In the early 1980s, in the Belgian city of Antwerp, a group of fashion students graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. By the mid-1980s, partly thanks to an event in London in 1986, they became known as the Antwerp Six. Now, an exhibition at the MoMu in their hometown celebrates the 40-year anniversary of that appearance on the London fashion scene.
In fact, Marina Yee, Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Bikkembergs and Dirk Van Saene were united more by chronology than style. Bikkembergs aimed for a hyper-masculinity; Demeulemeester for a woman who was cool and feminine enough to wear masculine clothes; Van Beirendonck for loud, clubby menswear.
“The name is a paradox. They never functioned as a collective,” says Kaat Debo, MoMu’s director. “Some of them still describe that label as a blessing and a curse. But they were friends.” The show covers a short period from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s when they were forging their identities. “They represent a dream of independence and creative freedom,” Debo says, “and an ecosystem that included photographers, stylists, graphic designers. There was a collaborative energy that pushed things forwards. Then, each of them went on to build very different careers.” Van Bierendonck advised both U2 and Erasure on various tours, and ended up running the fashion department at the academy from 2007 until 2022.
The show is also a homage to Marina Yee, who died late last year, aged 67. “We worked very closely with her and were in contact daily before her death,” says Geert Bruloot, who co-curated the show with Kaat Debo. “Her presence in the exhibition reflects exactly how she wanted it to be.”
- The Antwerp Six, MoMu, Antwerp, until 17 January 2027
