glenn Martens joined Marine Serre in winning the prestigious ANDAM prize for the second time.
Despite popularity abroad, many names have also spread their wings locally with successful Belgian labels: designer Haider Ackermann works for Maison Ullens as Creative Consultant. Michal Gruca designs prints for Raf Simons. For years, Tom Depoortere has been successfully leading the way at Essentiel, as a top name in prêt-à-porter. Nathalie Vleesschouwer designs for Fragile, Bruno Van Gils for Café Costume, Wouter Hoste for Antwrp and Vicky Vinck for Maan Kids.
Many designers adorn the streets of Antwerp with their own shops and ateliers: Dries Van Noten, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Van Saene and Raf Simons still work from ‘A’. Stephan Schneider is an established name in the city centre. Christian Wijnants knitwear draws a crowd in Steenhouwersvest, just like the jewellery by Wouters & Hendrix and Studio Collect in the same street. Jan-Jan Van Essche breaks boundaries in alternative fashion in Atelier Solarshop, and Toos Franken can be found in Nationalestraat. Izumi Hongo works in the city to create wonderful textile architecture and fashion under the name ‘Van Hongo’, and Nel Maertens has set up a local studio for graphic print projects. You can shop Tim Van Steenbergen at Garderobe Nationale, and Eat Dust/Girls of Dust by Keith Hioco and Aline Walther can be found in Volkstraat, not to mention Los Angeles.
Christian Wijnants A/W 21
© Lennert Madou
Wouters & Hendrix A/W 21 © Noir Twin
Christian Wynants A/W 21
© Lennert Madou
Jan-Jan Van Esche A/W 21
© Pietro Celestina
Award winners
Local energy
Diaspora of creativity
Minju Kim A/W 21 © Sangmi An
If you hear the words ‘Antwerp fashion’, they usually refer to alumni from the Fashion department at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. With an abundant source of talent, the Fashion department and Antwerp are undeniably linked. A unique universe where students can take the time to grow and fine-tune their own signature and vision. Each year, the world-famous course welcomes students from around 40 different countries. This is how the ‘Antwerp’ or ‘Belgian’ label became an international quality label from the 1980s, but it is certainly not limited to designers with the Belgian nationality – or those with a master’s degree from the Academy. Whatever their background, the stream of locally-bred talent appears endless. While Antwerp's original great names continue to develop their reputation, young talent, along with the broader Belgian fashion community, is causing quite a stir in the international fashion industry.
Demna Gvasalia, who graduated from the Fashion department in 2006, quickly broke through from the cult collective Vêtements, to be appointed Creative Director at Balenciaga in 2015. Not forgetting Rushemy Botter and partner Lisi Herrebrugh, who joined the top echelons of Nina Ricci thanks to their award-winning label BOTTER. Glenn Martens has been receiving international acclaim for years with Y/Project, and became Creative Director at DIESEL in 2020. Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski worked for The Row, Céline and Maison Martin Margiela, and is currently Artistic Director at Hermès. Meanwhile, as established names themselves, the Antwerp generation from the 1990s continues to evolve: Kris Van Assche was Creative Director of Dior Homme for 11 years, and has been managing Berluti since 2018. After a series of iconic collections for Dior and Calvin Klein, Raf Simons officially joined Prada as ‘Co-Creative Director’ in 2020.
Today
In recent years, stars from the Fashion department have regularly obtained international awards. In 2020, Minju Kim, from South Korea, was named winner of the first season of the Netflix title ‘Next in Fashion’ and Sander Bos reached the final in ‘Making the Cut’ on Amazon Prime Video, judged by names such as Naomi Campbell and Joseph Altuzarra. Sabine Skarule won the H&M Design Award 2020, which was an important boost for emerging labels. Beauty phenomenon Cécile Paravina was chosen as a finalist in 2020 by the British Fashion Council in their ‘New Wave’ round. In the same year, Glenn Martens joined Marine Serre in winning the prestigious ANDAM prize for the second time.
'Our' designers are also motoring forward, even without physical store locations. The flourishing mother-daughter label Bernadette by Charlotte De Geyter stars in Vogue shoots, as well as being worn by world stars such as Michaela Coel and Dakota Johnson. Meryll Rogge, who previously caused a furore at Dries Van Noten and Marc Jacobs, is sold worldwide - with fellow alumnus Eduard Both from CAP Studio on board as knitwear designer.
