Old and new Belgian fashion on display: Antwerp Fashion Festival

Apart from the gong, it is completely silent in the dome of the Botanic Sanctuary in Antwerp. A humming sound fills the space. A high-pitched female voice begins, accompanied by a man playing exotic instruments. The first model appears in deep contemplation, arms crossed behind their back, gaze fixed on their feet. They are wearing loose-fitting trousers with a black waistcoat, held together by a delicate moss-green silk thread.

What unfolds next resembles a family constellation. Each model is assigned a place in the space and instructed to interact with the others, with the theatricality of a Galliano show: long strides, everything in slow motion. Two men in complementary outfits circle each other. Leather and patent leather face each other. Persian carpets meet kimonos: shahs and geishas. A men's waistcoat with brocade-like floral fabric features furry faux-fur sleeves. Nadav Perlman, a 2021 graduate of the Royal Academy, aims to bridge differences between cultures, diverse types of people, the present and the past with his fashion.

Experience

Perlman's performance officially opens the Antwerp Fashion Festival on Friday, June 5. He is one of a pool of talents that make Antwerp a fashion city. The positive image of Belgian fashion is still too closely tied to the success of 'The Antwerp Six' from forty years ago. With the festival, running from June 4 to 7, the city celebrates a breath of fresh air in addition to its heritage. Presentations, installations, talks and exhibitions can be seen at 85 locations, along with specially decorated shop windows. Pitstops are identifiable by signs in primary colours — acid yellow, petrol blue, hot pink — with 'Antwerp Fashion Festival' in italics. There has been nothing similar since 2009. Consequently, it is drawing large crowds.

The programme reveals the progressive intentions of the organisation, led by Flanders District of Creativity. The ultimate goal is to boost Belgian retail. First, however, the image of contemporary, independent Belgian fashion needs to be sharpened. Hence the focus on a broad audience, incorporating art and experiences alongside clothing. "It was not meant to be a 'fashion week'," explains Elke Timmermans. She also helped refresh Berlin's fashion week with exciting show locations and community-building, a blueprint she brought with her. "We are far too close to Paris. There is no interest in another Fashion Week." Instead, Flanders sought an approach that the fashion city could lean on from a cultural and business perspective.

Visitors are coming from France, England, Italy and the Netherlands. Ambrose Jude Van Tiberias, an all-round creative in fashion, is impressed. "Compared to the commercial nature of Amsterdam, fashion here is more based on craftsmanship. I feel a spark of joy — there is hope and future potential for a unique, creative, independent industry. The level of fashion here no longer exists in Amsterdam."

More accessible than Paris

At the intimate presentation by Jan Jan van Essche in the Vleeshuis Music Museum, Bas Slootman and Alexandra Schott are gathering inspiration for their new fashion platform, Arcatype. They find that designers often stand next to their work, which adds something to the experience. "By hearing their story so directly, you understand the design philosophy better. Even if it's not entirely your own aesthetic, you can appreciate the thought behind it."

They find the elegance of Belgian fashion intriguing. "There is very little of that left in the Netherlands." Slootman points to the installation by Kié Einzelgänger in Tommy Simoens' gallery, a dilapidated commercial building spanning four floors. "The quality of the clothes was unparalleled, the concept well thought out. It made a deep impression on me."

For Schott, the city is a breath of fresh air compared to the haughtiness of Paris. She studied fashion design in New York and is looking for different perspectives at the festival. "Antwerp offers accessibility; it is less confrontational than Paris with all its luxury houses. This makes it easier for designers to challenge the fashion landscape."

Heart of the city

The festival is also a tribute to the city and its architecture. Marie Bernadette Woehrl presents her theatrical performance with dancers and an opera singer in the pouring rain, in an old castle garden behind the Ercola art centre. In Het Huis Happaert, fashion brand Bernadette, by mother and daughter Bernadette and Charlotte De Geyter, shows a short analogue fashion film: The Hostess. Before the screening, you lift a heavy velvet curtain. Behind it, the elegant gowns of the bored main characters are on display.

