Show Off

I've had some pretty image heavy posts in my time but I fear stuffing 100+ images into one would actually be considered internet abuse on some level.  So I resisted and instead, rounded up my images of this year's Antwerp Royal Academy Show, which I saw a couple of nights ago, into little video slideshows.  If you were there in the wee early days of Style Bubble, you'll know that I've been expressing my love for this teensy tiny city forever, extolling the school which has spawned everyone from Ann Demeulemeester to Peter Pilotto as well as the richness of its fashion scene despite the size of the place.  I had my first Antwerp Royal Academy fashion show experience in 2005 (probably my first fashion show with a decent amount of production…) when I went to Antwerp for the first time, inspired by a travel piece in Elle magazine and my fellow students at UCL thought I was on a mad diamond search (that's all they knew about Antwerp…). 

I may have got lost trying to make my way up to the show venue and nearly broke down crying because I was desperate to get there with good time to spare (not realising that ALL fashion shows generally run a leeeetle bit late…).  I had a seat at the back and even though the figures on the catwalk drifting around were tiny, my mind was indelibly blown away by the boundaries of fashion that those student collections crossed.  Of course I was aware that none of the collections were supposed to reflect trends, wearability or any of the metrics we measure ready to wear shows by.  That wasn't the point.

In my head, I was seeing the seeds of fashion designers being sown in a most calculated way even if it played out in moments of extraordinary and OTT design.  First year, they push themselves from the basics of pattern cutting, second year, they apply their skills with a historical context in mind, third year,it's an ethnical context and finally in fourth year, it's a culmination of all those things into a 12-silhouette collection that freely expresses whatever the student wants.  The show is a four hour affair but well worth it for a complete overview of what the school offers.  It sounds a bit like I'm calling out the obvious but because I haven't't been to an Antwerp graduate show in three years, I'm afraid I may have gotten a bit nostalgic.  This isn't going to cloud me into actually dissecting what I saw.  I've rounded up all our years' shows here but from the fourth year, I'll be picking out my faves and interrogating them via email for later posts and naturally from the final graduates of Antwerp, certain peeps always emerge anyway through the blog and re-blog patternations (remember THAT Antonin Tron gold jacket…).

First Year – I can't credit all the students here as there are over 40 names in the first year but here they show their final exercise pieces based on three projects; "Skirt: Back to Basics", "Dress: Dreamdresses", "Jacket, S,M and L, Size Doesn't Matter" and so you get skirt, dress and jacket in varying warped and fantastical forms. 

(Music: Little Dragon – Looking Glass)

Second Year – They are taught the history of dress from Renaissance up to 1940 and all students have to choose a historical figure with a costume typical for that period and then recreate that costume, seam for seam, down to the underwear, accessories and make-up.  Having studied their particular historical costume in depth, they then have to create a five-silhouette mini collection inspired by their research.  You can never quite trace the root of their research just by looking at the collections though as the point isn't to have inspirations played out literally but to push themselves into playing with historical themes creatively.  For example, from the 1640 painting 'David with the head of Goliath', Christopher Hancy came up with his collection 'I'm a Square and I Don't Care', full of neoprene 'geek' outfits in gradiated pastel colours – the connection with David and Goliath?  I'm not sure but it must be there somehow…

(Music: Foals – Spanish Sahara (Mount Kimbie Remix))

Third Year – As with second year, the exercise of literal recreation and inspired collections is repeated but this time with ethnical costume.  This time, they have to create eight silhouettes based on a primary research on a European or non-European culture of dress.  This is often most interesting for me because again, you can never really see where the root of all inspiration came from.  I love that the themes are always very very specific – 'Jemen, Kalah Temania', 'Japan, Shiro-byoshi', 'Bresil, La candomble' and yet the collections don't necessarily reflect what you'd expect…

(Music: Active Child – When Your Love Is Safe))

Fourth Year – A culmination of everything that has been taught to the students and the number is dramatically whittled down from the first years.  16 students graduate from the Academy this year and with no uniting theme, they were free to go and do what they wished.  I'll be investigating a handful but highlights included Marie Cramer's painterly princess (with many nods to McQueen) collection, Toon Geboers' collection inspired by Wednesday from the Addams Family and Angelo Van Mol's texture-heavy menswear collection. 

(Music: Ellie Goulding – Under The Sheets (Pariah Remix))