50/50. Julie Kegels AW24

April 29, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

I wrote about Julie Kegels back in 2021 when the Belgian designer released her masters collection titled “Supper Club“. Now, the The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp graduate is back with her first collection under her eponymous label, which she presented during Paris Fashion Week in the beginning of spring. “50/50” is a proper introduction of Kegel’s talent to the fashion world, as it reflects her aesthetic and her brand’s off-kilter style. Blending contemporary elegance with a playful flair, the ready-to-wear debut “means business up front and party in the back“, as Julie sums it up. Above-the-knee granny socks paired with a provocatively translucent back; wool skirts dancing with shortened denim rears; serious pinstripes mingling with lively floral motifs. Julie’s creative process revolves around fully embracing fashion’s transformative power to craft her unique universe. In this spirit, accessories – jewelry, bags and shoes – harmonize elements from the past and present. The designer skillfully weaves romantic, old-world lace patterns into the collection using the last thermoforming techniques, resulting in contemporary, wearable masterpieces. Enhanced by a blend of quirky preppy cuts, embossed florals, and trompe l’oeil knitwear, the collection breathes a new life into timeless designs and solidifies Kegels as a rising star in the fashion realm.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Julie Kegels’ Supper Club

August 2, 2021April 29, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

“I will always be me,” Belgian fashion designer Julie Kegels told 1 Granary. Ever since primary school, she dreamt of joining the fashion department at The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp – the city where she was born and raised. The stars aligned, and we’ve got an exciting, emerging fashion designer coming from the famously off-beat, “fifth” fashion capital. Her unconventional approach towards silhouettes, and ability to fuse the media of fashion and art, are distinct in her first, proper collection. The main inspiration from Kegels’s Masters Collection is “The Dinner Party“, the installation by Judy Chicago from 1979, in which the feminist artist set a gigantic, triangular table for 39 women from across history. Each place setting was dedicated to a mythical or world-famous woman that played an essential role in the history of female rights. For every woman, she designed a custom place setting inspired by the story of their life.

For her collection, Kegels focused on the twelve of these settings. You can wear each of the silhouettes, but you can lay them on a table for decoration purposes as well. The whole concept was an excellent opportunity to experiment with textiles. “I tried to push the boundaries and create fabrics with a soul like embroidery, hand knits, playful drapes and materials with structure. I vacuumed old lace with a plastic fabric as this created depth in the shape of laceflowers. By creating new fabrics, I discovered that making an old fabric look modern is what I genuinely loved doing during the process of this collection“. The designer continues: “Dressing up for a dinner party has always been a magical experience for me. My line-up is based on a picture of a woman standing in front of the mirror holding a dress. Therefore, every piece in my collection has a different front and back. With these primary elements in mind, I developed the concept.” The final effect is both futuristic and retro; familiar, yet totally unknown. The look-book, photographed by Anton Fayle and art directed by Studio M, transports you to the unique world of Kegels, where nothing is as it seems. Keep Kegels’ work on your radar – and don’t forget to check out her Instagram!

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Quinten Mestdagh

August 2, 2017August 2, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

I know I wrote that before, but Instagram really is a treasure chest of creatives who deserve the spotlight. A casual morning scroll-down-of-my-feed later and here I’m with Quinten Mestdagh‘s powerful collection, which has been presented during the last fashion show of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. The designer is a third-year graduate of the school, which breeded the famous Antwerp Six, and already makes a unique mark on the Belgian fashion scene. Quinten’s voluminous garments electrify the viewer with their texture, colour and imagery. Speaking of the last, its the designer’s visible strenght in ‘Dodge This’ collection. “I have always been attracted by highly stylized images in fashion magazines and advertisements. Last summer, I started collecting pictures in the archive of the MoMu library in Antwerp. With those images, I made collages and paper 3D experiments to create tension and roughness, contrasting with the beauty found in fashion photography. I then approached the garments as abstract panels for the images,” Quinten told ASVOF. With faces of fashion models and icons like Nico, Karen Elson or Princess Elizabeth of Toro as prints, the designer emphasizes and embraces extreme femininity in form of modern-day ball gowns and statuesque skirts. Just wow.