Fashion the MoMu Collection

TABLE OF CONTENTS

7

FOREWORD

SUB-COLLECTIONS

by Kaat Debo

by Wim Mertens

Director, MoMu — Fashion Museum Antwerp

9

THE MOMU COLLECTION: THE ART OF SELECTION

by Kaat Debo

89

FASHION DEPARTMENT ROYAL ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS ANTWERP

109

UNDERGARMENTS

139

JEWELLERY

155

SHOES

171

SPORTSWEAR

203 BEADS & SEQUINS 235

DRESSMAKING

261

LACE

281

WHITE LINEN

309 FASHIONABLE GOWNS 1750-1950 335 TEXTILE PRINTING 339 NOVELTIES 389 REGIONAL COSTUMES 431

BABY & CHILDRENSWEAR

SUB-COLLECTIONS

by Birgit Ansoms & Dieter Suls

177

STUDY COLLECTION

435 LIBRARY & ARCHIVE SUB-COLLECTION

by Romy Cockx

395 HATS BY STEPHEN JONES

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DESIGNERS

by Romy Cockx Selection and image research by Birgit Ansoms & Elisa De Wyngaert

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53 69 99 107 115 131 135 147 151 161 185 209 241 245 255 269 279 285 313 327 343 367 373 403 425

A.F.Vandevorst Ann Demeulemeester Ann Salens Anthony Vaccarello Bernhard Willhelm Bruno Pieters Christian Wijnants Delvaux Demna Gvasalia Dirk Bikkembergs Dirk Van Saene Dries Van Noten Glenn Martens Haider Ackermann Helmut Lang Jurgi Persoons Marina Yee Martin Margiela Olivier Theyskens Patrick Van Ommeslaeghe Raf Simons Rei Kawakubo Veronique Branquinho Walter Van Beirendonck Yohji Yamamoto

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FOREWORD

After three years of being closed for renovations, MoMu finally reopens its doors in September 2021. The refurbished and extended museum now includes a brand new exhibition space designed specifically for the display of our own collection. It is this much needed new gallery that has spurred the publication of this book, a curated selection of the MoMu’s permanent collection, including the museum’s most striking sub-collections, richly illustrated with more than a 1,000 images.

In recent years, a great deal of behind-the-scenes work has been done to optimise the conditions for preserving this collection of more than 35,000 objects, as well as the study collection of around 2,000 objects, and the library collection of more than 43,000 titles.

The MoMu team has completed the installation of a new external depository for the preservation of about 80% of the collection. The most fragile sub-collections, however, as well as the library and study collections, continue to be stored in-house. Our internal depot has not only been completely renovated, but extended with a preparation room, conservation studio and photo studio.

Great effort was made in terms of photographing the collection, under the direction of Frédéric Boutié and in cooperation with Belgiz Polat and photographer Stany Dederen. No fewer than 900 collection pieces and 500 objects from the study collection have been newly photographed. We thank all the fashion designers who assisted the MoMu team during these photo sessions with advice on how best to reproduce their designs.

As the museum reopens, we are launching an ambitious initiative around the study collection, which was started in 2012. Based on the conviction that direct contact with materials and techniques fuels knowledge of and enthusiasm for fashion, this collection can now be accessed by appointment, in the library’s newly updated reading room. The study collection aims to break down barriers between museum collections and visitors. It is used for scientific research, but can just as well serve as teaching material or as a source of inspiration for an increasingly inquisitive audience. We are also interpreting this objectoriented, hands-on approach into a programme for schools and specific target groups.

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Building up a collection, then professionally preserving it and making it accessible, both physically and digitally, is a never-ending task. It is moreover a task that takes place behind the scenes of the museum and is consequentially rarely visible to the visitor. With this publication, we hope to pay tribute to the many professionals who have dedicated themselves to this task on an everyday basis.

With this in mind, I extend my heartfelt thanks to the entire MoMu team, and to all those who have looked after the collection over the years. Most especially, I thank the collection team led by Wim Mertens, the conservation studio led by Kim Verkens, and the library team led by Birgit Ansoms. My thanks also to Elisa De Wyngaert and Romy Cockx, who together with Wim Mertens are the curators of the new collection gallery and of this collection book; as well as to scenographers Bob Verhelst, Thomas Van Looij and Michael Smith, and to graphic designer Paul Boudens.

Finally, my sincere thanks go to all designers, donors and lenders who have found their way to MoMu over the years and who have entrusted us with their valuable objects and fascinating stories.

7

Kaat Debo Director, MoMu —Fashion Museum Antwerp

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18

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19

Stephen Jones & The Accent on Fashion, 2010

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THE MOMU COLLECTION: THE ART OF SELECTION

22

Dries Van Noten: Inspirations, 2015

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23

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THE MOMU COLLECTION: THE ART OF SELECTION

36

Foot Print: The Tracks of Shoes in Fashion, 2015

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37

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52

Autumn-Winter 1998-99 show

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A.F.Vandevorst

53

AN VANDEVORST — °1968, HULSHOUT, BELGIUM + FILIP ARICKX — °1971, AALTER, BELGIUM

An Vandevorst and Filip Arickx met in 1987 at the fashion department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp.

