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LRNCE is a Marrakesh based lifestyle brand focusing on interior decoration and accessories.
It was founded in 2013 by Belgian sun chaser Laurence Leenaert, who revises materials’ purpose and spontaneously combines elements to create uniquely designed pieces.
By sourcing its production in Morocco, LRNCE captures the essence of craftsmanship and stays close to the creating process of its carefully handmade products.
Marrakech Marocco
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Les Soeurs, the holy triangle. Or 3 sisters with a full time passion for fashion and jewellery, who collect the latest fashion musthaves for you!
In 2011, Belgian fashion-girls Jules, Kay & Clio baptised their label ‘Les Soeurs’. Die hard fashionista’s they are, their mission for that unique bracelet, ring, necklace or handbag is endless. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do: they gathered in a journey to bring together the most beautiful gemstones, natural leathers and precious metals. The outcome is an exclusive jewellery and accessory collection with a very personal touch, like loads of sister love, created on Belgian territory.
Industrieweg 100A Tessenderlo 3980 Belgium
Tim Van Steenbergen
Tim Van SteenbergenInfo
About
Tim Van Steenbergen
Tim Van Steenbergen graduated Magna cum Laude at the Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts (fashion department, textile creation and theatre costume). Subsequently he took classes in drapery and couture techniques and worked as assistant of Olivier Theyskens.
His first collection was launched in 2001 in Paris and in the same year he set up his company Mitzlavv bvba.
Meanwhile he’s up to his twenty third collection/fashion show and the label Tim Van Steenbergen is being sold in the best designer shops all over the world. His style evolves into a refined pureness and female elegance. He is a master of contemporary drapery and every detail, high quality standards, tradition and craftsmanship are being cared for.
Tim designs the costumes for international movie, theatre, dance and opera creations as for Anne Teresa de Keersmaecker, Guy Cassiers and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.
Between 2010 and 2013 Tim Van Steenbergen is creating the costumes for Richard Wagner’s opera cycle ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen’, Teatro alla Scala in Milan and the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin.
Nowadays Tim Van Steenbergen is increasingly evolving into a creative lab.
Recent developments thereof are ‘Metronome’, a first light design for Delta Light, an interior fabrics collection in collaboration with Aristide and total interior concepts Tim Van Steenbergen with Boa Interior.
Philosophy
The challenge in my work is the search for authenticity and artisanship in fashion.
The difference between confection and prêt-à-porter or couture is to be found in how it is made.
Handwork, quality of fabric, building a piece layer by layer, differentiates my work from confection.
I’m in search of old values in a new world.
The motivation in my work is to transfer craftsmanship and the old values into different and modern designs.
Due to my belief in artisanship, every garment is created by hand on the dummy to develop its characteristic shape.
These traditional construction process and unique draping techniques guarantee a high appreciated quality and an exclusive collection.
Studio Tim Van Steenbergen
The studio of Tim Van Steenbergen is located in a 19th century mansion close to the historical site of the Antwerp military hospital. An eclectic interior were fashion meets art, historical elements are confronted with design and vintage furniture.
The studio Tim Van Steenbergen is the optimal place to realize his ideas, situated in the pocketsize metropolis Antwerp. This refreshing cosmopolitan owes its reputation to the mighty part, the world diamond centre and its trendsetting vision of fashion.
This welcoming multicultural city-on-the-river the Scheld, is an intelligent, complex, fascinating and surprising habitat with a magnificent contemporary architecture, opera and theatre, monuments and artworks as well as its historical medieval centre.
The home of the Flemish Baroque master Rubens.
The Red Star line company set off its ships on the transatlantic voyage with millions of emigrants who set out for a new life in the States and Canada.
Nowadays Antwerp is one of the fastest growing cultural cruise destinations in Europe.
“Due to its excellent acces, it pushes you to travel the world looking for new impressions and personal experiences.”
“After all it is an attractive place to come home from where you can work independently and with an open minded view on the rest of the world.”
