18
BELGIAN FASHION AWARDS 2019 WWD JOURNALIST: TIANWEI ZHANG 4 NOVEMBER 25, 2019 In his first public appearance after leaving Calvin Klein, he discusses his past, present, future and love for television series in Antwerp. BY TIANWEI ZHANG ANTWERP, Belgium — “I never really thought about big companies or big names or big brands. I just wanted to make clothes like a few friends that I had here,” said Raf Simons in a comfy sweater in front of about 800 paying attendees at the fourth edition of Fashion Talks. The event was organized by Flanders DC in the Handelsbeurs in Antwerp, the oldest stock exchange building in the world. Simons, who also lives in the city, shared his opinions about the state of the fashion system, creativity and value behind a design, and the importance of staying independent and supporting the new generation, as well as his frustration and reflection from his previous positions at Jil Sander and Dior. While he did not mention Calvin Klein during his 35-minute talk, between the lines, his views seemed clear. Simons left his post as chief creative officer at Calvin Klein last December. “Big brands that work with creative directors are in constant flux,” the designer declared. “We see a phenomenon that time periods become shorter, shorter and shorter. It’s something I wasn’t aware of in the earlier stage when I took Jil. These brands, although they can very much support you and they can make possibilities that relate to the actual designer, these brands will usually exist forever no matter who’s there. Because they are extremely constructed on all the aspect that surrounds the actual core of fashion, and the actual content, emotion and creating of garments and how that relates to your big or small audience,” he said. “These big brands are very much now driven by marketing and growth, and it’s rare that a designer is good in both aspects. I am definitely not good at all the aspects. I know for myself. What is more important is that the designer knows who to work with, which is also not your choice, but it’s definitely your choice in your [own] company,” he continued. “As a creative director, it’s more complicated because very much most of these companies have everything in place and then you come in and the focus is in the beginning very much about collections. You bring probably a huge list of creatives in, but I have been in places where I had to be involved to bring people into merchandising or commercial because they hadn’t really sorted that out,” added Simons, who believes that the team that had been assembled for him wasn’t necessarily, in his view, the right one for him to create what he thought was needed for the brand to work. Having been the designer of three major fashion houses in the world’s three leading fashion capitals, Simons has also learned that he needs to be very careful about what he says. “You get critiqued very quickly and I speak not only for myself. I speak for close designer friends in different positions. We get very scared to give an opinion when I think we have very specific opinions because you get critiqued on so many aspects so quickly and I think it makes a lot of us pull back on things and try to do it with the things we are doing,” he said. Being independent, however, does give him the permission to express himself freely — sometimes. He said “Towards the end of the Nineties and early 2000s, we got a lot of proposals, but being in different positions as creative directors taught me how dangerous it can be when you marry in business. I mean, prior to me, John [Galliano] was a big example. He lost his own brand because he sold it for the majority and that’s something I will never forget.” His independent ideology is linked to the 51-year-old designer’s upbringing in Belgium. “I got it spooned in. I started out with Walter Van Beirendonck and I’m very thankful for him being such a promotor of young people. I came from nowhere and I was welcomed there and he showed me things. It was very inspiring,” he said. “I saw all that independence and for me, it was the only thing that I knew. In the early stages of my brand, I wasn’t aware of LVMH [Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton] brands and all that kind of stuff and creative director positions. I just saw Walter Van Beirendonck, Ann Demeulemeester, Dirk Van Saene, Dries Van Noten and Martin Margiela having their own thing,” he continued. “To me, that’s what I want. It was a good thing at the end that desire to be, and the family feeling to me also. I remember Dries and Walter were sharing the same building, but they had an independent creative language, and what Walter was doing was completely something else. There was a community of designers being able to relate to each other one way or another. All of them individually, in a way, could see very fast how they had for themselves created something very often with people that they related to. I still think that’s the beauty. I see my own company as a family,” he added. What he desires is very different from what he encountered later in his life. “The system was different. I started out without a computer, but with a fax machine. There was no access to the global fashion world except for TV programs and magazines months later. Nothing was out on the day of the show. The time frame was six months and now it’s just the moment the show is happening,” he said. “When I was at Dior, I felt there was an incredible pressure from the outside on me to be with me while I was designing, while I was in the studio. Press wanted to be there, the press wanted to be at the fittings. Then you do all the previews, speak with all the press days before the show. I didn’t like that at all. It was mainly because one designer was very much at ease with it. I don’t criticize people from doing it, but because other people do something, it should not be a system for ► FASHION Raf Simons: ‘I Just Wanted to Make Clothes’ Raf Simons Raf Simons at “Fashion Talks.” Simons portrait by Stéphane Feugère; Fashion Talks by Fille Roelants Photography

