Rue du Marché au Charbon 95 Kolenmarkt Brussels 1000 Belgium
ABOUT IREENE
Ireene is a belgian clothing brand founded by interior architect Marie Soufflet. Her
minimalist yet comfortable proposal is focused on a timeless style, a sustainable way of production and high quality materials. The design of the clothes, not tied to any temporary trends, is meant to be a possible answer to fast fashion, offering mostly unique and long lasting pieces for a daily casual elegance.
slowfashion
Using only high quality upcycled fabrics from Italy, our handmade collection is designed and manufactured in Brussels by a small and local network. The reduced series crafted for each season allows for a constant evolution and renewal throughout the year.
details do matter
The essential shape of our clothes is reinforced by the straight cut of the models based on the « less is more » idea. The apparent minimalism is highlighted by ribbons, invisible openings or pockets and outside stitching. These subtle details invite us to understand the creative process in a surprising way.
genderfluid
We want to distance ourselves from the classic gendered fashion by designing mostly unisex clothing. We ditched traditional clichés in favor of a playful and mixed collection, offering anyone to create their own identity.
cité du sureau 17 Brussels 1000 Belgium
Sofie D’Hoore
Sofie D’HooreBoulevard Barthélémy 11 Brussels 1000 Belgium
Kristof Buntinx
Kristof BuntinxBrussels designer Kristof Buntinx has already created a furore with his God Save the Queens shirts and gained international fame with a boxer short collection with which he targeted Russian anti-gay laws.
Protest and irony are therefore no strangers to Buntinx, but he also dresses Belgian celebrities in little bespoke gems just as much as he has children photographed as superstars. The exiled Sint-Truiden native has been working under his own label for more than a decade. An official introduction is called for!
Kristof Buntinx was born on 10 September 1975 in the Limburg town of Sint-Truiden. He quickly showed an interest in fashion and design and proceeded to draw from a model and attended sewing and pattern design classes. Buntinx completed internships with several major fashion labels such as Levis jeans and the Amsterdam fashion duo Viktor & Rolf.
His own image language
After his initial designs for the Cinderella Shop in Antwerp he sank his teeth into (and left his fingerprints on) a series of coffee mugs for Godiva. Soon Buntinx would tackle hats, a trick he was able to repeat in 2012 for Royal Ascot.
Shortly thereafter, the Pain clothing line followed, with its own photo series in collaboration with Stijn Vanorbeek. Still inspired by the world of image creation, Buntinx worked with filmmaker Ilke De Vries, this time to explore moving images. The film Vision was the result, in which the designer searched his own conscience by referring to a personal crisis.
Artist’s blood
Between 2008 and 2010 Buntinx focused on hats and a full line of accessories.
Triggered by his own life and personal developments, language associations and puns took up an increasingly important place in his work. Like any true-blue artist, Buntinx also creates from an inner drive. “I have always been crazy about fashion, but designing also proved to be beneficial for my mental health. It is my “therapy with a capital T,” the designer states.
Once Buntinx found his way, an increasing number of opportunities came up: in 2011 the Toga 125 Fashion Awards and a fashion show in which his design Ceci n’est pas un Advocaat shone. That same year Modo Brussels, the MIAT in Ghent and Hong Kong Design week also followed. A prominent fashion watcher from the UK even called Buntinx the most eccentric fashion designer of the Modo Brussels event.
The future is now!
Loved by the international fashion blog scene, Kristof Buntinx does not shun controversy. For example, he came up with a series of socially committed designs such as his answer to the Antwerp rainbow controversy, the God Save the Queens T-shirt’, his Russian boxer shorts, which even reached the American media and the crown jewels for King Philip.
During the last festive period Buntinx surprised friend and foe with a range of crisis jewellery, which questions material luxury. The Christmas dresses designed by Buntinx for Dana Winners’ Christmas tour and for Marlène de Wouters, the presenter at the Queen Elisabeth competition earlier in 2013, were, on the other hand, downright luxurious.
Kristof Buntinx certainly aims to let his designs speak for themselves in 2015.
Stay tuned!
Christian Wijnants
Christian WijnantsChristian Wijnants is an Antwerp-based fashion designer.
