Belgian designers in the modern fashion industry are synthesizing commerce and art. The term Antwerp Six, or The Antwerp SIX, can be heard whenever it comes to conceptual fashion. How did Belgian couturiers become famous and how can their style be characterized?
What is The Antwerp SIX
The Antwerp Six is ​​a group of graduate designers from the Belgian Royal Academy of Arts. Their names:
- Dries van Noten.
- Ann Demeulemeester.
- Walter van Beirendonck.
- Dirk Bikkembergs.
- Marina Yee.
- Dirk van Saene.
After graduating from the Antwerp Academy in 1981, each of the designers began an independent career. In 1986, they teamed up to participate in London Fashion Week. A trip to England required significant expenses, and a joint trip was a profitable solution.
The Belgian shows in London caused a sensation. The show with the participation of fashion models of non-standard appearance took place in the most unexpected places like abandoned parking lots. Avant-garde clothing teetered on the brink of fashion and art. The works of Antwerp were different from the status bourgeois things popular in the 1980s, which were offered by American and French couturiers.
Belgian shows earned numerous publications in the press. In the notes, designers with complex names were referred to as The Antwerp SIX - Antwerp Six. Since then, the term has gone down in fashion history.
After the London triumph, the creative paths of the Belgians diverged. The career of fashion designers has developed in different ways.
A historical meeting of six Antwerp took place in 2015. Graduates of the Academy of Arts attended the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the native faculty of fashion.
Style features
The designers of the Antwerp Six won success thanks to a non-standard look at modeling clothes. Each Antwerp SIX member has their own style, but their style has several things in common:
- Conceptual. Members of the Antwerp Six create clothing “with meaning”. Silhouettes and decor reflect the ideas of the creator. Dirk Bikkembergs conveys sporting spirit and energy in things, Marina Yee signals the importance of caring for the planet.
- Erasing gender differences. In the interpretation of Antwerp SIX, fashionable clothes for women and men are deprived of their traditional features. The Belgians are experimenting with colors and cut details, denying stereotypes about the gender of certain elements of the wardrobe. In the men's and women's collections of Dries Van Nothen, clothes are generously decorated with bright ornaments in the form of flowers and fruits.
- Wearability. Conceptual clothing from Belgian designers is compatible with real life. A reasonable balance of adequacy and creative spirit brought Antwerp commercial success already in the mid-1980s.
Today, clothes from former Antwerp SIX members are chosen by celebrities for social events. It is in demand by ordinary customers in everyday life. Fashion designers of the Antwerp Six offer their own look at the wardrobe “with meaning”.
Ann demeulemeester
The female couturier was born in 1959. The name brand was founded in 1985. Ann Demeulemeester brand produces men's and women's clothing.
Things from Ann Demelmeister combine practicality with art. Belgian moderately avant-garde clothing adds dream and bohemianity to everyday wardrobe.
For all Demelmeister collections, the interweaving of male and female elements in one image is characteristic. An asymmetric cut, flowing fabrics and a muted palette create a thoughtful poetic mood.
Ann's source of inspiration is rock music and contemporary art. The paintings of the artist Jackson Pollock and the lyrics and songs of Patti Smith received a designer interpretation in the clothes of Ann Demeulemeester.
Four years ago, the brand founder left work. Today, her work is continued by a young designer from France, Sebastian Meunier.
Dirk bikikembergs
The designer was born in 1959. A brand of his name was established in 1986. Initially, Dirk Bikkembergs specialized in collections of men's clothing. Today, the Dirk Bikkembergs brand also produces items for women and children.
Dirk Bikkembergs preaches harmony between a beautiful trained body and a free spirit. He creates clothes inspired by movement and the idea of ​​high speeds. Things emphasize the strength and beauty of a sports figure and are designed to provide comfort during physical activity.
Dirk Bikkembergs clothing is anatomically shaped and is made from innovative materials. The palette is dominated by neutral colors - monochrome, beige and khaki. Bright acid accents emphasize the dynamic character of the wardrobe from the avant-garde Belgian.
