Driss van Norton, one of the six gentlemen in Antwerp, once said, "We never want to be another Paris".
In an interview shortly after graduation, Dries Van Noten said, "We just want to be a special Antwerp, and we want to stick to the style that belongs only to this city."
In Antwerp, a small Belgian town, there is a world-famous fashion institute-the Royal Academy of Art in Antwerp.
At that time, Belgium began to shift its industrial focus to fashion. Willy Claes, Minister of Economy, initiated the "Textile Plan" and became the Belgian Textile and Textile Institute and the Golden Spindle Award.
Under the background of such a decree, their talents have a broader development space.
They are Ann Dymura Mister, Dirk Bickmberg, Driss Van Norton, Walter Van Beerendonk, Dirk Van Saen and Marina Yi. And this "the most difficult name to combine in history" was later directly called the Antwerp Six.
The famous martin margiela, who has been reluctant to show her face, used to be Marinaye's boyfriend. She was very close to them and often didn't know the situation.
Walter Van Beerendonk and martin margiela are both fashion majors, and they became friends in their first year of school. In the second year, five other people who signed up for the same major soon joined them and formed a seven-person study group. They always meet in Dries Van Noten's studio to study, discuss and talk.
Although all seven people have talents, everyone shows different abilities. Walter belongs to the more futuristic design.
On the other hand, Margiela prefers to design and reconstruct the past history.
The other two girls in the group also happen to have corresponding abilities. Marinaye is more interested in art, full of romanticism and belongs to the most bohemian girl in the group.
Ann looked for inspiration from music and poetry collections, and her works were darker and harder.
Dries Van Noten often skips classes. As mentioned above, Van Norden has his own studio for a long time. I often skip classes during my study, because I made clothes for more than five clothing companies early, so my works are more mature and exquisite.
Dries Van Noten 20 18 spring and summer series.
Dirk Bickmberg is as good at making shoes as Dirk Van Thain. Van Saene opened a clothing store called "Beauty and Hero" in Antwerp very early.
At first, they were just six little designers with dreams. They just graduated from 1986, and naturally they have very lofty ideals. Young people are bold enough. They have no extra money, but they are full of enthusiasm for holding a performance. I rented a car and ran to London without hesitation.
During London Fashion Week, they boldly made a simple fashion show outside the official show. It doesn't even look like a fashion show, but it has attracted unexpected attention from the fashion world. Under the report of British fashion media at that time, the groundbreaking design of the six designers in Antwerp became an instant hit. So six years after graduation, my fame finally opened.
However, when Antwerp 6+ 1 frequently appeared in the headlines of various British media magazines after 1986, the British Fashion Council began to worry about whether the Belgian gang would seize resources.
To some extent, it has hindered the development of local young designers.
Finally, at 1988, the group decided to move to Paris under pressure. At that time, Paris was a treasure place for the seven people to continue their efforts, because it was no longer stale and even longed for the entry of new forces. ...
So in 1988, when the weather was favorable, people who arrived in Paris decided to seize the opportunity and start building their own kingdom through their unique charm. At this time, among a group of ambitious people, Marina yee began to waver.
1988, Dirk Bikkembergs held its first show in Paris, and the first menswear series belonging to this brand was officially born. Bikkembergs, who was born in footwear design, continued to show the world his different "sports and leisure aesthetics" after his appearance in London.
However, its limelight was completely overshadowed by martin margiela House, which founded the brand of the same name in the same year. Although Bickmberg won the Belgian Golden Shuttle Award, Margila didn't.
It is this show that makes Marina Yi clearly realize that she may never surpass this intimate partner who has been with her for a long time in her life.
It is this show that makes Marina Yi clearly realize that she may never surpass this intimate partner who has been with her for a long time in her life.
"I can't tell you in words how incredible the first season was. When the first model came out, my brain was even blank. I sat next to Marina Yee, and I found that she began to cry. She told me that she saw her own shadow in the outline of the dress. 」
Cowardly personality is accompanied by pressure after becoming famous. Marina not only did not launch a personal fashion show, but even fell into inexplicable depression for a long time and could not break free.
The following year, when Dirk Van Saene made her debut, Marina Yee left Paris and quit the fashion circle. Since then, the team has gradually disintegrated.
By 1992, Dirk Bikkembergs launched the women's collection. During the same period, ann demeulemeester also held a solo exhibition in Paris.
In her design, there is always only pure black and pure white. The unique gothic dark style made her fall in love with Margira and became the darling of fashion media at that time.
At the same time, Dirk Van Saene published the cartoon Bambi of Dirk Van Saene, satirizing Antwerp designers, especially Ann Dymura Mister, in the media spotlight. This incident became a permanent pain in peace of mind, and Van Thain broke up with the whole team.
1993, Dries Van Noten also held his personal debut in Paris, and his design was equally outstanding.
Finally, martin margiela, ann demeulemeester and Driss Van Norton, together with Helmut Lang and Jill Snyder, created a new fashion trend-minimalism and multiple deconstruction in 1990s.
The other three also have their own achievements, but they are a little dim because Maggie, Ann and Van Norden are too dazzling.
1998, Marina Yee returned to the fashion world and started again. Invited by Dirk Bikkembergs to participate in handbag series design. However, in 2003, the two had conflicts and the cooperative relationship broke down.
Walter Van Beirendonck insists on the independence of art and strives for the avant-garde, wild and experimental exploration of fashion. In 2006, he returned to the Royal Academy of Art in Antwerp, where he graduated for 25 years, and served as the dean of the Fashion Institute to educate future generations.
In 2009, The New York Times reported that Majila officially left her eponymous brand.
20 13, ann demeulemeester issued a handwritten statement, "I am glad that I have a place in the fashion circle ... I always follow my own ideas, but my life and the brand ann demeulemeester have undergone new changes. I think I should leave ... "
In the end, the free-spirited Ann found that she was not suitable for the increasingly commercialized fashion industry, and decided to leave the eponymous brand and quit the fashion circle. And the story of the six gentlemen in Antwerp ends here.
Nowadays, Belgian designers have become a force to be reckoned with. For example, raf simons, olivier Seskens, Elvis Pompilio and even Demna Gvasalia are all students of the Six Gentlemen.
Nevertheless, the first generation of the Six Gentlemen of Antwerp has fallen apart, but their names remain in the history of fashion forever.
(Content and photo Vintage sharing session, organized by lip cinnabar red. )