BELGIAN ACCENT: Forty years after the “Antwerp Six” — as Belgian designers Marina Yee, Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Bikkembergs and Dirk Van Saene were collectively dubbed — fashion talent continues to bloom in their hometown.
That’s what the Antwerp Fashion Festival aims to highlight in its first edition, which will run from June 4 to 7 with a city-wide program.
Organized by Flanders District of Creativity and the City of Antwerp, in collaboration with the MoMu fashion museum and with the support of EventFlanders, the four-day event “will serve as an opportunity to celebrate the current and future generations of Belgian talent, not existing in isolation but intrinsically connected to art, curation, architecture, craft and travel,” according to a statement announcing the program.
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“Antwerp remains a breeding ground for exceptional fashion talent,” said Leen Gysen, chief executive officer of the Visit Flanders tourism board, the parent organization of EventFlanders.
“What makes this new generation of designers so special is their ability to effortlessly combine craftsmanship, innovation and social relevance,” she continued. “With [the festival], we are not only giving them a platform, but also the international recognition they deserve.”
For the occasion, Van Beirendonck is eschewing his usual Paris Fashion Week spot during the men’s shows to stage “40 Years of Dreaming the World Awake,” an anniversary show slated for June 4.
The veteran designer will also be exhibiting at the Sofie Van de Velde Gallery and he is of course part of “The Antwerp Six” exhibition, which has now been extended until January.
Meanwhile, the next generation is already chomping at the bit to get their turn, with the annual fashion show from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, featuring the collections of students in its bachelor’s and master’s degree programs.
The program will also include the fall 2026 show of Christian Wijnants, who unveiled the collection in showroom appointments during Paris Fashion Week; an immersive installation by Royal Academy creative director Brandon Wen, and presentations by brands including Façon Jacmin and Essentiel Antwerp.
Other exhibitions include “KMSKA x Young Fashion Designers,” running until Nov. 8 and featuring ten alumni of the Royal Academy’s fashion department interacting with the KMSKA’s permanent collection in a curation by designer Elke Hoste.
Meanwhile, the city will be dotted with a clutch of installations from the likes of Jan-Jan Van Essche, Julie Kegels, Florentina Leitner and Bernadette, to name but a few of the 28 brands currently scheduled to take part in the four-day festival.
There will be the 2026 edition of Fashion Talks, an annual cycle of conferences running since 2013 that has seen a number of prominent Belgian creatives on stage, including Van Noten, Raf Simons, Glenn Martens and Meryll Rogge.
The event, along with the exhibition on the Antwerp Six at MoMu, was deemed “a flagship Flemish event” by the Flemish government in November.
“The success of this story rests on three pillars: the renowned fashion academy, the leading fashion museum and, above all, the innovative power of our designers and entrepreneurs,” declared Koen Kennis, alderman for the city of Antwerp.
“Fashion is not just a sector here: it is at once aesthetics, economy and identity. Thanks to this dynamism, Antwerp is known worldwide as a breeding ground for talent and innovation,” he continued. “And we give that talent a financial boost for the Antwerp.Fashion Festival and we also ensure that that talent is visible in Antwerp’s shopping streets.”