They became friends and lovers. After graduating, Arickx left for Germany to do his military service. Vandevorst interned for a year with Martin Margiela and went on to work as first assistant to Dries Van Noten. After six years, it was time for a change, and they started a fashion label together. For their logo, they used a red cross, referring to their shared passion for the aesthetics of old hospitals, which they had each developed separately during their youth, this would also play an important role in their second show (Spring-Summer 1999). Their first collections immediately embraced the basic ingredients that would define their visual language for years to come: a fascination with the German artist Joseph Beuys, religion, horses and their equipment, uniforms, rivets, lingerie and fetish shoes.

Their riding boot with block heel (X010) became an icon, and their hoof-shaped ankle boots with stiletto heels further illustrate their expertly executed conceptualism.

A.F.Vandevorst play with extremes of texture and cut: draped and pleated skirts contrast with structured jackets and trench coats; flowing and transparent materials soften stiff leather, felt and even paper; and delicate lace flows into rabbit fur and sheepskin. In their Autumn-Winter 2004-05 collection, a fascination with uniforms and Russian culture played the leading role and became the occasion for MoMu’s Katharina Prospekt: The Russians

by A.F.Vandevorst exhibition.

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Their shows reinforce the narrative power of the clothing.

For example, they had models loitering in a historic bathhouse (Spring-Summer 2000) or arriving on the backs of motorcycles, wearing closed biking helmets (Spring-Summer 2016). Partial or complete concealment of the face is a regular feature, with fragile moulage voile, mouth veils inspired by Jainism, fetishist masks in silk or leather, and oversized hats (in collaboration with Stephen Jones) and wigs. For their latest collections, the duo collaborated with artists and directors including Nicolas Provost, Dirk Braeckman and Joris Van de Moortel.

They decided to discontinue their label in 2020.

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A.F.VANDEVORST

66

Autumn-Winter 2004-05 lookbook inv. 66124

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67

The designer duo regularly collaborated with makeup artist Inge Grognard. For the presentation of their Autumn-Winter 2004-05 collection, the models were given a sophisticated look by softening heavy eye makeup with moulded organza eye masks. For the Spring-Summer 2002 show, Grognard created a joker smile that capitalised on the collection’s theme, which revolved around deception, reflection and inversion.

Spring-Summer 2002 show

New Year wish, 2019 inv. T18/510

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ANN DEMEULEMEESTER

76

Spring-Summer 1992 inv. X1410

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Spring-Summer 1991 inv. X1412

77

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FASHION DEPARTMENT ROYAL ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS ANTWERP

96

Posters from the 1991, 1995, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2016 shows, inv. T18/514

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97

Poster for the 1990 show, featuring an outfit from the David Vandewal’s 1990 graduation collection, inv. T18/514

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140

Hat pins in metal, glass, plastic, wood and stone, 1890-1950, inv. S1498, T3969K, T90/16, S59/8B, T89/192, T93/318A; Silk necklace with pendant in horn and glass, 1910-20, inv. T16/134/E223; Decorative pin in metal and glass beads, 1910-30, T16/147/E218; Hat pins in metal, enamel and rhinestone, 1900-20, inv. T3996E, T3968F, T3971G, S2702, T93/317A

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141

Chatelaine in metal and velvet with belt hook, Jean Paul Gaultier, 1990-2000, inv. T03/12; Necklace in metal and plastic, 1925-30, inv. T3951A; Imitation tortoise shell hairpin, 1900-30, inv. T01/116; Metal bracelet with glass medallions featuring miniature mosaics, Bartolomeo Pinelli, 1850-1900, inv. T91/269

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DRIES VAN NOTEN

226

Spring-Summer 2017 inv. X802

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227

Spring-Summer 2019 inv. X1589

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MARTIN MARGIELA

292

Spring-Summer 1991 inv. X403

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Spring-Summer 2009 invitation inv. T18/510

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Spring-Summer 1992 inv. X403 & X404

293

Autumn-Winter 1993-94 inv. X405

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WALTER VAN BEIRENDONCK

420

Walter Van Beirendonck’s work includes frequent references to arts and cultures from around the world.

Headdresses in his Skin King collection for AutumnWinter 2008-09 were clearly inspired by the masks of the Yupik, the indigenous Arctic people traditionally residing in Alaska and Siberia. The Dissections collection for Autumn-Winter 2000-01 includes references to headdresses made of lion manes, as traditionally worn by the Maasai people of Kenya and Tanzania.

Dissections Autumn-Winter 2000-01 inv. X1558

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Skin King Autumn-Winter 2008-09 inv. X224

421

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CATALOGUE

Authors

Birgit Ansoms Romy Cockx Kaat Debo Wim Mertens Dieter Suls Editing

Birgit Ansoms Romy Cockx Kaat Debo Elisa De Wyngaert Wim Mertens

Front cover image

Stephen Jones for Dirk Van Saene Hairpiece with ostrich feathers Spring-Summer 2001 Photo: Ronald Stoops

Back cover image

Molly Goddard Autumn-Winter 2019-20 inv. X1459 Photo: Stany Dederen

Translations

Mari Shields Image & Archive Research

Birgit Ansoms Elisa De Wyngaert Image Rights

Liselotte Bertels Costume mounting

Frédéric Boutié Belgiz Polat Kim Verkens Photography

Stany Dederen Graphic Design

Paul Boudens

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