Ah, Paris! The city of romance and fashion. The place where woman from all over the world flock to when they have a lot of extra cash to spend. They boutique hop from Chanel, to Christian Dior and end up at Hermes on the Faubourg. However, fashionable and knowledgeable ladies from Paris, escape the French capital to shop in Antwerp. Antwerp's fashion district is small enough to fit in Paris' Marais, yet condensed enough to hold enough wonders to attract international attention from fashionistas.
Antwerp Fashion Designers
Antwerp stole the fashion lime with a handful of designers who took the London Fashion Fair by storm during the late 80s. They are know as the "Antwerp Six," six designers graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp: Martina Yee, Dirk Van Saene, Walter Van Bierendonck, Dries van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester and Dirk Bikkembergs. While some of them are more obscure names, others are settled international powerhouses. On top of having his main Antwerp store, Dries van Noten has a regular ready-to-wear collection at Barney's in New York and is very popular amongst high society in Asia. Ann Demeulemeester has a store of epic proportions in Antwerp. It is decked in white and showcases her unaffordable-to-the-public collection.
Since the 80s, Antwerp has produced many new designers with radicalist visions of fashion. New boutiques blossom in the center of Antwerp, with avant-garde garments for half the price of their already established counterparts.
Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp
The reason designers graduating from Antwerp's fine arts academy hit almost instant fame is because of the university's notorious high standards. It welcomes a first year class of some hundred students in the first year, slices that number in half by the second, then this number in half again by the third year, and by the fourth year, only about eight of them graduate. Since the 80s, the program has attracted young designers from all over the world. Each student, no matter from where, must learn the local language, Flemish, before entering the program. Having studied at the Royal Academy of Fine arts, even when one doesn't finish his or her studies, is a caché in and of itself. Meryll Rogge, a third year student was recruited for an internship at Marc Jacobs. When her internship was over, she was offered a job without even having to graduate.
Shopping and Sightseeing
For those who don't have the steep pockets to acquire fine Antwerp design, the city center boasts a fashion museum, the MoMU that features new exhibitions every fashion season.
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