Antwerp, the Birthplace of Fashion - Part 3

As outlined in Part 1, Ann Demeulemeester is a member of the avant-garde fashion collective known as ‘The Antwerp Six’.

Ann Demeulemeester’s silhouettes are typified through contrasts, but rather than opposing colours and ornaments, she works with unusual mixing of fabrics and attention to detail: smooth and elaborately worked leather often juxtaposes itself against heavy woollen elements, austere outlines against softly draped cotton and silk, blunt and unembellished blazers against frayed edges. These textural conflicts are emphasised by the use of asymmetry, profuse in her garments. Long, layered, draped dresses and coats, oversized suits, cobweb knitwear and skirts with slits exposing the naked thigh have become signatures of the maison, a style she herself describes as “Graphic Abstraction”. ‘It’s an evolution. Every collection is a new step and I really felt ready to open a new register moving towards something pure, clear, graphic. But, at the same time, with abstraction,’ she explains.

Contrasts and asymmetry pervade Ann Demeulemeester's collections. From left to right, SS20, AW18, AW18.

This deconstructivism is not only evident from the peculiar physical designs, but also from the ‘anti-fashion’ ideology that pervades her untraditional clothing lines. Indeed, influences from gothic and punk culture, in itself a subversive movement, are evident in almost all of Demeulemeester’s pieces; preposterous would be the one who says he knows of a collection where there is no use of the colour black, chains, leather, or dishevelled structures. Like Dries Van Noten, she has been approached by major fashion houses, which she all but refused to collaborate with, again in line with this sense of independence and radical departure from conventional contemporary ideas.

Punk and gothic influences on Ann Demeulemeester's work.

She also became one of the first to showcase both man and woman collections alike in one show, and often likes to assimilate feminine and masculine structures into single clothing pieces, lending an androgynous feel to them. Perhaps this is partially a heritage of Japanese hallmarks Ann aspired to incorporate. Together, the gothic and Japanese elements contrive to fashion a certain ‘goth-ninja’ impression.

Androgynous figures from Ann Demeulemeester's past collections.