Born in Brussels, Christian moved to Antwerp in 1996 to study fashion design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. His graduate collection won the Dries Van Noten Award for best collection in 2000. After graduation, Christian presented his collection at the prestigious Festival d’Hyères, where it was awarded the Grand Prix and picked up by stores including Colette (Paris), Pineal Eye (London), and Via Bus Stop (Tokyo). After working with Van Noten in Antwerp and Angelo Tarlazzi in Paris, Christian launched his eponymous label in 2003.
Christian Wijnants presents his collections in Paris during Paris Fashion Week and is sold at boutiques and department stores worldwide including Barneys, Tomorrowland and Opening Ceremony.
Rich, layered graphics and fresh colors translated into eloquent knitwear offer a play of authenticity and luxury that has won him the 2013 International Woolmark Prize, the 2006 ANDAM Award, and the 2005 Swiss Textiles Award. Christian Wijnants is in collaboration with Swarovski for Spring-Summer 2016 and Autumn- Winter 2016 and has been nominated for Swarovski Collective Prize for Innovation.
Wijnants opened his first flagship store in Antwerp in September 2015.
HEAD OFFICE 215 Italiëlei bus 21 Antwerpen 2000 Belgium
36 Steenhouwersvest Antwerp 2000 Belgium
Cycleur de Luxe
Cycleur de LuxeBRAND INFO
CYCLEUR de LUXE is a lifestyle brand with a wide range of women, men and kids shoes and a brand new women and men textile collection. The story of CYCLEUR de LUXE starts with the world of cycling. We get our trends and the inspiration for our trends from the Belgian cycling culture.
We offer a diverse collection of women’s, men’s and kids trainers. The collection runs from signature to innovative footwear. CYCLEUR de LUXE tries to combine affordable, comfortable, innovative and trendy shoes. The stylish footwear is made of sturdy and high-quality leather, and makes use of colors that ensure a timeless design.
CYCLEUR de LUXE also offers a range of ecological men’s shoes. With awareness for people and the environment, CYCLEUR de LUXE has developed a sustainable shoe line, the RE>CYCLEUR line. The shoes are made of recycled materials and chrome free leather.
After years of preparation and months of hard work, our first CYCLEUR de LUXE apparel collection for men and women is finally on the market! It is a dream to style people from head to toe and this is the next step to accomplish this goal.
The sneaker and textile collections are offered online or in over 450 dealer locations. For a store nearby, check our store locator.
Antoon Catriestraat 39C Drongen 9031 Belgium
Dries Van Noten
Dries Van NotenBiography
Born in Antwerp in 1958, Dries Van Noten is the third generation in a family of tailors. At the age of 18, Dries entered the fashion design course of Antwerp’s Royal Academy. On graduating, he began to freelance as a consultant designer before starting his own collection of menswear in 1986. Since its beginnings Dries Van Noten has presented collections for women and men for Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter each year. He
celebrated his 50th fashion show in 2004 and 100th fashion show in 2017.
In June 2008, the Council of Fashion Designers of America honoured Dries Van Noten with its International
Designer of the Year Award. 2014 began with the grand opening of Dries Van Noten, “Inspirations”, a first
ever exhibition featuring his designs and influences at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Another
configuration of the exhibit moved to Antwerp in 2015. In July France decorated Dries Van Noten with the
honour of ‘Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.’ In October 2016, Dries Van Noten wins the Culture
Award from The Province of Antwerp for his contribution to Culture.
In June 2018 Puig entered the capital structure of Dries Van Noten as majority owner. The designer remains, over the long term, a significant minority shareholder and continues his role as chief creative officer and chairman of the board.
2019 saw Mr Van Noten collaborate with world renowned fashion designer Mr Christian Lacroix on his
collection for Women, Spring/Summer 2020. In June 2020, and September 2021, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) has again nominated Dries Van Noten for its International Designer of the Year Award.
Q&A with dries van noten
When did you know that designing clothes was your path & passion?
There was a certain logic to my choice as my family had been involved in fashion and the garment business for generations. My father created one of Belgium’s most innovative retailers of ‘Pret-a-Porter’ and my grandfather was a tailor. I inherited my love of garment making, its traditions and rituals, from these men and my mother. Family immersed me in the craft and skill of fabrics, impassioned me with the power of flair and style for women and men that fired my quest to explore and question the subjectivity of “beauty” and the role it would play in my life. My family was very supportive and encouraged me to continue its fashion tradition. I regularly accompanied my parents to Paris and Milan on their many buying trips for collections. Though they had imagined I might take over the retail business, that I was passionate to become a fashion designer came as a great surprise to them.