Raf Simons Raf Simons: ‘I Just Wanted to Make Clothes’ · Simons, who also lives in the city, shared his opinions about the state of the fashion system, creativity and value behind

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Page 1: Raf Simons Raf Simons: ‘I Just Wanted to Make Clothes’ · Simons, who also lives in the city, shared his opinions about the state of the fashion system, creativity and value behind

BELG

IAN FASHION AWARDS 2019

WW

D

JOURNALIST: TIANWEI ZHANG

4

NOVEMBER 25, 2019

In h

is fi

rst public

appear

ance

af

ter le

avin

g C

alvin

Kle

in, h

e

dis

cuss

es

his

pas

t, p

rese

nt,

futu

re a

nd lo

ve for te

levis

ion

seri

es

in A

ntw

erp

. BY TIANWEI ZHANG

ANTWERP, Belgium — “

I n

ev

er

rea

lly

th

ou

gh

t a

bo

ut

big

co

mp

an

ies

or

big

n

am

es

or

big

bra

nd

s. I

ju

st w

an

ted

to

m

ak

e c

loth

es

lik

e a

fe

w f

rie

nd

s th

at

I h

ad

h

ere

,” s

aid

Ra

f S

imo

ns

in a

co

mfy

sw

ea

ter

in f

ron

t o

f a

bo

ut

80

0 p

ayin

g a

tte

nd

ee

s a

t th

e f

ou

rth

ed

itio

n o

f F

ash

ion

Ta

lks.

Th

e

ev

en

t w

as

org

an

ize

d b

y F

lan

de

rs D

C i

n t

he

H

an

de

lsb

eu

rs i

n A

ntw

erp

, th

e o

lde

st s

tock

e

xch

an

ge b

uil

din

g i

n t

he

wo

rld

.S

imo

ns,

wh

o a

lso

liv

es

in t

he

cit

y, s

ha

red

h

is o

pin

ion

s a

bo

ut

the

sta

te o

f th

e f

ash

ion

sy

ste

m,

cre

ati

vit

y a

nd

va

lue

be

hin

d a

d

esi

gn

, a

nd

th

e i

mp

ort

an

ce o

f st

ayin

g

ind

ep

en

de

nt

an

d s

up

po

rtin

g t

he

ne

w

gen

era

tio

n,

as

we

ll a

s h

is f

rust

rati

on

an

d

refl

ecti

on

fro

m h

is p

rev

iou

s p

osi

tio

ns

at

Jil

Sa

nd

er

an

d D

ior.

Wh

ile

he

did

no

t m

en

tio

n C

alv

in K

lein

d

uri

ng

his

35

-min

ute

ta

lk,

be

twe

en

th

e

lin

es,

his

vie

ws

see

me

d c

lea

r. S

imo

ns

left

h

is p

ost

as

chie

f cr

ea

tiv

e o

ffice

r a

t C

alv

in

Kle

in l

ast

De

cem

be

r.�

“B

ig b

ran

ds

tha

t w

ork

wit

h c

rea

tiv

e

dir

ec

tors

are

in

co

nst

an

t fl

ux

,”

the

de

sig

ne

r d

ecl

are

d.