Creations
- ‘Hanjo’, opera, Festival Lyrique d’Aix-en-Provence / the Monnaie Brussels
- ‘Hersenschimmen’, theater , Ro Theater Rotterdam
- ‘d’Un Soir un Jour’ and ‘Steve Reich Evening’, dance, Rosas / the Monnaie Brussels
- ‘Triptych of Power; ‘Mefisto’, ‘Wolfskers’ and ‘Atropa’, theater, Toneelhuis Antwerp / Festival d’Avignon / Théâtre de la Ville de Paris
- ‘The House of the Sleeping Beauties’, opera, LOD / Toneelhuis Antwerp / the Monnaie Brussels
- ‘Adam in Exile’, opera, Opera of Amsterdam
- ‘La Chanteuse du Tango’, movie by Diego Martinez Vignatti with Eugénia Ramirez.
- ‘Prélude à la Mer’, movie, Rosas / Thierry De Mey
- ‘Das Rheingold’, Teatro alla Scala / Staatsoper Unter den Linden
- ‘Blood & Roses, the Song of Joan and Gilles’, theatre , Toneelhuis Antwerp / Festival d’Avignon
- ‘Die Walküre’, Teatro alla Scala / Staatsoper Unter den Linden
- ‘Labyrinth’, dance, National Ballet Amsterdam, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
- ‘Siegfried’, Teatro alla Scala / Staatsoper Unter den Linden
- ‘Götterdämmerung’, Teatro alla Scala / Staatsoper Unter den Linden
- ‘Milonga’, dance, Sadlers Wells, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
- ‘MCBTH’, theater, Toneelhuis / Spectra Ensemble / Vocaallab
- ‘Romeo & Julia’, ballet, Royal Ballet of Flanders
- ‘Hamlet’, theater, Toneelhuis / Toneelgroep Amsterdam
- ‘Het vertrek van de Mier’, theater, Toneelhuis / Het Paleis / Kunstz
- ‘Firebird’, ballet, Stuttgarter Ballett
- ‘Passions Humaines’, theater, costumes and set, Toneelhuis / Mons Culturele Hoofdstad
- ‘Xerse’, costumes and set, Opéra De Lille
- ‘Caligula’, costumes and set, Toneelhuis
- ‘De welwillenden’, costumes and set, Toneelhuis / Toneelgroep Amsterdam
- ‘Pictures at an exhibition’, ballet, costumes and set, Royal Ballet of Flanders, Sidi Larbi Charkaoui
- ‘Ma mère l’oye’, ballet, costumes and set, Royal Ballet of Flanders, Jeroen Verbruggen
- ‘Trompe la mort’, opera, costumes and set, Opéra national de Paris
- ‘Grensgeval’, theatre, costumes and set, Toneelhuis
- ‘Movement in Blue’ & ‘Movement in White’, Tim Van Steenbergen X Ashtari Carpets
- ‘Het kleine meisje van meneer Linh’, costumes, Toneelhuis
- ‘Vergeef ons’, costumes, Toneelhuis / Toneelgroep Amsterdam
marialei 18 Antwerpen 2018 Belgium
Dries Van Noten
Dries Van NotenInfo
Biography
Born in Antwerp in 1958, Dries Van Noten is the third generation in a family of tailors. At the age of 18, Dries entered the fashion design course of Antwerp’s Royal Academy. On graduating, he began to freelance as a consultant designer before starting his own collection of menswear in 1986. Since its beginnings Dries Van Noten has presented collections for women and men for Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter each year. He
celebrated his 50th fashion show in 2004 and 100th fashion show in 2017.
In June 2008, the Council of Fashion Designers of America honoured Dries Van Noten with its International
Designer of the Year Award. 2014 began with the grand opening of Dries Van Noten, “Inspirations”, a first
ever exhibition featuring his designs and influences at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Another
configuration of the exhibit moved to Antwerp in 2015. In July France decorated Dries Van Noten with the
honour of ‘Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.’ In October 2016, Dries Van Noten wins the Culture
Award from The Province of Antwerp for his contribution to Culture.
In June 2018 Puig entered the capital structure of Dries Van Noten as majority owner. The designer remains, over the long term, a significant minority shareholder and continues his role as chief creative officer and chairman of the board.
2019 saw Mr Van Noten collaborate with world renowned fashion designer Mr Christian Lacroix on his
collection for Women, Spring/Summer 2020. In June 2020, and September 2021, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) has again nominated Dries Van Noten for its International Designer of the Year Award.
Q&A with dries van noten
When did you know that designing clothes was your path & passion?
