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Bachelormania: A deep dive into some second and third year student’s work from royal academy of fine arts Antwerp

Since I had the opportunity to cover the SHOW 24 of the Fashion Department of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp in May, I was wondering why only press went crazy with the Masters students, for me is more intriguing to know how some of this bachelor students are doing to see their growth in a near future. It has been a pleasure to reach out to these students and have the possibilities to ask them three questions that I think are very important at the moment. Firstly, the theme of their collection for obvious reasons, and then I wanted to know their perspectives on how challenging it is to design with a creative and practical approach, also what they would advise to young generations that want to enter into the Academy or to the fashion design world in general. Here goes a selection of 10 students that have captivated my heart and mind with the outcome and the process of their body of work. Give some respect to the incredible bachelor collections that are coming out of Antwerp. 

What was your graduate collection’s conceptual starting point? 

The starting point of my 2BA collection is about the ‘clothing fort’ of my childhood memory, it’s like a safety place which I hide inside the draping fabric and the surrounding objects. 

When I study abroad, I can always have an insecure feeling, and this kind of feeling reminds me of the ‘clothing fort’ again… therefore in this collection I want to discuss the relationship between this ‘safety castle’ and the grow-up women, then try to present this contradiction on my garments.

How do you balance creativity and practicality in your designs?

I think it’s important that you always know what kind of people you are designing for, it doesn’t mean in a commercial way, but always have some vibe or references, then you can enjoy your creativity based on this vibe.

What advice would you give to aspiring designers who are just starting their journey?

Studying fashion is actually really hard these years. I think it’s better to not just regard it as a career, but also as a way to explore and express your reflection of this world. Try to analyze your ‘personal mode’, and you will find yourself a very unique designer.

What was your graduate collection’s conceptual starting point? 

ROUGE fuses elegance & primal aspects to create a « New Vamp ». 2 muses inspired the personality of my «New Vamp ». 

Firstly, « Mado », my Vamp grandma. I have a special and very close relation with. She uses ROUGE in many ways: her bedroom and apartment are fully ROUGE, ROUGE is in every outfit she wears. She says : ROUGE represents my temper. 

Indeed, ROUGE is a pigment known to represent a large range of emotions and concepts : passion, seduction, anger, life but also death. This contrast is the purpose of my collection. A Vamp who reconnects with her roots, her primal instinct and combines it with her natural elegance. 

Secondly, Leonor Fini, a surrealist female artist of the 20th century interested me as a muse and artist. Her vision of females and her use of ROUGE strikes me the most. She represents women as sensual, powerful, free, natural and primal. Moreover, she mostly uses Rouge to dress up her Vamp characters to emphasize the seduction, the elegance and the primal aspects. Through her paintings, we feel that the more women are connected with their roots, primal instinct, the more powerful and free they feel. 

That drives me at Musée du Quai Branly in Paris to dig into several ways of dressing and ways of making clothes in native tribes from all around the world. During my research, I have found paintings from ancient tribes from Oceania and Pacific islands where I particularly enjoy the materials they used for their garments and habitats. Moreover ROUGE has been worn in their outfits during ancient rituals. I wanted to combine these primal garments made with natural materials with the coupe and embroidery of garments of European females in the end of the 19th century and the early 20th century. 

On one hand, my historical costume from 1876 gave me a lot of inspiration. I have chosen unique pieces from the Parisian actress Sarah Bernhardt’ wardrobe: her furry peignoir and her embroidered corset. It gave me a lot of input in my research in coupe and embroidery and my vision of elegance. 

On the other hand, several females designers such as Callots Soeurs, Amelia Bloomers, Jeanne Paquin dressed up females in chic dresses and huge Opera coats with such elegance and refinement that helped me in the cut and the embroidery of my collection. In my opinion, the coupe, the embroidery and the texture of both cultures represent this « New Vamp » I wanna create through my collection. 

How do you balance creativity and practicality in your designs? 

One goes with the other. I cannot imagine a design that is not wearable. In my collection I want to highlight the elegance of a woman, so of course my designs are creative as well as practical.

This is the reason why I chose to study at the Fashion Department of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, because we learn how to blend creativity and practicality. 

What advice would you give to aspiring designers who are just starting their journey?

This sentence stuck with me. A teacher of mine once told me: “You don’t fail in fashion, you learn in fashion”. And I believe this too. 

What was your graduate collection’s conceptual starting point?

I wanted to create clothes that are elegant yet comfortable. This desire stems from my aunt, who is a ceremonial fashion designer. Watching her dresses has made me admire beautiful dresses. However, my mother is an MD at an outdoor fashion company, so I have worn lots of outdoor clothes since I was young.

But still, I desired to wear elegant clothes, so I wore many of my aunt’s clothes. However, while those clothes were gorgeous, I felt uncomfortable because my body already suits the comfortable outdoor clothing. So, I want to create womenswear that is comfortable for the body but maintains elegance.