A real highlight is La Collection: contemporary fashion in an imposing avant-garde building owned by the Ruys jewellery family, designed by architect Ferdinand Truyman. Downstairs, drapes of hemp-silk and sharp blazers are displayed alongside historic sewing machines, flasks and Art Nouveau bars. The shop assistant is busy, although she cannot say whether such a distracting monument also leads to more sales.

Antwerp is synonymous with grandeur, as a historic port and trading city, home to Peter Paul Rubens and the diamond industry. At the same time, an equally rich modern 'vibe' manifests itself in design concept stores; numerous coffee shops; and the undulating glass facade of the Provinciehuis, where Christian Wijnant is showing on the roof. This is also evident in the prominent galleries on the Waalsekaai, particularly that of Sofie van de Velde. This month, you can acquire sketches by Walter van Beirendonck for 700 euros each.

Emerging talent Julie Kegels explains her work with an art installation at the modern Cour Gallery. For "After Work", she transformed the space into the living room of her hypothetical female client — a busy bee, always on the go. She also satirises the way the fashion business aestheticises everything: make-up stains on the bed, a stray stiletto. It is an artistic, bold choice; no new fashion is involved.

Talent

Over three days, visitors are presented with promising talent. Marcel Sommer makes his dark debut in the church, with bright backlighting like purgatory from the wings. Florentina Leitner built a playful installation for the MoMu: models on a silver foil castle, a cuddly toy under their arm. 'You are a Star' is written on the T-shirt. Tom Van Der Borght brightened up the interior design shop Donum with inclusive mannequins and provided the Antwerp Central station hall with an inflatable: a Ponyfish the length of a bus.

The KMSKA art museum had recent graduates design fashion to accompany self-selected artworks. A number of them are also participating in The Carousel, a digital fashion show on standalone screens designed by Shoottheartist and funded by Porsche. It is held outside on the street, accessible to people from the suburbs as well. "I think that's great," says fashion photographer and producer Bjorn Tagemose. In the dome, he feels the spirit of the Antwerp Six returning, especially that of Marina Yee.

"Just like this new generation, she wanted to give it her all. At the trade fair in London forty years ago, the Six were on the first floor and no one came to see them. It was Marina who went downstairs and got everyone to come up, after which the English press wrote: this is underground. What is happening there is cool." He feels the same way about new faces like Pommie Dierick, Facon Jacmin and Mattia van Severen.

It is a fine art to connect Antwerp's fashion heritage with the new. The exhibition about the Antwerp Six at the MoMu is highlighted in bright pink in the programme booklet — young talent feels supported in their footsteps. At the sold-out show by the academy students, held twice over the weekend, it all comes back. Students hope to be associated with the activism of Yee — a pioneer in upcycling vintage gems — and the rich materiality of Dries van Noten, which is steeped in historical references without becoming dated.

W for Walter

What is Antwerp as a fashion city without Walter van Beirendonck? He asked himself the same question and answered it with a home game for his 40th-anniversary show, in a dilapidated Boerentoren on Thursday evening. Heels are forbidden, and tickets are hard to come by. The show is on the seventh floor. Enthusiastic applause comes before and during the show from veterans, with a moved Ann Demeulemeester in the front row.

Exuberantly cheerful knitwear from forty years of his oeuvre passes by on the grey concrete floor. This ranges from long jumpers with protest texts against the manosphere ('Bad Bad Boys', autumn/winter 1986-1987) to the full-body floral knits in 'Scarecrow' (autumn/winter 2026-2027). In the show notes, Van Beirendonck prioritises joy and hope. Tonight I'm showing 40 years of dreams. The masks, the monsters, the lovers, the warriors, the dreamers. 40 years of fantasy with a fist.

In many respects, he is the shining centrepiece of the festival. This is due to the collection and his presence at other stops, talking to visitors and celebrating fashion. "There is nothing nostalgic about his presentation," he later explains at Sofie van de Velde's gallery. His show provides pure evidence that imagination knows no age and that fashion has an important function. "A whole life can be spent dreaming the world awake."