The online store for surrealistic accessory label D’heygere saw the light in 2020, as a new addition to cult designer Stephanie D’heygere's impressive track record. Raphaële Lenseigne’s label Adult. is the place to be online for pioneering, gender-inclusive footwear. Another innovative hit is Mikio Sakabe’s ‘Grounds’ sneakers, based in Tokyo. Also outstanding are, the sustainable slow fashion by Maddalena Annunziata, the future-forward collections by Flora Miranda and the textile designs by Wiesi Will. Hyein Seo and Taro Horiuchi are breaking grounds in Asia, Europe and far beyond. In 2020, Wujic Jo, from master generation '17, unveiled his label ‘Wujic Jo Antwerp’, with a celebrated collection of ‘artwear’ glasses.
Gennaro Velotti launched his own brand Esse Gi Esse, while working for the historic Courrèges label. The structural and dark romantic side of Cédric Jacquemyn has attracted a loyal following, while Niels Peeraers’ unique accessory label continue to evolve in Asia and Europe. Sarah De Saint Hubert designs ethically made wardrobes for both rock stars and the general public. You can buy Donavon Tjons' work online from Yngr. Meanwhile, a young crowd is gathering around creative collective PlusThirtyTwo, whilst Dilan and Lezan Lurr are breaking the boundaries of sustainable fashion with Namacheko.
So, ‘Antwerp fashion’ is certainly out of the box, which attracts global attention. The city is and remains, now more than ever, an experimental incubator for fashion. Causing the emergence of a creative diaspora that stretches from Antwerp, across Flanders, to the rest of Belgium and far beyond. Young entrepreneurs demonstrate that they can also find their way to the spotlights, even without formal fashion training. After all, in 2019, Arte Antwerp won the prize for ‘Belgian Fashion Brand of the Year’ and HNST can claim the title of the world's most sustainable jeans label. I Love Mr Mittens emerged on Instagram as a hobby and now celebrates almost ten years of commercial success. Shops with pure design DNA, such as Louis, Graanmarkt 13, VIER, Thiron, Kaai, Komono, Ophélia Lingerie, Studio Collect, Lies Mertens and Wolk are an essential part of Antwerp's fashion (hi)story. Every one of these names flies the flag for a city that fuels and encourages endless creativity, energetic know-how and rough edges, driving fashion aficionados around the globe quite crazy.
Bernadette Antwerp S/S 21
© Laurence Ellis
Mikio Sakabe A/W 21 © Ikeno Shiori
© D'heygere
© PlusThirtyTwo
Merryl Rogge A/W 21
© Sloan Laurits
Christian Wijnants A/W 21
© Lennert Madou
Wouters & Hendrix A/W 21 © Noir Twin
Jan-Jan Van Esche A/W 21
© Pietro Celestina
Despite popularity abroad, many names have also spread their wings locally with successful Belgian labels: designer Haider Ackermann works for Maison Ullens as Creative Consultant. Michal Gruca designs prints for Raf Simons. For years, Tom Depoortere has been successfully leading the way at Essentiel, as a top name in prêt-à-porter. Nathalie Vleesschouwer designs for Fragile, Bruno Van Gils for Café Costume, Wouter Hoste for Antwrp and Vicky Vinck for Maan Kids.
Many designers adorn the streets of Antwerp with their own shops and ateliers: Dries Van Noten, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Van Saene and Raf Simons still work from ‘A’. Stephan Schneider is an established name in the city centre. Christian Wijnants knitwear draws a crowd in Steenhouwersvest, just like the jewellery by Wouters & Hendrix and Studio Collect in the same street. Jan-Jan Van Essche breaks boundaries in alternative fashion in Atelier Solarshop, and Toos Franken can be found in Nationalestraat. Izumi Hongo works in the city to create wonderful textile architecture and fashion under the name ‘Van Hongo’, and Nel Maertens has set up a local studio for graphic print projects. You can shop Tim Van Steenbergen at Garderobe Nationale, and Eat Dust/Girls of Dust by Keith Hioco and Aline Walther can be found in Volkstraat, not to mention Los Angeles.
Award winners
Local energy
Diaspora of creativity
Minju Kim A/W 21 © Sangmi An