There was a certain logic to my choice as my family had been involved in fashion and the garment business for generations. My father created one of Belgium’s most innovative retailers of ‘Pret-a-Porter’ and my grandfather was a tailor. I inherited my love of garment making, its traditions and rituals, from these men and my mother. Family immersed me in the craft and skill of fabrics, impassioned me with the power of flair and style for women and men that fired my quest to explore and question the subjectivity of “beauty” and the role it would play in my life. My family was very supportive and encouraged me to continue its fashion tradition. I regularly accompanied my parents to Paris and Milan on their many buying trips for collections. Though they had imagined I might take over the retail business, that I was passionate to become a fashion designer came as a great surprise to them.
What is your design signature?
I see a garment as a singular item of excellence that is part of a larger story told, firstly, within a designer’s vision for a collection and ultimately as part of the final wearer’s expression of their style through their wardrobe. My joy is to create a garment that fuses and balances beauty, craft and function, a garment that can perform well and continue in time to become part of life’s story. I enjoy juggling with colours, textures and light in a way that evokes rather than provokes.
Where do you come up with your best ideas?
The spark of inspiration for the narrative a collection rarely ever comes in the same way. The initial idea can sometimes come quickly and remain constant throughout the design process… occur on a walk in my garden, encountering a painting or the life and work of an artist. It can be something rarefied or ordinary, for example, suddenly looking at something that has surrounded me every day and seeing it in a different way that inspires. It can be a photograph in a book or a magazine, a re-read passage in a loved book, a conversation with friends or my design team or a piece of music. For other collections the story is more of a journey, deliberate, considered, and evolves through time and the design process. Anything can be that spark that ignites the creative process. What I have learned is that one recognises the spark when it happens, it may not be too planned, be ‘of its time’ and is more emotional than cerebral.
Is there a difference between style and fashion?
Of course, style comes from within..
What colour or fabric would you never use?
None actually! Often, challenging myself to work with colours, fabrics, or forms that I have disliked and bringing them into a collection can be an important aspect of the creative process.
What is beauty?
The idea of beauty is supremely subjective and very personal. Time also plays a role when our view on what is beautiful to us evolves. A flower, a building or a garment can be a thing of wonder for one while leaving another completely indifferent. What was beautiful to us even recently may be ugly today. Luckily, all designers have their own eye on and language of beauty.
What is ugliness?
It resonates in the same way as beauty for me. It is exciting when the formerly ugly becomes beautiful.
Timeline
- 1981 Dries Van Noten graduates from Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp
- 1986 Dries Van Noten started his first own collection of menswear after working as a freelance consultant designer
- 1989 Flagship store opens in Antwerp, Belgium
- 2004 50th Show
- 2007 Paris store opens at Quai Malaquais, Paris France
- 2008 Dries Van Noten wins Internation Designer of the year at CFDA awards./ Dries Van Noten Sacred “Royal Designer for Industry” from the RSA Trustee Board in London
- 2009 Flagship store opens in Aoyama, Tokyo, Japan/ Stores opens for the men at Quai Malaquais, Paris, France
Dries Van Noten Induction to The “Galerie Des Eminents” By The Flemish Chamber Of Commerce (Voka)
Dries van Noten is gifted a gold medal by The Flemish Royal Academy of Belgium
Dries Van Noten Is Honored With the “Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion” By the Couture Council of the Museum at Fit In New York - 2010 Dries Van Noten Is Invited To Preside Over the 25th Edition of the “Festival International De Mode et De Photographie” of Hyres, France
- 2013 Olfactory portrait by Frederic Malle with The Nose Bruno Jonanovic
- 2014 xhibition at The Musée Des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, France
A book that accompanied his exhibition at Musée des arts Décoratifs in Paris, France - 2015 Dries Van Noten is decorated by Jack Lang of the medal
Opening of Dries Van Noten Osaka - 2016 Wins Culture Award from The Province of Antwerp
- 2017 An intimate portrait into the life, mind and creative heart the designer
A book in two volumes that depicts and documents his first 100 collection and Fashion shows
In recognition of his career as fashion designer and his contribution to the Cultural life of his native land - 2018 DVN enters in partnership with Puig as Major Stakeholders
- 2019 Collaboration with Mr Christian Lacroix
- 2020 Nominated by The CFDA for International Designer of The Year Award
Stores opens in Shanghai, China
Flagship stores opens in Los Angeles, USA the first Dries Van Noten store in the Unites States of America
Godefriduskaai 36 Antwerpen 2000 Belgium
Charlotte Pringels
Charlotte PringelsInfo
ABOUT
I. The collections
We believe in slow fashion, the power of simplicity and elegance in an effort to change and challenge the way we as society consume. Doing so we commit to sourcing natural and recycled fibers and work with high-quality, low minimum suppliers in Europe, allowing us to reduce waste through small-batch production. We want to make sure every link in our supply chain gets a fair price for the work that is being done and we commit to transparent practices by providing information about supply chains, enabling customers to make informed decisions.