“W

e s

ee

a

ph

en

om

en

on

th

at

tim

e p

eri

od

s b

eco

me

sh

ort

er,

sh

ort

er

an

d s

ho

rte

r. I

t’s

som

eth

ing

I w

asn

’t a

wa

re o

f in

th

e e

arl

ier

sta

ge

wh

en

I t

oo

k J

il.

Th

ese

bra

nd

s,

alt

ho

ug

h t

he

y c

an

ve

ry m

uch

su

pp

ort

y

ou

an

d t

he

y c

an

ma

ke

po

ssib

ilit

ies

tha

t re

late

to

th

e a

ctu

al

de

sig

ne

r, t

he

se

bra

nd

s w

ill

usu

all

y e

xis

t fo

rev

er

no

ma

tte

r w

ho

’s t

he

re.

Be

cau

se t

he

y a

re e

xtr

em

ely

co

nst

ruc

ted

on

all

th

e a

spe

ct

tha

t su

rro

un

ds

the

ac

tua

l co

re o

f fa

shio

n,

an

d

the

ac

tua

l co

nte

nt,

em

oti

on

an

d c

rea

tin

g

of

ga

rme

nts

an

d h

ow

th

at

rela

tes

to y

ou

r b

ig o

r sm

all

au

die

nce

,” h

e s

aid

.“

Th

ese

big

bra

nd

s a

re v

ery

mu

ch n

ow

d

riv

en

by

ma

rke

tin

g a

nd

gro

wth

, a

nd

it

’s r

are

th

at

a d

esi

gn

er

is g

oo

d i

n b

oth

asp

ects

. I

am

de

fin

ite

ly n

ot

goo

d a

t a

ll t

he

a

spe

cts

. I

kn

ow

fo

r m

yse

lf.

Wh

at

is m

ore

im

po

rta

nt

is t

ha

t th

e d

esi

gn

er

kn

ow

s w

ho

to

wo

rk w

ith

, w

hic

h i

s a

lso

no

t y

ou

r ch

oic

e,

bu

t it

’s d

efi

nit

ely

yo

ur

cho

ice

in

y

ou

r [o

wn

] co

mp

an

y,” h

e c

on

tin

ue

d.

“As

a c

rea

tiv

e d

ire

cto

r, i

t’s

mo

re

com

pli

ca

ted

be

cau

se v

ery

mu

ch m

ost

o

f th

ese

co

mp

an

ies

hav

e e

ve

ryth

ing

in

p

lace

an

d t

he

n y

ou

co

me

in

an

d t

he

fo

cus

is i

n t

he

be

gin

nin

g v

ery

mu

ch a

bo

ut

coll

ecti

on

s. Y

ou

bri

ng

pro

ba

bly

a h

uge

lis

t o

f cr

ea

tiv

es

in,

bu

t I

hav

e b

ee

n i

n p

lace

s w

he

re I

ha

d t

o b

e i

nv

olv

ed

to

bri

ng

pe

op

le

into

me

rch

an

dis

ing

or

com

me

rcia

l b

ecau

se

the

y h

ad

n’t

re

all

y s

ort

ed

th

at

ou

t,” a

dd

ed

S

imo

ns,

wh

o b

eli

ev

es

tha

t th

e t

ea

m

tha

t h

ad

be

en

ass

em

ble

d f

or

him

wa

sn’t

n

ece

ssa

rily

, in

his

vie

w,

the

rig

ht

on

e f

or

him

to

cre

ate

wh

at

he

th

ou

gh

t w

as

ne

ed

ed

fo

r th

e b

ran

d t

o w

ork

.H

avin

g b

ee

n t

he

de

sig

ne

r o

f th

ree

ma

jor

fash

ion

ho

use

s in

th

e w

orl

d’s

th

ree

le

ad

ing

fa

shio

n c

ap

ita

ls,

Sim

on

s h

as

als

o l

ea

rne

d

tha

t h

e n

ee

ds

to b

e v

ery

ca

refu

l a

bo

ut

wh

at

he

say

s. “

Yo

u g

et

crit

iqu

ed

ve

ry q

uic

kly

a

nd

I s

pe

ak

no

t o

nly

fo

r m

yse

lf.