What is your design signature?
I see a garment as a singular item of excellence that is part of a larger story told, firstly, within a designer’s vision for a collection and ultimately as part of the final wearer’s expression of their style through their wardrobe. My joy is to create a garment that fuses and balances beauty, craft and function, a garment that can perform well and continue in time to become part of life’s story. I enjoy juggling with colours, textures and light in a way that evokes rather than provokes.
Where do you come up with your best ideas?
The spark of inspiration for the narrative a collection rarely ever comes in the same way. The initial idea can sometimes come quickly and remain constant throughout the design process… occur on a walk in my garden, encountering a painting or the life and work of an artist. It can be something rarefied or ordinary, for example, suddenly looking at something that has surrounded me every day and seeing it in a different way that inspires. It can be a photograph in a book or a magazine, a re-read passage in a loved book, a conversation with friends or my design team or a piece of music. For other collections the story is more of a journey, deliberate, considered, and evolves through time and the design process. Anything can be that spark that ignites the creative process. What I have learned is that one recognises the spark when it happens, it may not be too planned, be ‘of its time’ and is more emotional than cerebral.
Is there a difference between style and fashion?
Of course, style comes from within..
What colour or fabric would you never use?
None actually! Often, challenging myself to work with colours, fabrics, or forms that I have disliked and bringing them into a collection can be an important aspect of the creative process.
What is beauty?
The idea of beauty is supremely subjective and very personal. Time also plays a role when our view on what is beautiful to us evolves. A flower, a building or a garment can be a thing of wonder for one while leaving another completely indifferent. What was beautiful to us even recently may be ugly today. Luckily, all designers have their own eye on and language of beauty.
What is ugliness?
It resonates in the same way as beauty for me. It is exciting when the formerly ugly becomes beautiful.
Timeline
- 1981 Dries Van Noten graduates from Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp
- 1986 Dries Van Noten started his first own collection of menswear after working as a freelance consultant designer
- 1989 Flagship store opens in Antwerp, Belgium
- 2004 50th Show
- 2007 Paris store opens at Quai Malaquais, Paris France
- 2008 Dries Van Noten wins Internation Designer of the year at CFDA awards./ Dries Van Noten Sacred “Royal Designer for Industry” from the RSA Trustee Board in London
- 2009 Flagship store opens in Aoyama, Tokyo, Japan/ Stores opens for the men at Quai Malaquais, Paris, France
Dries Van Noten Induction to The “Galerie Des Eminents” By The Flemish Chamber Of Commerce (Voka)
Dries van Noten is gifted a gold medal by The Flemish Royal Academy of Belgium
Dries Van Noten Is Honored With the “Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion” By the Couture Council of the Museum at Fit In New York - 2010 Dries Van Noten Is Invited To Preside Over the 25th Edition of the “Festival International De Mode et De Photographie” of Hyres, France
- 2013 Olfactory portrait by Frederic Malle with The Nose Bruno Jonanovic
- 2014 xhibition at The Musée Des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, France
A book that accompanied his exhibition at Musée des arts Décoratifs in Paris, France - 2015 Dries Van Noten is decorated by Jack Lang of the medal
Opening of Dries Van Noten Osaka - 2016 Wins Culture Award from The Province of Antwerp
- 2017 An intimate portrait into the life, mind and creative heart the designer
A book in two volumes that depicts and documents his first 100 collection and Fashion shows
In recognition of his career as fashion designer and his contribution to the Cultural life of his native land - 2018 DVN enters in partnership with Puig as Major Stakeholders
- 2019 Collaboration with Mr Christian Lacroix
- 2020 Nominated by The CFDA for International Designer of The Year Award
Stores opens in Shanghai, China
Flagship stores opens in Los Angeles, USA the first Dries Van Noten store in the Unites States of America
Godefriduskaai 36 Antwerpen 2000 Belgium
BIO
LĒO is a Belgium-based brand that was established in 2016 by artistic director Leonneke Derksen (Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, Belgium) and founder Matthias Medaer.
LĒO was created in Paris, while gaining experience at fashion houses like Balenciaga and Carven.