Dris van noten
The designer was born in 1958. Before starting his own brand, Dries was a freelance artist for several years and collaborated with other manufacturers. After the historic show of the collection in London, Van Nothen opened a name workshop, which in three years grew into a large fashion house.
Today, Dris van Noten is an international brand offering men's and women's clothing. In 2017, the designer created the 100th collection, marking the anniversary with the release of a retrospective photo album.
The individual handwriting of Dris van Noten is easy to recognize by its rich colors and decor with folk and natural motifs. Things from Dries Van Nothen are decorated with embroidery and hand-printed prints. Drawings in the form of ethnic ornaments, fruits and plants are present on male and female clothes.
Sophisticated décor relieves the brand’s customers of the danger of purchasing fake Dris van Noten products. Fraudsters can’t reproduce the author’s design of the antwerp.
Walter van beirendonck
Walter was born in 1957. His fashion brand was founded in 1983 and is aimed at a male audience.
Walter van Beirendonck also creates an author's collection of children's clothing for the Belgian retail chain, comes up with theater costumes and book illustrations.
In 1998, Beirendonk opened a Walter store in his homeland, which is a multi-brand boutique and exhibition space.
Walter van Beirendonck - clothes for people with a sense of humor and an active lifestyle.
Beirendonck expresses an original look at fashion with the help of illustrations from comics and draft inscriptions. Plots of prints are often provocative in nature and touch upon acute social problems.
Each Beirendon collection is dedicated to a specific topic and has a name: “Stop terrorizing our world”, “Solar and lunar worlds”, “Sweet Home”.
Dirk van saene
Wang Sen was born in 1959. After completing his studies at the Academy, the designer opened the Beauties and Heroes store.
From his youth, Wang Sen proved to be an artist. An exclusive detail of his designs is picturesque handmade prints and reproductions of paintings printed on fabric. The appearance of things belonging to different collections varies from traditional luxury to deconstruction.
Dirk van Seng initially focused on narrow-scale production with a predominance of craft technology. He later moved away from fashion design.
Today, Dirk teaches at the Antwerp Academy of Arts and is engaged in ceramics. In 2017, an exhibition of Belgian sculptures was held in Vienna.
Van Seng is Walter van Beirendonk, a long-term partner of his Antwerp SIX colleague. Friends run the Walter boutique together.
Marina yee
Marina was born in 1958. At the beginning of her career, Yee collaborated with fellow student Dirk Bikkembergs. She worked as a costume designer and leather designer. Marina Yee brand appeared in 2003.
The key theme of the designer is conscious consumption. Marina Yee uses fragments of old clothes found in flea markets to create new designer items. Turning rags into an exclusive product, Marina draws public attention to the problem of excessive addiction to material values.
The Marina Yee brand lasted until 2005. In August 2018, it became known that the Belgian was returning to the fashion business. She creates a clothing line for the Japanese concept boutique Laila Tokio.
Yi's mini-collection is dedicated to her favorite topic of moderate consumption, which today has gained the status of an urgent problem in the luxury goods market.
Antwerp SIX value
The success of the Antwerp Six made Belgium one of the centers of the global fashion industry. France is traditionally associated with Haute Couture luxury, the USA with status ready-made clothes, Italy with a sensual luxurious image. Belgium continued the list and turned into a mecca of conceptual fashion. Nowadays, the Antwerp Academy of Arts is a prestigious educational institution in the field of design.
Antwerp SIX paved the way for their compatriots to the heights of a fashionable career. The names of Olivier Teyskens, Raf Simons, duet Victor and Rolf are known throughout the world. They met the expectations of the public, becoming worthy heirs of the Antwerp Six.
Antwerp SIX is synonymous with intellectual fashion for women and men. Things from the designers of the Antwerp Six are a sign of a thinking person who understands and appreciates art. Antwerp SIX clothing is original and allows you to choose a wardrobe in accordance with your personal attitude and ideas about physical and psychological comfort.