I sp

ea

k

for

clo

se d

esi

gn

er

frie

nd

s in

diff

ere

nt

po

siti

on

s. W

e g

et

ve

ry s

ca

red

to

giv

e a

n

op

inio

n w

he

n I

th

ink

we

hav

e v

ery

sp

eci

fic

op

inio

ns

be

cau

se y

ou

ge

t cr

itiq

ue

d o

n

so m

an

y a

spe

cts

so

qu

ick

ly a

nd

I t

hin

k i

t m

ak

es

a l

ot

of

us

pu

ll b

ack

on

th

ing

s a

nd

tr

y t

o d

o i

t w

ith

th

e t

hin

gs

we

are

do

ing

,”

he

sa

id.

Be

ing

in

de

pe

nd

en

t, h

ow

ev

er,

do

es

giv

e

him

th

e p

erm

issi

on

to

ex

pre

ss h

imse

lf

fre

ely

— s

om

eti

me

s. H

e s

aid

“T

ow

ard

s th

e e

nd

of

the

Nin

eti

es

an

d e

arl

y 2

00

0s,

w

e g

ot

a l

ot

of

pro

po

sals

, b

ut

be

ing

in

d

iffe

ren

t p

osi

tio

ns

as

cre

ati

ve

dir

ec

tors

ta

ug

ht

me

ho

w d

an

ge

rou

s it

ca

n b

e w

he

n

yo

u m

arr

y i

n b

usi

ne

ss.

I m

ea

n,

pri

or

to

me

, Jo

hn

[G

all

ian

o]

wa

s a

big

ex

am

ple

. H

e

lost

his

ow

n b

ran

d b

ec

au

se h

e s

old

it

for

the

ma

jori

ty a

nd

th

at’

s so

me

thin

g I

wil

l n

ev

er

forg

et.

”H

is i

nd

ep

en

de

nt

ide

olo

gy

is

lin

ke

d t

o

the

51-

ye

ar-

old

de

sig

ne

r’s

up

bri

ng

ing

in

B

elg

ium

. “I

got

it s

po

on

ed

in

. I

sta

rte

d o

ut

wit

h W

alt

er

Va

n B

eir

en

do

nck

an

d I

’m v

ery

th

an

kfu

l fo

r h

im b

ein

g s

uch

a p

rom

oto

r o

f

yo

un

g p

eo

ple

. I

ca

me

fro

m n

ow

he

re a

nd

I

wa

s w

elc

om

ed

th

ere

an

d h

e s

ho

we

d m

e

thin

gs.

It

wa

s v

ery

in

spir

ing

,” h

e s

aid

.“I

saw

all

th

at

ind

ep

en

de

nce

an

d f

or

me

, it

wa

s th

e o

nly

th

ing

th

at

I k

ne

w.

In

the

ea

rly

sta

ges

of

my

bra

nd

, I

wa

sn’t

aw

are

of

LV

MH

[M

t H

en

ne

ssy

Lo

uis

V

uit

ton

] b

ran

ds

an

d a

ll t

ha

t k

ind

of

stu

ff a

nd

cre

ati

ve

dir

ecto

r p

osi

tio

ns.

I

just

saw

Wa

lte

r V

an

Be

ire

nd

on

ck,

An

n

De

me

ule

me

est

er,

Dir

k V

an

Sa

en

e,

Dri

es

Va

n N

ote

n a

nd

Ma

rtin

Ma

rgie

la h

avin

g

the

ir o

wn

th

ing

,” h

e c

on

tin

ue

d.

“T

o m

e,

tha

t’s

wh

at

I w

an

t. I

t w

as

a g

oo

d

thin

g a

t th

e e

nd

th

at

de

sire

to

be

, a

nd

th

e f

am

ily

fe

eli

ng

to

me

als

o.

