THE BELGIANS. AN UNEXPECTED FASHION STORY

BOZAR and MAD Brussels are presenting the major fashion exhibition 
The Belgians, about the rise and success of Belgian fashion designers. The exhibition takes a closer look at the DNA of Belgian fashion and sheds light on the work of around 100 designers, from the first pioneers to the new generation of today. 

And that’s not all: at the same time the multidisciplinary festival 
Summer of Fashion will be taking place in various locations in Brussels.

Since the 1980s it’s impossible to imagine the international fashion scene without Belgian designers. As unexpected as it might seem, the ‘Antwerp Six’ were flavour of the month at the beginning of the 1980s and so it is quite natural to find the Belgian designers in today’s international fashion circuit. The professionalism, craftsmanship, quality and technicality which our compatriots demonstrate, means they have enjoyed international recognition for several decades now. This exhibition focuses on the remarkable DNA of Belgian fashion and what makes it so unique.

The story is told in thematic chapters: the origins, the first fashion houses and the first cautious steps of young designers, the success of the Antwerp Six in the 1980s, the avant-garde generation, the international successes, the fashion schools, the fashion industry, the personal signature of Belgian designers…

In total there are around 100 designers including the likes of Raf Simons, Martin Margiela, Ann Saelens, Ann Demeulemeester, Walter Van Beirendonck, Natan, Tim Van Steenbergen, Jean Paul Knott, Olivier Theyskens, Veronique Branquinho, Jean Paul Lespagnard, Diane von Fürstenberg, Anthony Vaccarello, AF Vandevorst, Haider Ackermann, Bruno Pieters, Annemie Verbeke, Kris Van Assche, Marina Yee, Elvis Pompilio and many more besides.

“The exhibition The Belgians: An Unexpected Fashion Story is unique because it takes a closer look at Belgian fashion before and after The Antwerp Six who established themselves as the next big thing in the 1980s. That’s unheard of in fashion exhibitions of recent decades”, explains curator Didier Vervaeren. He was the artistic director at Delvaux – the famous handbag brand – is a lecturer at La Cambre and a fashion expert at MAD Brussels, the Mode and Design Center.

Summer of Fashion

The Belgians exhibition is the ideal means of placing the spotlight on other art disciplines which are inherently linked to fashion.  BOZAR has various events in the pipeline: a reading by Diane von Furstenberg (04.06.2015), photos of Vivienne Westwood by Jürgen Teller, a cinema weekend on the theme of fashion documentaries, the installation Bellissima with Italian fashion from 1945 to 1968 and an exhibition about the architecture firm V+ which designed the new offices for MAD Brussels, to name but a few.

This summer BOZAR is also joining forces with MAD Brussels to organise theSummer of Fashion festival in a variety of locations in Brussels, and this in collaboration with different partners. Visitors can go on a fashion walk that has been specially mapped out from Rue Dansaert to the Brussels fashion school La Cambre. In the course of the walk they will discover numerous surprising installations by Belgian fashion designers.

The festive opening of the Summer of Fashion  is also the start of ‘MADIFESTO – European Fashion Summit’ (04 - 07.06.´15). MAD Brussels is behind this annual opportunity for international fashion professionals to get together.

Publication

The exhibition is accompanied by a publication with contributions from different names from the world of fashion. Paul Boudens is responsible for the graphic design.

With contributions by Oscar Van den Boogaard, Karen Van Godtsenhoven, Laurent Dombrowicz, Florence Müller, Marco Peccorari, Lut Clincke, Veerle Windels, Agnes Goyvaerts, Jesse Brouns, Anne-Françoise Moyson