The return of Ann Demeulemeester, designer of the legendary Antwerp Six

2022-08-23T10:34:13.288Z

Out of fashion for almost a decade, the Belgian still has a lot to contribute to what was her home, now owned by the new hero of Italian luxury Claudio Antonioli. And no, it's not about clothes.

The legendary Belgian creator, portrayed in her studio by her son, Viktor Robyn.Victor Robyn

In November of next year, it will be 10 years since Ann Demeulemeester left fashion.

An irrevocable decision.

He communicated it in a letter, handwritten to the surprise of no one.

"Dear friends," she headed in her elegant handwriting.

And she explained: “A new time has come, both for my personal life and for the Ann Demeulemeester brand.

I understand that it is time to go our separate ways.”

Like the rock band that feels tired and distances itself by mutual consent.

Like the couple that breaks up, but maintains the friendship.

Something like that.

“It was a conscious step, very thoughtful”, says the Belgian designer (Cortrique, 1959).

“I started thinking about it when I turned 50 and realized I was about halfway through my life.

So I said to myself, 'Is there anything else you want to do?

Because this would be the time to think about it: what do you want and how do you want to do it'.

I felt trapped in the fashion bullet train, although I couldn't jump on it while it was running.

I had a huge responsibility, with the company, with the team, workers who could lose their jobs because of my departure, which I was not going to allow.

But, searching my heart, it was what had to happen.

I love to create, but I wanted to choose other paths, to be free to try something different.

And he had to tell the world clearly and honestly.

I couldn't lie, I have too much respect for those who wear my clothes, the people who support me and the friends I've made over the years”.

it was what had to happen.

I love to create, but I wanted to choose other paths, to be free to try something different.

And he had to tell the world clearly and honestly.

I couldn't lie, I have too much respect for those who wear my clothes, the people who support me and the friends I've made over the years”.

it was what had to happen.

I love to create, but I wanted to choose other paths, to be free to try something different.

And he had to tell the world clearly and honestly.

I couldn't lie, I have too much respect for those who wear my clothes, the people who support me and the friends I've made over the years."

Detail of the autumn/winter 2010-2011 collection, which indulged in extravagances such as rooster feather decorations.

The creator, a member of the legendary Antwerp Six, the contingent of students from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of the Flemish town, class of 1986, who revolutionized the way of thinking, doing and understanding fashion from the decade of the nineties, he imposes as much serenity as the chinoiserie screams in the corner of the hotel in Florence where he dispatches with the journalist.

He is in town to endorse with his presence the retrospective at the monumental Stazione Leopolda with which the Pitti Immagine Uomo salon celebrates his influential legacy, from that first official collection (Spring/Summer 1992) to his goodbye (Autumn/Winter 2013 -2014).

A project especially pampered by the

prêt-à-porter fair

Florentine, the largest and most important in the sector, finally brought to fruition last June and which has generated waves of expectation since its announcement at the end of 2021. Is Ann Demeulemeester coming back?

"No, I haven't come back," she laughs.

“Pitti had invited me many times, but he always declined because he didn't have time.

Now that I have it, why not?

I think it's great to show so many years of work, especially if it serves to inspire new generations”, explains the interested party, who has served as curator of the exhibition.

“Although if I accepted it was because Mr. Antonioli asked me to.

I felt an obligation to help him, apart from the fact that I am also responsible.

At the end of the day, it is about my file.”

Hat with floating pieces and bustier with leather bands from the fall/winter 2013-2014 collection, the latest from the designer with her nameDAN & CORINA LECCA

Mr. Antonioli is Claudio Antonioli, architect of one of the most popular multi-brand companies in Italy and co-founder of the New Guards Group, the luxury network that supported Virgil Abloh's urban vision at Off-White, owned since 2019 by the giant of the online retailer Farfetch and also owner of Palm Angels, Heron Preston, Alanui and, yes, Ann Demeulemeester.

The businessman acquired the firm in 2020 for an undisclosed amount, in a purchase agreement that included the headquarters, the Antwerp flagship store, the

showroom

of Paris and the entire archives.

A rescue mission, says the designer: “Seven or eight years after my dismissal, things weren't going too well.

That's why I couldn't be happier that you came to her aid.

Antonioli has been a friend for many years, one of my first clients, and he knows the brand in detail, its DNA, its soul.

He is an honest guy who I want to support.

I made it clear to him that I was not going to design again, but that he had my support and thanks, because we are talking about my life's work, and if someone tells me that they want to invest in their future, it means that it has not been in vain”.

Claudio Antonioli, current owner of the firm, posed for the Belgian photographer Willy Vanderperre as a model for the lookbook of the autumn/winter 2021-2022 collection.

Without a flashy creative director or director, only the strength of a well-oiled team, the Ann Demeulemeester brand has since presented three collections (between autumn/winter 2021-2022 and the next 2022-2023 season) with which it has regained the punk poetics that made it one of the most exciting labels ever.

An essence lost during the time it was headed by Sébastien Meunier, a Frenchman and student of the revered Belgian Martin Margiela, to whom the firm trusted everything after the departure of its founder.

The clarity of the designer's large blue eyes turns glassy when she mentions it: “It's a delicate subject.

I still feel fragile about it, I prefer not to comment."

Better to return to the present, to Antonioli.

“Leaving your firm in the hands of someone who respects your soul is always a good idea.

That is why I say that this is not a business solution, but a project undertaken from the heart.

That said, he's like my son: he's grown up and I have to let him go.

And that is also interesting, to see what happens now that he has a new life, ”he ditches.

Designs by Ann Demeulemeester, guest of honor at Pitti Uomo 102 at Stazione Leopolda in Florence.Pitti Immagine Uomo

The million dollar question, of course, is then what is the current position of Demeulemeester herself in what was once her home.

"Enrich it in different areas," she replies, recovering her smile.

“If Claudio asks us to get involved in a project, we are free to say yes or no, without pressure.

Now he just told me if we make a perfume.

I feel very respected, and that's great."

The plural that she suddenly incorporates into the conversation refers to her husband, the photographer Patrick Robyn, and her son, Victor Robyn, that blond-haired boy who closed the spring/summer 1998 parade, Corps Humain, hand in hand with the model Kirsten Owen, now a graphic designer.

“He is 33 years old.

There is no generation gap, he loves to work with us from time to time, ”concedes her mother.

Her husband is also employed in interior design tasks.

The new design of the emblematic store of the brand in Antwerp, reopened at the end of last year, is his.

There, by the way, are exhibited the prototypes of the furniture line —tables, chairs, sofas— that they have created together and that it is already possible to buy.

Also the ceramic and porcelain pieces that occupy the creativity of the designer.

“I spent three years learning, in Britain, France and Germany.

It has been like going back to school, starting from scratch.

I wanted to learn, to do something for myself again, and now it's my new career.

I have personally evolved and this is the result”, she says enthusiastically, before finishing sarcastically: “I am a Belgian designer, but, in addition to thinking, I also like to do”.

reopened at the end of last year, is yours.