Part 1: The Story and the Archive
In the year 1986, a group of six young Belgian designers (Marina Yee, Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester, Dirk Bikkembergs, Walter Van Beirendonck and Dirk Van Saene), known as the Antwerp Six by the media, set out on a trip to the annual British Designer Show. What they didn’t realize was the influence they would have on the globalization of Belgian fashion (Kaat Debo, 6+: Antwerp fashion). Little is known about what went on at the trade show of 1986 and what the six designers did to make them stand out on top of world-renowned designers. However, until just recently when a gallery of Dries van Noten’s inspirations and past garments resurfaced at the ModeMuseum in Antwerp, Belgium, the New School has acquired a few of the artifacts specifically from 1986 as part of a fashion education partnership program (Pamela Golbin, Dries van Noten). In this miniature archive, it features a mood board van Noten had gifted Geert Bruloot, a close friend, and supporter of the Antwerp Six (Geert Bruloot, interviewed by Olya Kuryshchuk). An original sketch from his first menswear collection includes a female model since the six designers had to share one model during the entirety of the British Designer Show (Kaat Debo, 6+: Antwerp fashion). A schedule from the February 26, 1986, issue of Woman’s Wear Daily, predicts the success of the Antwerp Six as they are set to show right after John Galliano, a powerful couture house at the time (Walter Van Beirendonck, short film portrait). Small archived items are also included like Dries van Noten’s first clothing tag, a digital photo of his studio featuring his mood board, and their first banner that caught the attention of their first major clients.
Part 2: Starting from a research-based practice
What is a research-based practice?
When thorough research is included into the art-making process, it informs the audience on the specific topic of concern. For instance, Trevor Paglen’s exhibit displays his research on the intrusive presence of technology, like drones, in our daily lives. Work like Paglen’s reveals a truth that most abstract or contemporary does not. Data collection and formulation examines our perspective of cultural, political, or economic events. In Walid Ra’ad’s case, he fabricates a collection of truths that explore deeper topics in history, war, and etc. through the fictional “Atlas Group.”
Explain how you used to research and fabrication of archives to add credence to your story. How have you engaged/employed multiple perspectives in this process?
Before I began my research about the Antwerp Six, I only knew they were progressive designers from the 80s that led a fashion revolution. When I began my research I hadn’t realized the influence they had specifically for Belgian fashion. In an interview with Kaat Debo, the Director of MoMu, she said, “They were known as the ‘’Antwerp Six” back in the 1980s when the idea of Belgian fashion seemed like a contradiction in terms.” The first person I looked at was Geert Bruloot, the mastermind that put the Antwerp Six together. When Bruloot proposed the idea of showcasing Dirk Bikkembergs’ shoe collection at the British Designer Show, he told him, “Don’t do it the typical way anymore. Don’t go to Paris with the showroom, because it will not work. It’s too much. Think about a new way.” Bruloot was a big player in creating the stepping stones for the Antwerp Six, so I inserted evidence of provenance into van Noten’s mood board, which he would gift Bruloot. In March, they arrived at the British Designer Show and established their area on the third floor, right behind some wedding dresses. They soon realized that not many people would walk past their area, so Bruloot thought up the idea of creating a banner (the one that will be in the physical archive) that read, “COME AND SEE THE SIX BELGIAN DESIGNERS” (Pamela Golbin, Dries van Noten). Bruloot and the six designers soon gained the interest of Barneys, and what was soon to follow was instant notoriety, “[the pressed asked] ’where did you come from? it’s like you came from another planet, we never heard of you! this is so fantastic!’ As they could not pronounce our names, they just started calling us The Antwerp Six” (Geert Bruloot, interviewed by Olya Kuryshchuk).
Part 3: Process
Why did you pick this topic?
I chose the Antwerp Six because they also started out as young designers. It’s difficult to make it in the industry, especially during their time when Belgian was not even considered a fashion destination. However, their unique collaboration and aesthetic styles helped project them into their well-established future careers. As Linda Loppa, Dean of Royal Academy of Fine Arts, said in an interview with Elle Magazine, ” In Paris, designers wait to be noticed by the clothes they wear at a party. In Belgium, the only way to break into the fashion world is through remarkable press kits or striking stands at the fashion fairs.” I was especially interested in researching how they made their name, and that’s when I found an article about the British Designer Show of 1986, “Sharing the cost of hiring a van, they loaded it with their collections and drove to London with the specific intention of taking part in the British Designer Show. ’We didn’t really have any strategy, Dries says. ‘And it certainly wasn’t organized by the Belgian Government’” (Pamela Golbin, Dries van Noten).
What did you learn about it and how?
Through the biographical/archival books and online articles, I became aware of the hardships and stereotypes they faced as young designers from Belgian. From reading Geert Bruloot’s interview with 1Granary, I learned that the media nicknamed them the “Antwerp Six” because they did not bother to learn the pronunciation of each designer’s name. Another interesting fact I found was that they actually met through a mutual friend/support, and this person was Geert Bruloot. Even thought they had all graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, it wasn’t until Bruloot proposed the trip to the British Designer Show to Dirk Bikkembergs did he unintentionally formed the Antwerp Six.
Explain the story from part 1 in terms of what you used from your research and what you fabricated or added.
The Antwerp Six traveling to the British Designer Show in 1986 is a true fact, but there was virtually no evidence to back up this historical event. I fabricated the schedule for the F/W 1986 fashion show to include the Antwerp Six right after John Galliano as a statement that young designers have the same capabilities as any big fashion house. Dries van Noten’s mood board, an aged sketch, and clothing tag was fabricated as proof of his participation in this event. I also Photoshopped the mood board into a picture of van Noten at work, as well as a handwritten message in the back of the board to support the provenance from van Noten to Bruloot. The last artifact I fabricated was an idea I got from research, specifically from Pamela Golbin’s book, Dries van Noten. The banner that reads, “COME AND SEE THE SIX BELGIAN DESIGNERS,” did actually exist at one point.
Part 4: Conclusion
What are your final thoughts?
The idea behind research-based practice extremely helpful in forcing me to dig deeper into certain things. If I had not done my research on the Antwerp Six, I would have never learned as much as I could about them. Since I haven’t been to a library in a long time, it was fun going to the TNS Library and NYU Bobst Library to search for sources that related to my topic. I was thrilled whenever I found clues that pieced together my story on them. I realized there were also small inconsistencies in the different accounts. While I was reading through Bruloot’s interview and Dries van Noten’s biography, I asked myself questions like, “If Bruloot had helped unite the six of them, then why was his name nowhere to be found in Dries van Noten’s biography?”