How do you balance creativity and practicality in your designs? 

First I explode my creativity and design garments, thinking how humans can wear/move and how I make that in pattern. 

What advice would you give to aspiring designers who are just starting their journey?

Be yourself!

What was your graduate collection’s conceptual starting point?

This past summer I started researching gardening because that was a word that kept coming back to me just because of how natural it felt (I always grew up surrounded by nature). I came across a children’s book called ‘The Night Gardener by The Fan Brothers’ which is a beautifully illustrated book about two characters, a mysterious gardener and a adventurous child, I took those two out the book and started researching about their features, for the gardener this is his clothes/tools and textures from trees, etc. For the child it’s more the adventurous feeling, being outside and being playful.

How do you balance creativity and practicality in your designs? 

I feel like creativity is always my starting point and later on I will see if this is manageable to realize, because of my technical background I am quite good in sewing and pattern making which is a huge advantage for me.

If something doesn’t work out, I change the design, there is no point in making something work that will never work, I also don’t have the people that can research materials for me, let alone the time to perfect this. You have to move on at a certain point and maybe it will work out later in your carrier, that is something you have to be fine with as a designer.

What advice would you give to aspiring designers who are just starting their journey?

Give themselves time. I participated in the entrance exam 3 times, not something I am proud of but also not ashamed of. It was a part of my story and I am glad I didn’t succeed from day 1! I took time to understand myself, my vision and how I translate my creativity into reality. For some people this is there instantly, for me it just took some more time.

What was your graduate collection’s conceptual starting point?

The concept of my 2BA collection “TIRED OF PLAYING“, started by how I didn’t have anyone in my family working in a creative job. The only future job expectations/examples were mostly business, 9 to 5 office-related jobs. It’s about me questioning if that kind of work would be the right thing for me. Would my life be the same as the examples I saw growing up? What do I see in those workers? 

In my collection, I focus on my perspective of women working in male-dominated work fields such as business. About how stressful it is to get ready to go to your job in the morning in a rush. To keep in mind the perfect surface you have to maintain, and also the dress codes you have to follow. It is all about stress, chaos, and hecticness while trying to look put together enough.

A lot of paintings from the Art Deco painter Tamara Lempicka were also a big influence on some of the looks. She paints women in their clothes in such a perfect way; that there is no room for any mistakes – similar to the expectations women have for their outer looks.In the end, I want to have this contradiction of looking put together but at the same time embracing the chaos and stress you have in your daily life.

How do you balance creativity and practicality in your designs?

I think it’s always nice to get a lot of reference from details of regular garments, to observe how your clothes were constructed – experiment with those technicalities. There are endless ways to interpret/translate garment details in a new way that also reflects your creativity.

What advice would you give to aspiring designers who are just starting their journey?

I don’t really have any advice for young aspiring designers because I am just a fashion student. But I think you just need to know how to sew before you start with the creative part of designing.

What was your graduate collection’s conceptual starting point?

The starting point of my collection is a book written by Emi Yagi called “Diary of Void”. The story begins with a Japanese woman falsely claiming pregnancy. It portraits the various events, emotions and the motion she experiences by playing the role of an expectant mother. 

What I felt after reading this book is how being a woman is both a blessing and a curse. Cultural stereotypes about women do not only affect clothing, makeup, and body image but also customs about marriage, pregnancy and behavior.In my birth country, Japan, such prototypes are prominently evident everywhere. We have been resisting such stereotypes but at times, we adeptly use them. The women around me are often adept at turning such stereotypes to their advantage. Although they are hurt, they enjoy playing their part in the prejudice and are not even aware of it.

In my collection, I delve into those stereotypes and social roles expected of women and feelings we face on a daily basis living as a woman. In my collection I focus on voluminous garments and delicate handwork, translating and reinterpreting the blessings and curses of being a woman.

How do you balance creativity and practicality in your designs?

It is sometimes the most challenging task for a designer. In the current fashion industry, there is a constant demand for new and innovative designs. However, as designers we must not forget that clothing exists because of the body. No matter how beautiful and novel a design is, if it cannot be worn, it fails to function as clothing. I always design with consideration of whether the garment can be worn and how it will look when draped on the body.

What advice would you give to aspiring designers who are just starting their journey?

Enrich your life. Sleep well, eat well and be inspired by the people and things around you. I believe that great creativity resides in a healthy mind and body. Being a fashion designer is very demanding and stressful, that’s why it is important to keep up a healthy lifestyle.

What was your graduate collection’s conceptual starting point? 

The loss of memory; and the loss of who you are. It started as a very sad but relatable concept, but then it took its own life, when ‘forgetting’ became a concept apart, without a sadness feeling, but more into an introduction of two paths: to try to remember things the way you knew it before, or to enter into a new concept of words, that has a new meaning, and a certain naivety with it to explore and to question how things have been working and what new ways of use could we find in clothes and textiles. 

How do you balance creativity and practicality in your designs?

