FLANDERS DC 2024 *Quaint and the Quotidian

FLANDERS DC 2024
Antwerp's Fashion Legacy at Royal Academy

written Dennis Cappabianca

While the fashion world struggles with the constant search for new creative directors to boost sales and create increasingly commercial and sellable collections, the opposite happens in Antwerp.

Here, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts’ students amuse crowds by playing with shapes and volumes, transforming garments into true works of art. The commitment, artistry, and creativity of the students, together with the fashion show's scenography and choreography, made it once again an unforgettable experience for every guest.

GUILLAUME GOSSEN

RODRIQUEZ RODRIQUEZ

TIM WIRTH

Each year, Antwerp hosts its customary show of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, undoubtedly one of the most prestigious on the global stage. Expectations run very high as many creatives have studied and walked through the institute’s halls before reaching the pinnacle of success, like Martin Margiela, Dries Van Noten, Demna Gvasalia, Kris Van Assche, and Glen Martens—just a few of the alumni who started their careers here, confirming and reinforcing the institution's high reputation for excellence and innovation that it has maintained since 1663. All eyes are on the final year students, who have the chance to shine and showcase an entire collection to hundreds of attendees, including international press and a revered jury (also composed of former students like Jezabelle Cormio and Dilara Findikoglu this year). Avant-gardism and a knack for provocation have always characterized Belgian fashion, with many references to the '70s and '90s—decades known for social protests, gender equality, and extreme clothing.

MERT SERBEST

ROHAN KALE STEINMEYERI

YUJEI UEDA

credits for all images
©Catwalkpictures

header look credit
POMMIE DIERICK

The collections presented during the show were a triumph of creativity and sartorial mastery, where each designer brought a distinctive vision to the runway, showcasing a wide range of styles and techniques.

Old Threads, New Wonders *Fashion in Helsinki 2024

Fashion in Helsinki 2024
*Old Threads, New Wonders

written Chidozie Obasi

Something the contemporary luxury market said about the unnecessary pace of change in the industry got Finnish designers thinking about how to shape-shift from their customary minimal take into a more subversive appeal.

“There’s beauty in creating something timeless and seasonless, that you can wear on a wealth of occasions—cashmere, merino wool and cotton are all part of the Scandi equation—but the trick comes with making a dress a favourite piece with an elevated seam,” pondered ALMADA LABEL’s Alexa Dagmar and Linda Juhola. Just like many of their peers, that's where they started for their brand, which looks to elevate timeless classics (cue: knits) into a refreshing slew of smart essentials.

So why, one wonders, is their collection so insistent about a silhouette that was essentially a wear-anywhere knit? There were multi versions with a delicate belt, a satin style with romantic sleeves, and one with an elegant waistline. Granted, we're talking Scandi fashion, so there's a possibility that a knit suit might indeed be a favourite piece. But some of these pieces will have to work at becoming wardrobe staples. The most disconcerting feature was the neutrality of the palette used that was present across the toppers and had little-to-no newness in tonal range.

©Atlas Woo

©Atlas Woo

Fashion In Helsinki 2024
©Atlas Woo

But despite all manner of heaviness, the label has a solid, show-worthy ground that will most definitely work in their favour with retailers. Speaking of solid identities—and all the creative sensibilities this term harmonises—Fashion in Helsinki is one such example: as the chief platform for emerging talents in Finnish fashion, this season it showcased the country’s creativity teamed with the designers’ artistic practice through presentations and talks to local and global consumers.

Organised by Juni Communication, the event featured a collective runway show that comprised revered Scandi designers Sofia Ilmonen, ROLF EKROTH, HEDVIG, Jenny Hytönen and VAIN, together with a runway that championed students from Aalto University for the rise and rise of their remarkable talent. Both runways have had a fresh impact on the Finnish fashion scene, because change is very much at the core of their idea. And that's usually a good thing.

Fashion In Helsinki 2024
NAÌYTOÌS RUNWAY
©Kristian Presnal

©Kristian Presnal

©Kristian Presnal

This season, the runways relied heavily on two distinct visual resources: emotion and abstraction, detaching from the common threads of minimalism and focusing on an avant-garde aestheticism that imbued novelty and took it to the extreme. Unlike the brands we came across in the showroom tour (which had a more commercially-appetible vein, in tandem with current market needs), there was a newever edge that took the Finnish fashion industry by storm. A somewhat relaxed chaos, peculiarly present across the collection of Aalto’s students which have shown a shrewd identity not only in garment construction, but also in their respective ethical function. The myriad of upcycling techniques that were used in these sophomore collections were indeed worthy of note, because of the clever marriage of material and experimentation, which usher a new creative equation that looks to sustainability and functionality.

What’s more, the impressive cultural tapestry of Finland spans across its huge array of references that continue to deliver meticulous ideas from the country’s designers—an impressive symbol of growth that will herald a positive development for their businesses. Their winning ticket? “Not having to shout!” exclaims Finnish designer Sofia Ilmonen. “Because at times, it’s the simple gestures that make for the most compelling craft.”