Antwerp Six

The Antwerp Six are a group of fashion designers who trained at Antwerp's Royal Academy of Fine Arts between 1980–1981 under Linda Loppa.^[1] The press began referring to them as a group beginning in about 1990 after the group in 1986 drove in a van from Belgium to present at a London tradeshow and unexpectedly made an impression.^[2]

Members

• Walter Van Beirendonck
• Ann Demeulemeester
• Dries Van Noten
• Dirk Van Saene
• Dirk Bikkembergs
• Marina Yee

History

The fashion collective presented a distinct, radical vision for fashion during the 1980s that established Antwerp as a notable location for fashion design. The breakthrough occurred in 1986 as the group rented a truck and set out for the London Fashion Week with their collections. The reporters couldn't pronounce their names so began collectively referring to them as the Antwerp Six.^[2]

Martin Margiela, another Belgian contemporary, was not actually part of the group that showed in London, although he is often mistakenly described as one of the Antwerp Six because he also emerged from the Antwerp scene immediately before the "Antwerp six" came to being. He subsequently moved to Paris, initially working for Jean Paul Gaultier and then opening his own label.