Within the early Nineteen Eighties, within the Belgian metropolis of Antwerp, a gaggle of trend college students graduated from the Royal Academy of Nice Arts. By the mid-Nineteen Eighties, partly because of an occasion in London in 1986, they grew to become often known as the Antwerp Six. Now, an exhibition on the MoMu of their hometown celebrates the 40-year anniversary of that look on the London trend scene.
In truth, Marina Yee, Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Bikkembergs and Dirk Van Saene have been united extra by chronology than type. Bikkembergs aimed for a hyper-masculinity; Demeulemeester for a girl who was cool and female sufficient to put on masculine garments; Van Beirendonck for loud, clubby menswear.
“The identify is a paradox. They by no means functioned as a collective,” says Kaat Debo, MoMu’s director. “A few of them nonetheless describe that label as a blessing and a curse. However they have been pals.” The present covers a brief interval from the late Nineteen Seventies to the mid-Nineteen Eighties after they have been forging their identities. “They characterize a dream of independence and inventive freedom,” Debo says, “and an ecosystem that included photographers, stylists, graphic designers. There was a collaborative power that pushed issues forwards. Then, every of them went on to construct very completely different careers.” Van Bierendonck suggested each U2 and Erasure on numerous excursions, and ended up operating the style division on the academy from 2007 till 2022.
The present can be a homage to Marina Yee, who died late final yr, aged 67. “We labored very intently along with her and have been involved every day earlier than her demise,” says Geert Bruloot, who co-curated the present with Kaat Debo. “Her presence within the exhibition displays precisely how she needed it to be.”
The Antwerp Six, MoMu, Antwerp, till 17 January 2027