This period was the base on which the vision of the brand was born, as the team got in touch and ultimately became part of a new generation of young designers.
Moving LĒO to the center of Europe (Brussels, Belgium) was a natural outcome of the need for full dedication to the brand and focus on the quality of it’s product, which is produced exclusively in Europe.
VISION
LĒO embodies the energy between luxury, avant-garde and street wear.
Experience over time formed a brand-specific set of values which consist of dedication to self-expression, nostalgia and the desire to push boundaries and evoke excitement.
Inspiration comes from various worlds and aesthetics and combines eras, movements, atmospheres and subcultures, regardless of codes.
Ideas are found in the space between external and internal experience and research is extracted from unique experiences in between quotidien performances and memorable rare involvements.
The brand displays the mind of different generations and the dualities that lie within them.
Attitude, authenticity and honesty are the essence of the LĒO customer.
PRODUCT
At the core of all reflections lays a product which represents a balance of quality and originality.
These products are carfully placed in worlds in which the brand expresses an original take on ‘reality’ and its movements.
LĒO garments oppose seriousness with spontaneity and question common rules with creativity and curiousness.
Wearing LĒO implements appreciation for sophistication and uniqueness. Distinguished shapes turn through worked-out bleaching and dying technics into one of a kind garments for a one of a kind wearer.
LĒO embraces the awkwardness and accentuates it’s inherent potential for innovation which can be recognised in the choice of material and reccurent elements like metal details.
Each collection is a mix of unexpected and iconic elements with a touch of ‘‘no rule“ humor.
This fuse contains on one side traditional tailored or classic technical elements that breathe rationality and on the other side the element of surprise, instinct and emotion.
21-25, Rue Gheude Brussels 1070 Belgium
Work philosophy
After studies in graphic art, I graduated in fashion design from the Francisco Ferrer School (Brussels). I then completed my knowledge within the Federation of Master-tailors of France (Paris). Since 2014, I have been increasing my professional experiences, in Belgium or internationally, with big names like Scabal, Natan or on a personal basis in my own workshop.
Passion in the blood
My grandmother was a seamstress and in a sewing workshop; my mother was a sewing teacher for 25 years. My interest in the profession of tailor came later. It was the artisan side that attracted me then. It’s a rope that I have added to the family tradition. The specificities of his work Both an artisanal tailor and a trained stylist, I strive to blend harmoniously the traditional work of the artisan tailor with current sewing techniques.
Rue de la Ferme Romaine 11 Andenne 5300 Belgium
Hemptees is a slow fashion brand with timeless high quality hemp clothing. Inspired by a slow lifestyle and a big heart for our oceans. We believe that every wildflower should feel free and comfortable in textiles that are good for the planet and good for people.
Our Story
Our little wildflower was born into an independent family. Her mother instilled in her a passion for art, textiles and natural materials. Her father travels (still does) around with his surf gear to catch the best wave. In 1982, he co-founded a textile distributor for sports brands. With this breeding ground, our little wildflower spread her seeds and Hemptees was born.
Lou De Buck, owner and founder of Hemptees, brings a consiously curated collection of her favorite versatile plant of all time, hemp. She draws her inspiration from music, cinema, travel and nature. She offers a mix of urban and coastal influences with a nod to modern nostalgia. Intuition and authenticity are always at the core of Hemptees aesthetic.
Hemptees appeals to fun-loving, free spirited and like-minded individuals and offers a range of clothing, home textiles and accessories with a focus on ethical, handmade and sustainable practices.
Sometimes you just need that good durable favorite and that’s when slow fashion is a great option. We want to do our part by offering sustainable clothing made from 100% hemp. An alternative textile that pollutes as little as possible and is better for people with sensitive skin.
My Ecological Lifestyle
My Ecological Lifestyle
The Power of Slow
Lou is excited about what the future holds and knows that this is just the beginning of Hemptees’ story.
Over the years, we have become acutely aware of how big our culture of waste is and how it has continued to grow. We live in a time where sustainability, equality and freedom are common themes. As a product-based brand, we are aware of more stuff’s impact on the environment, which is why we promote secondhand first and slow fashion second.
Affordable good basics for everyone is our driving force without compromising on quality and longevity.
Fashion is one of the biggest polluting industries, so we try to minimize our waste while providing you with beautiful timeless eco-friendly basics that you will cherish for years to come!