Ann Demeulemeester - Designer

[Scott]

melisende,you make such a great point. Integrity. I think that's what has been so prolific about all Belgians,their sense of humanity. I remember Ann saying one time that she considers her work as anonymous gifts to people....

 

[gallianoke]

her store in antwerp is great! but i'm not a fan of ann

 

[Pastry]

a very good article...
two women that i respect very much...cathy horyn's writing, and ann d's design.

 

[softgrey]

softie- I feel like goth has been brought into a different context in high end fashion these days. I think it refers to a sophisticated dark romanticism rather than strictly the macabre. It now brings imagery of Byrant writing poetry by candlelight instead of medievel synthesizer music played by a man in pale make up and all black hot topic. And that new take on goth is something that can be appreciated across many backgrounds. With an emergence of designers like Ricardo Tisci and a rise in popularity with with Ann D. and Rick Owens it seems goth is in. But it's certianly not the kind that calls for blasting Bauhaus while you thumb through the Necronomicon.

Gothic architecture characteristically reached for the heavens, Ann's clothes bring it down to earth and much more delightful way.

definitely ...
if you check our neogoth thread in trendspotting...
you'll see many examples of this...and a great discussion on this topic...
poetry, literary influences, architecture...etc...

but it appears to have transcended trends and taken a deeper hold on the subtext of fashion and on peoples' perceptions...
a LOT of people who wouldn't even THINK of wearing this kind of stuff are now regularly buying rick owens and ann demeulemeester...


it makes me sort of uncomfortable in a way......
the way that it made me uncomfortable when lots of people started wearing skulls all over everything because they were 'cute'...
eek!...

will be watching closely to see how long this goes on...
i find it really interesting...

 

[Mr. Incog-Nico]

Thank you so much for this article DosViolines!

I am such an admirer of Belgium design, and the whole Antwerp fashion movement.
Cathy Horyn has been doing an amazing job documenting these influential designers who work outside of the large fashion houses and away from the medial limelight.

She wrote an amazing piece on Raf Simons last year, basically calling him the most influential menswear designer working today.

I appreciate this thread!!!!

 

[kus]

i think she should get out more
let her hair down.

i dont know whether the birds she had in her boutique here
escaped or got fired
but i'd love to interview one of them.
about life in boutique, i mean.

 

[heykitten]

Thank you so much for this article DosViolines!

I am such an admirer of Belgium design, and the whole Antwerp fashion movement.
Cathy Horyn has been doing an amazing job documenting these influential designers who work outside of the large fashion houses and away from the medial limelight.

She wrote an amazing piece on Raf Simons last year, basically calling him the most influential menswear designer working today.

I appreciate this thread!!!!

i must check her out then! her aesthetic philosophy influence my own art a lot. particulary this quote:

I imagine an extravagent women dressed in white sick, she walks into an atelier. She doesn't care about the paint splashing all over her clothes. She doesn't think her outfit is destroyed; on the contrary, she feels her clothes have been embellished with emotion.

 

[droogist]

i think she should get out more
let her hair down.

I agree, she takes herself rather too seriously imo.

Scott, I remember that quote! Tbh I thought it was a bit ridiculous; when people are shelling out exorbitant amounts of money for clothes that have your name printed on them, the words "anonymous" and "gift" hardly apply, do they.

 

[nqth]

^ Absolutely. I am so surprised when I read about it.

Beside, she bought the house even before she started. So she must have quite a bit of money back then.

Anyway I like the clothes she is doing:-) They own a quiet beauty. Not new and exciting (like Comme), but almost peaceful.

 

[melt977]

^ The thing is, I'd like her to let others praise the soul of her work (which is prevailing, imo) and not compare the way she works to the way other houses do... I believe her when she says that she doesn't care what the others do, but she didn't have to stress it out, because she seems a bit, how should I put this, full of herself rather than proud and confident (expecting the rage of Faust to fall upon me now)...

On the other hand, this could be due to the way that Cathy Horyn has used her words in the specific context... (I have to say that I'm not familiar with her work as a journalist)

 

[Angie C]

Great article, I can do nothing but admire her for her attitude towards what she does.

I hate when people suddenly say, ‘And now we are going to do the glamorous woman, now we’re going to do the strong woman,’’’ she says, studying me. ‘‘Sorry, I am a strong woman. And I go for it. I don’t have to play this game.’’

I love that.

But the woman the article describe strikes me very much as the picture the media wants to have of her... the mysterious woman in her Corbusier house... opening a bottle of wine.... "interested in only her world". Noone is that simple. And it does not really correspond with the woman I use to see in the magazine store on Melkmarkt flipping through glossies with music blaring through her headphones while chewing fruit flavoured gum.

 

[Scott]

I agree, she takes herself rather too seriously imo.

Scott, I remember that quote! Tbh I thought it was a bit ridiculous; when people are shelling out exorbitant amounts of money for clothes that have your name printed on them, the words "anonymous" and "gift" hardly apply, do they.

Well,what I thought she was implying was that she makes her clothes for those anonymous people in the world...those with the real personalities and style. Those people that truly can appreciate what she does. Unless I read too much into it But knowing her own convictions and principles I assumed that would be the implication.

As for being so serious...kus,I agree as well. I think that's one of the reasons my taste evolved...I just got bored with all the seriousness. It's okay to take fashion seriously as a form of expression but don't take yourself too seriously,indeed.

 

[nqth]

Angie C:-) exactly.

It sounds quite like "celebrity designer" don't you think. It is cool that they write about designers who really make interesting fashion. But the "she eats this and that", "she lives like this and that", but nothing like "she cuts this because that"... is quite, hmm.:-)

 

[melt977]

And it does not really correspond with the woman I use to see in the magazine store on Melkmarkt flipping through glossies with music blaring through her headphones while chewing fruit flavoured gum.

This is the picture I had of her in my mind... until this article... which I am sceptical about...

 

[pookie]

Anns clothes rock so much...
but i think she getting a little to much publicity from trashy whores like lindsay hohan and Fergie PIss her pants....
i almost threw up when i saw them wearing anns clothes...No no Good!!

 

[softgrey]

just jumping on the 'don't take yourself or fashion too seriously' bandwagon...




*

 

[MUXU]

almost reminds me of the protagonist from 'dance dance dance' by haruki murakami

i love her house. strange because i dislike buildings with very little windows
but something about the way it's constructed...

edit: she has huge eyes...wow

 

[MUXU]

and yes...im excited for the fragrance she's working on. i curious to know how it will smell like.

 

[kus]

ann seasonal message.

wow. this went all wrong, but ok.

 

[kus]

sorry, credit goes prettypretty.be.
also i may be in wrong thread again.
long live me.