Our aim is to offer our customers carefully designed garments and prove that investing in a piece of our collection is an investment in yourself, your wardrobe and a more sustainable fashion system.
II. The designer
Charlotte Pringels is a Belgian-based women’s wear label, named after the founder and CEO of the brand. Her design philosophy: to create a line of essentials that are both interesting and necessary and together form a cohesive wardrobe that maintain relevance over time. Each collection includes elements of ease and polish and is characterized by high-end fabrics and timeless, clean-lined silhouettes.
Charlotte Pringels is a Belgian Fashion designer. She entered the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp / Fashion Department in 2007 and graduated in 2012 from her master (MA) degree.
III. The make
Our collections are designed and made with love, and focuses on reinventing tailoring technics while only using finest materials. The current emphasis for the materials we use is on natural and recycled resources of the fiber. Over the years, we have built a solid base of family-run contractors in Ukraine and Belgium. They are responsible for the long-lasting construction of every piece of clothing that we make. From perfect cutting of fabric, to deliberate sewing and finishing with French seams or bias-bound edges, the collection is built to last by suppliers who treat their workers fairly.
All samples and prototypes are made and designed in Charlotte Pringels’ own atelier, located in Belgium.
Drongenstraat 106, Lokeren 9160 Belgium
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JASNA ROKEGEM
A young and energetic pioneer in combining innovative fashion and cutting-edge technology. Not only in creating unique projects and collections, but also in bringing these to life by using techniques such as virtual and augmented reality. She has a strong vision on the clothing of the future and how it can add value to our daily lives. To achieve more and think further, Jasna likes working closely together with professional partners from around the globe.
These collaborations and projects brought her a lot of recognition and exposure. As a result she received various awards, gives lectures and gets invited to big events in different fields.
In January 2016, aged 23, she founded Jasna Rok, the first FashTech design studio in Belgium.
Jasna Rok provides a window to show the endless possibilities of technology and science today, by making them visible, tangible and understandable for the big audience through interactive fashion.
Raapstraat 6 Antwerpen 2000 Belgium
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Aymara is the result of the love story between a Belgian engineer, Sven Van Gucht, who met Yannina Esquivias, a young Peruvian travel agent, during a sabbatical year and fell in love. Yannina and Sven quit their jobs and started a knitting factory in Peru together with Yannina’s family. In 2007, the knitwear label Aymara was born. The name Aymara refers to a native ethnic group in the Andes of South America.
Concept
The magic of Aymara lies in the combination of Belgian design and Peru’s extraordinary fibers and textile craftmenship. Aymara’s knitwear is produced in our own knitting factory in Arequipa, in the south of Peru, managed by Yannina’s family. Thank’s to our strong relationship with them and their unconditional commitment, this incredible intercontinental project could be achieved. We believe that in today’s world of fast fashion and mass consumption, people are looking for authentic products with a soul. When buying Aymara, you are sure to get longlasting, sustainable products with an extraordinary story.
Design
Excellent natural fibers play a key role and are the starting point of each Aymara design. This is why Aymara chooses to offer pure styles available in a wide colour palette of bright and soft colours. Our designers take into account the fashion trends but at the same time, we make sure that each Aymara product is timeless and longlasting. A lot of attention has been paid for the perfect fitting form and discrete refined details. The kids collection, designed by Yannina has a playful character whereas the women’s collection, designed by Saskia Van Herzeele is very feminine.
