Ann Demeulemeester

Ann Demeulemeester (born 29 December 1959) is a Belgian fashion designer and the creative director of her eponymous brand between 1985 and 2013. She is one of the Antwerp Six: a group of Belgian fashion designers, which includes Dirk Van Saene, Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester, Marina Yee, Walter Van Beirendonck, and Dirk Bikkembergs.

Early Life

1950s

Ann Verhelst was born on 29 December 29, 1959 in Waregem, Belgium, to Albert and Monique Verhelst-Pappijn , in a family whose main trade was cultivating chicory. She credits her strong work ethic to her father, who encouraged Ann to pursue whatever she wants, as long as she excels in it .

1960s

Fashion entered her consciousness during her childhood years. While drawing portraits, and she noticed the relationship between the subject and what they are wearing . She became more interested in their choices of clothing and what motivated this choice .

1970s

In 1978, she enrolled in the fashion design course of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, and studied under Linda Loppa.

1980s

In 1981 she graduated together with some of her Antwerp Six colleagues: Dirk Van Saene, Dries Van Noten, and Marina Yee. 1981 was also the year Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto showed their avant-garde collections in Europe for the first time, in Paris.

She received the first Gouden Spoel (English Golden Spindle) prize in 1982, awarded to promising Belgian fashion designers, instated to boost the textile industry .

Career

1980s

During the first years of her career, she worked as a freelance designer for multiple manufacturers, including assisting Margiela in designing for several Italian brands..

She married photographer Patrick Robyn, her lifelong creative partner, who she would later found the fashion line with, in 1985 . Collections would only be shown from 1987 onwards.

The Antwerp Six was comprised of Ann Demeulemeester and five or her colleague graduates from The Royal Academy of Antwerp: Dirk Van Saene, Dries Van Noten, Marina Yee, Walter Van Beirendonck, and Dirk Bikkembergs. The team decided to show their collections in London in 1985, but Ann chose to stay behind, and the rest of the team travelled by truck to show their collections at Olympia. The group wanted to save up money for publicity, so they stayed at campsites . At Olympia, after seeing that they were on a different floor than the one that attracted buyers and the press, they started distributing flyers to the other floors. Shortly after, they secured their first orders from Barney's. The press was surprised to see designers that they have not heard about, and they started to take notice of them . The British Council deemed them to be profiting of their system at the time, instated for British designers, and they decided to show in Paris instead.

The press could not pronounce their names, which led to them being referred to as The Antwerp Six. Their launch propelled Belgian fashion into worldwide acclaim. In a time when exaggerated silhouettes were the norm, their self-expressive style represented a new direction in the fashion scene.

1990s

The first Ann Demeulemeester collection was shown in Paris in 1991 in a stark art gallery. She was featured in the Créateurs of the leading Journal du Textile, which propelled her into the international stage. In 1996, she was among the first designers to show both men's nd women's lines in one presentation.

2000s

In 2006, Ann Demeulemeester's collections started including jewerlly of her signature motifs such as feathers, metallics, chains and stones. She showed in 2008 the collection Collection Blanche, a retrospective over 20 years of her career in fashion.

2010s

She decided to leave her brand in 2013, citing the challenging demands of the fashion industry at the time as being a "stifling breakneck pace". In a scanned handrwritten letter emailed to her staff, she mentioned that the brand's own identity will stand on its own without her. Her appreciation of beauty and need to return to slowness, led her to seek new means of creation, and she started to work with porcelain, taking classes and travelling to discover new techniques. Later on, she decided to start making cutlery and design glassware.

2020s

In 2013, Demeulemeester launched her first eponymous perfume: A, a scent reflecting her spirit in infusions of ‘narcotic’ jasmine, May rose, clove and Sicilian lemon. More recently, she is working on a furniture collection with her husband.

Style

Techniques

Her design process incudes 5 steps:

1. Idea or concept

2. Study

3. Drawing

4. Tri-dimensional prototype

5. Material, colour and decoration

Her predominant use of black and white is due to a desire to focus the attention onto the sculptural of the clothing, comparing her work as a maker to that of an architect, or novelist.

Themes

Anne's creations emanate a deep sensibility and understanding of emotions and self expressions. Considered to be a designer for the simple but sophisticated taste, she commonly draws inspiration from music in the likes of Bob Dylan and Patti Smith, paintings of Marcel Duchamp and Jackson Pollock, and writings of William Blake and Allen Ginsberg. She describes her style as"The contrast between light and shadow, sensitive and strong, a tension that is poetic.”

One strong influence on Ann's style was music, and her lifelong bond with Patti Smith. She recalls walking by a record store at 16, and seeing Patti’s album, Horses. After sending Patti a box of white shirts she had designed for her, they become very close and start seeing each other a source of inspiration to diverge energy from .

Common to both Anne’s designs and Patti's music is their duality between strength, resilience and authenticity, and the undertone of sensitivity and emotional depth. Their shared love of poetry is evident in how they address themes such as death and loss, and of course, freedom.

Motifs

Her use of feathers is attributed to the influence of her husband, Patrick Robyn, and their meeting for the first time when he was wearing a black jacket and a pigeon feather .

Collections

Ann Demeulemeester

Title	Season	Date	Location	Looks	Notes
N/A	FW87	N/A	Paris	N/A	At the time it was taglined "a collection for the conscious woman" by the press, being recognised for her sensibility to themes and motifs that are open to personal interpretation .
[work in progress]

References

The References section should include well-formatted and consistent citations in either APA or Chicago style, including author-date referencing (i.e. APA style) for in-text citations.

External Links

SS88

Lookbook of SS88 collection photographed by Patrick Robyn, with makeup by Inge Gronard.