I know I am doing fashion in a certain context, which right now, is an educational one, where I need to prove certain skills, but in the end, I am a believer that I like fashion when somebody is wearing it, and making their lives in it. That balance should come as a must in it and I try to balance it. There is a lot of creativity also in practicality. 

What advice would you give to aspiring designers who are just starting their journey?

I believe in education. Not necessarily fashion education, but cultivation of your own knowledge, of your own culture, your eye and what new is seeing everyday, and you can do that through books, a computer, traveling. Stay weirdly curious. Stay with the curiosity of a kid.

What was your graduate collection’s conceptual starting point?

At the end of last year, after my second year collection which was quite dark, I wanted to create a much lighter and more colorful collection. The inspiration came from the world of babies and children. I have lots of toys at home, I still drink from a baby bottle, watch films with a dummy in my mouth, sleep with cuddly toys, etc. The name of the collection: “Grand Bébé” actually comes from a nickname my boyfriend gave me. The last two years, my brother and sister had children, so the subject of children and babies was also omnipresent. At the start of the collection, I filmed one of my nieces getting dressed. I got some screenshots of her making mistakes while dressing, which also helped me at the beginning of the project. The idea behind the collection was to rework elements specific to babies and childhood into a womenswear collection. The funny thing is that I actually hate children.

How do you balance creativity and practicality in your designs?

It’s important for me to try and make clothes and not just abstract shapes, which in my opinion are ‘nothing’ in the end. At school we’re always pushed to make shapes, shapes and more shapes. Making interesting shapes and creating volume is indeed important. However, I find that sometimes the search for volume is to the detriment of the garment itself. It was important for me this year to make clothes that were comfortable and easy to put on. I wanted to make clothes that I liked visually, and that you felt good in.

What advice would you give to aspiring designers who are just starting their journey?

I’m someone who’s afraid and I’m always very unsure of my choices, I always need validation from people whose work I respect. So I think it’s important to trust yourself and not be afraid to try, to make mistakes, to do bad things sometimes too. I think we underestimate the value of making mistakes, of doing bad things sometimes, we all do them. I think we’ve become too intransigent about that, and we no longer leave room for failure.

Another point that I think is important is the framework in which you choose to develop as a young designer. When you apply to fashion schools, there’s always this fantasy that you cultivate about the school, you have a lot of hopes about what it’s going to be like. The truth is, once you’re in school, you’re often very disappointed. You learn a lot on your own, and especially from the other students you meet. It’s important to surround yourself with people and help each other. 

A final point that also came to mind was the need to take a step back from our work. I find that in fashion we often take ourselves a bit too seriously. I think it’s important to have a more relaxed, less arrogant and more playful approach to clothing. It would do us all good.

What was your graduate collection’s conceptual starting point?

The starting point of my collection was a video performance I saw by Herwig Ilegems called “Head to Head” that questions the relationship between humans and animals, that could go from trust to violence in a spare second. That really stroke me because I’ve always wanted to work around the idea that we’re getting further away from animals and losing our instincts in favor of modernity.

How do you balance creativity and practicality in your designs?

To balance creativity and practicality in my designs I try to always keep in mind that as a creative you can’t work without a target, and for me that target will always be everyday humans, if my work can’t be worn in daily life, then I would consider it pointless. That’s my way to not lose a sense of reality while creating, it’s the most important part to me: reality.

What advice would you give to aspiring designers who are just starting their journey?

For young designers I would say to learn the techniques and craftsmanship first, it’s super important to learn how to make clothes before going crazy with it. Creativeness is nothing without craftsmanship, even if it’s frustrating, you have to learn the techniques first. Also something very important is to have other things in life, fashion can be so intense you lose yourself in work but there’s more to life than just that, you need to keep a balance with other passions, have people around, and keep in mind that at the end of the day, we’re not saving the world, just doing pants and jackets so have fun with it and don’t kill yourself with it.

What was your graduate collection’s conceptual starting point?

This collection begins with my obsession for the objects inherited from my grandmother’s sister. Sculpting the silhouettes and the female body as if it were the Assemblage art of the 60s.

How do you balance creativity and practicality in your designs?

It is always difficult to achieve that perfect balance, especially when you start experimenting with structures and shapes, but I think that in this collection I have managed to achieve. Experimentation and study of the garments is an important factor in achieving this kind of balance. I often achieve this through trial and error. I combine this with a careful selection of materials and fabrics and I keep an open mind to innovation, incorporating creative elements. Each design is a dialogue between aesthetics and functionality, where form meets function in perfect harmony.

What advice would you give to aspiring designers who are just starting their journey?

What a difficult question, I am actually still an aspiring designer myself, but after almost eight years of studying at two completely different schools, I think it is essential to embrace both the fun and the intensity of the journey. Above all, be true to yourself and your style. Be patient in the face of challenges, as «success» in fashion requires not only creativity, but also perseverance and unwavering passion.

Words: @alraco43