Fiber
Peru manufactures some of the world’s finest quality fibers. For our summer collections, Aymara uses Peruvian pima cotton which is considered to be one of the softest and finest cottons in existence. In winter, garments made of precious alpaca blends are always an important part of our collection. Alpaca is a cousin of the llama and is prized for it’s thermal properties, silkiness and durability. Alpaca is a fiber which does not come at the expense of the environment. In today’s world, dominated by artificial materials, alpaca is the natural option. Alpacas graze at elevations of 3500 to 5000 meters in the Peruvian Andes. This precious fibre is used by top designers world wide. Aymara only uses the finest alpaca fibers, called baby alpaca. In our winter collections we also offer garments made of fine merino wool from Argentina.
Production
Aymara’s knitting plant is fully integrated and employs about 60 persons on the pay roll. This assures us to be in complete control of the production process and the quality of the garments. Although the knitting process itself has been industrialized, the production process is labour intensive and still requires a lot of manual operations. A lot of attention is been paid to the linking and finishing processes. Aymara garments are fully fashioned ; this means that the cutting and overlocking process is avoided as much as possible. By doing so, Aymara’s customers are getting a high quality product with one of the finest linking and finishing standards on the market. Turn your Aymara garment inside out and you will see what we mean !
Although most of the collection is produced on industrial knitting machines, each winter season Aymara offers a small theme of hand knit accessories. This enables women to generate an income by hand knitting at their home while taking care of their children. For a lot of these women it would be impossible to work inside a company because of their family situation and the lack of childcare. You can recognize these products by the “Aymara hand knit” hang tag. We are currently investigating how this could be integrated into a wider social project.
Head office & International Sales Aymara bvba Bornem 2880 Belgium
Showroom Aymara Antwerp Kielsevest 70 Antwerpen 2018 Belgium
Ataman
AtamanInfo
Mustafa Ataman graduated from Francisco Ferrer School of Fashion with Honors and received the MAD Lookbook Prize 2018. Ataman started his career as a designer in Paris for Delphine Murat and then worked at Atelier David Szeto. Later on he moved to Istanbul to work alongside the stylist company Hakaan.
In 2018 Ataman went back to Belgium where he developed his own brand and collections. He participated in many fashion events such as MAD Sales, Maison des Modes in Roubaix, Balthasar in Sablon and different pop-up stores in central Brussels.
The first Ataman permanent store opened in Brussels in 2022. It is settled in in the historical neighborhood of Marolles in a small brick house, close to Place du Jeu de Balle.
Rue des Renards, 5 Brussels 1000 Belgium
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Akaso is a co-creation label and the brainchild of Philippe Vertriest, father of two Ethiopian born daughters and great believer in Africa’s creative talent. From the encounter with a book on African body painting art, he developed the Akaso collaborative design concept, uniting the Kara tribe in Ethiopia with the resident Belgian Akaso designers.
The Kara people in Ethiopia are one of Africa’s most authentic tribal people and reknown for their abstract body painting art : a fascinating act of transformation, using the skin as a canvas and the earth as a palette.
From co-creation workshops between six young Kara body painting artists – men and women – and two Belgian designers rises the Akaso collection fusing one of Africa’s oldest art forms with an urban contemporary spirit.
Akaso comes from the Italian ‘a caso’ meaning ‘by coincidence’, reflecting the many coincidences that Philippe encountered on his route that brought him to the Akaso co-creation vision. ‘There is no coincidence in this life – just follow your intuition, however bold the path may be’.
Mia Zia
Mia ZiaInfo
To understand a woman, you have to read between the lines. To wear Mia Zia, we must live between the lines.”
Mia Zia is revealed to you, colorful, since 1997. The proof, a renowned signature; for almost two decades. Look between the lines but do not pass through the mesh, the range of accessories broaden and details are accentuated. Between decisions and creations, each role is executed to transmit our identity. – A combination of infinite colors unified quality and priceless uniqueness. Small hands of local workshops in Morocco, Turkey, India but also in Nepal shape the journey of silk, cashmere, linen and cotton voile in others. The scarves collections, scarves and socks that have propelled the fame of the label are complemented each season by a range of ready-to-wear women
Between the Lines The mark is similar to all those women with many facets. It is an invitation to escape from his horizon, to discover oneself more, we and elsewhere. Mia Zia is a reflection of this woman sometimes urban, sometimes globetrotter, which thrives and grows, over his experiences.
Mia Zia is certainly you !
Maliestraat 90 Elsene 1050 Belgium