Belgium Fashion Designers

AF Vandevorst is the Belgian fashion label started by An Vandevorst (born 1968 ) and Filip Arikcx (born 1971). A married couple, they met at Antwerp's Royal Academy in 1987 before setting up together in 1997. Vandervorst had previously worked as first assistant to Dries Van Noten whilst Arikcx worked as a freelance designer and stylist following a three-year spell working with Dirk Bikkembergs. After their second collection, AF Vandevorst were awarded the Venus de la Mode, a prestigious prize given to young designers at Paris Fashion Week. One year later they were invited to design the Ruffo Research collection for Spring-Summer and Autumn-Winter 2000, an accolade bestowed on young designers by the luxury Italian leather company Ruffo. The AF Vandevorst collection now includes shoes, accessories and a lingerie range called 'Nightfall'.

Dirk Bikkembergs was born in Bonn Germany, where his Flemish father was stationed at the time. After his high school career, Dirk Bikkembergs was interested to attend law school because he found "lawyers so chic" but eventually decided to start studying at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Belgium. In 1982 Bikkembergs graduated, together with other Belgian designers Ann Demeulemeester, Dries van Noten, Dirk van Saene, Walter van Beirendonck and Martin Margiela. Together they came to be known as the "Antwerp Six" by the fashion world.In 1985, after winning the Canette d'Or award for Best Young Designer in Fashion, Dirk Bikkembergs was given the opportunity to create his own men's shoes collection. His first line featured perforated soles and highly original laces, creating an uproar at the time. Dirk also got himself noticed at the British Design Show in 1986.In 1989 Dirk Bikkembergs went to Paris and launched his first menswear collection, followed by the women's collection in 1993.The influence of Dirk Bikkembergs' origins is palpable in his designs. Many of his clothes betray a preference for military aesthetics. He loves robust materials and simple shapes. Other characteristics of his collections are the austere lines, the abundant use of leather and many virile details such as belts. Dirk's first women's collections were (apart from size) identical to his menswear lines.Dirk Bikkembergs has become particularly popular with young people since 2000 after he launched his fashion line 'Bikkembergs Sport', including the t-shirts with the famous footballer. This so-called 'sport-couture' has given Bikkembergs the opportunity to design the clothing for the Inter Milan football club.He describes himself as a workaholic and once said in an interview with ID magazine: "I am married to fashion and will remain faihthful."

In 2004, Astrid Olsson and Lee Cotter began their clothing label Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair. Yet, oddly enough, they don't repair shoes, and the Swedish couple doesn't even work on Fifth Avenue. When the designers decided to name the label after an old shoemaker's shop in London they were simply paying tribute to the old-world craftsmanship that the name stood for. In Astrid's words, "Attention to detail and love of fabrics is something we honor and for which we stay ready to walk an extra mile to achieve. The label is inspired by an old shoemaker's shop in London that has gone from generation to generation, passing on knowledge in craftsmanship of this old profession. Since classic tailoring and pattern-making remain a priority in the collections, we named the line Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair."

"...Just in Case is a Belgian high profile fashion brand sold in an impressive list of countries. Antwerp based designers Vicky Vinck and Katrien Strijbol create sophisticated collections for women as romantic as they are. Amongst the clients you will find famous and not so famous women, yet all strong characters.
The collection explores as well boundaries of former fashion styles with romantic & fashionable details which Vicky & Katrien draw or create themselves. This makes the collection recognizable by the public and is regarded as highly fashionable. Women waring Just In Case will not pass unnoticed and are often complimented out of the blue with their choice of clothes."
(justincase.be)

Maison Martin Margiela studied at Antwerp's Royal Academy of Fine Arts along with the legendary avantgarde fashion collective the Antwerp Six. Although Margiela was only temporarily involved with the group, many still considder him to be the "7th" member of the collective. After graduation in 1980 he worked as a freelance designer for five years. Between 1985 and 1987 he worked for Jean Paul Gaultier, before showing his first collection under his own label in 1988. In 1997 he became, despite his non-traditional design, the chief designer of Hermés women's line. During the 1980s, the Japanese avantgardists, with Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garcons), had turned the fashion scene upside-down with their eccentric and ground-breaking designs. Martin Margiela and the Antwerp Six would carry on the work, revolting against the luxurious fashion world with garments of oversized proportions such as long arms, and with linings, seams and hems on the outside. The concept of deconstruction, also embraced by the aforementioned Rei Kawakubo, is important for the understanding of Martin Margiela's fashion statement. Mr Margiela famously redesigns by hand objects such as old wigs, canvases and silk scarves into couture garments. Martin Margiela has been called the J. D. Salinger of the fashion world, and rightly so -- he refuses to be photographed and will only be interviewed by fax. He won't even put his name on his clothes, branding them instead with a blank label.