september-2011

Van Beirendonck, who, with his
trademark palette of intense, saturated
colour against the deconstructivist,
intellectualised aesthetic (read: black) of
the rest of the Six, always seemed like a
macaw moonlighting in a fl ock of crows.
“We were designers coming from an
unknown place, and thanks to our
energy, belief and ambition, we put
Belgium on the international fashion
map,” Van Beirendonck recalls proudly.
“That energy and the individual results
from the Six created huge interest in the
Antwerp Fashion Academy.
“But the world has changed a lot
since the 1980s, and the fashion world
has also evolved and changed,” he
muses, as he puts the fi nishing touches
to his latest ad campaign in Paris.
Indeed, this is an era when fashion
brands attain one-upmanship by savvy
social networking. Louis Vuitton and
Dolce & Gabbana pioneered as-ithappens,
lo-res runway shots via
Facebook and Twitter to promote their
Spring/Summer collection (swift ly
followed by, ooh, just about everyone
else a season later). And who can forget
social network Foursquare’s compulsive
Catch-a-Choo campaign that had women
racing across London to claim their free
Jimmy Choo trainers?
“The biggest change has been in
communication,” he confi rms. He long
ago foresaw how fashion labels could
use technology as a potent promotional
tool: his label, W&LT (Wild & Lethal
Trash) had been the fi rst brand to
78 metropolitan
launch a CD-Rom and website, way
back in the mid-1990s.
Van Beirendonck affi rms that
fashion’s role is to “rethink, react and
renew”, and identifi es the common
thread in Belgian fashion that “we all
want to tell a story or make a statement
in our collections”. In an industry
peppered with mavericks, he is defi ned
by his instantly recognisable, ultracolourful
graphics, inspired as much by
“I have never
compromised.
All I do comes
straight out
of my heart
and soul”
cutting-edge technology as by
indigenous costumes, all underpinned
by the sublime craft smanship inherent
to the Antwerp Six.
His work has always engendered a
piercing critical awareness with
subversive engagement, whether he’s
commenting on gender roles, voicing
concerns about climate change or
advocating safe sex. Melding wildly
diverse sources of inspiration, from
technology to art, supermarkets to
ethnography, Van Beirendonck revels in
his fearless assaults on the fashion
fraternity, with a level of political
awareness that is genuinely fresh, and
rich ground for a plethora of crossdisciplinary
collaborations. Indeed, of
fashion, he says, “I love it and hate it at
the same time.”
Over the years, projects have ranged
from costume design for the Royal
Ballet of Flanders to T-shirts for
Amnesty International’s 40th
anniversary and the outfi ts for U2’s
1997 PopMart tour. “Keeping the
balance between creativity and
commerce is a permanent exercise,” he
refl ects. “I always enjoyed my
commercial jobs a lot, and integrity and
bringing out ideas are an important part
of how I think and work.
“Today, we can defi ne a whole group
of graduates, from all over the world,
with an ‘Antwerp education’,” he says.
And, of course, the next generation of
Belgian designers, such as Olivier
Theyskens, now at the helm of Theory,
and Raf Simons, whose masterful
minimalism ensured a seamless
transition when he stepped into the
creative directorship at Jil Sander.
Van Beirendonck has taught at the
Academy for 26 years, where recent
graduates include Bernhard Willhelm,
whose irreverent, distinctive humour
you’ve probably seen somewhere before:
the young German designer’s statement
that “I’ve got to exaggerate to fi nd the