I re

me

mb

er

Dri

es

an

d W

alt

er

we

re s

ha

rin

g t

he

sa

me

b

uil

din

g,

bu

t th

ey

ha

d a

n i

nd

ep

en

de

nt

cre

ati

ve

la

ng

ua

ge,

an

d w

ha

t W

alt

er

wa

s d

oin

g w

as

com

ple

tely

so

me

thin

g e

lse

. T

he

re w

as

a c

om

mu

nit

y o

f d

esi

gn

ers

b

ein

g a

ble

to

re

late

to

ea

ch o

the

r o

ne

way

o

r a

no

the

r. A

ll o

f th

em

in

div

idu

all

y, i

n a

w

ay,

cou

ld s

ee

ve

ry f

ast

ho

w t

he

y h

ad

fo

r th

em

selv

es

cre

ate

d s

om

eth

ing

ve

ry o

fte

n

wit

h p

eo

ple

th

at

the

y r

ela

ted

to

. I

stil

l th

ink

th

at’

s th

e b

eau

ty.

I se

e m

y o

wn

co

mp

an

y a

s a

fa

mil

y,” h

e a

dd

ed

.W

ha

t h

e d

esi

res

is v

ery

diff

ere

nt

fro

m

wh

at

he

en

cou

nte

red

la

ter

in h

is l

ife

. “

Th

e

syst

em

wa

s d

iffe

ren

t. I

sta

rte

d o

ut

wit

ho

ut

a c

om

pu

ter,

bu

t w

ith

a f

ax

ma

chin

e.

Th

ere

w

as

no

acc

ess

to

th

e g

lob

al

fash

ion

wo

rld

e

xce

pt

for

TV

pro

gra

ms

an

d m

ag

azi

ne

s m

on

ths

late

r. N

oth

ing

wa

s o

ut

on

th

e

day

of

the

sh

ow

. T

he

tim

e f

ram

e w

as

six

m

on

ths

an

d n

ow

it’

s ju

st t

he

mo

me

nt

the

sh

ow

is

ha

pp

en

ing

,” h

e s

aid

.“

Wh

en

I w

as

at

Dio

r, I

fe

lt t

he

re w

as

an

in

cre

dib

le p

ress

ure

fro

m t

he

ou

tsid

e o

n

me

to

be

wit

h m

e w

hil

e I

wa

s d

esi

gn

ing

, w

hil

e I

wa

s in

th

e s

tud

io.

Pre

ss w

an

ted

to

be

th

ere

, th

e p

ress

wa

nte

d t

o b

e a

t th

e

fitt

ing

s. T

he

n y

ou

do

all

th

e p

rev

iew

s,

spe

ak

wit

h a

ll t

he

pre

ss d

ays

be

fore

th

e

sho

w.

I d

idn

’t l

ike

th

at

at

all

. It

wa

s m

ain

ly

be

cau

se o

ne

de

sig

ne

r w

as

ve

ry m

uch

at

ea

se w

ith

it.

I d

on

’t c

riti

cize

pe

op

le f

rom

d

oin

g i

t, b

ut

be

cau

se o

the

r p

eo

ple

do

so

me

thin

g,

it s

ho

uld

no

t b

e a

sy

ste

m f

or

FASHIO

N

Raf Simons: ‘I Just Wanted to Make Clothes’

Raf Simons

Raf Simons at

“Fashion Talks.”

Simons portrait by Stéphane Feugère; Fashion Talks by Fille Roelants Photography

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JOURNALIST: VON ZSUZSANNA TOTH

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JOURNALIST: DIANE PERNET

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JOURNALIST: KATRIEN HUYSENTRUYT

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26 wallonia and brussels magazine

.DESIGN

Take a bow Local designers are honoured at the third annual Belgian Fashion Awards

By Clodagh Kinsella

wallonia and brussels magazine

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Being a finalist in such contests is a great opportunity to share your work with your peers as well as with a wider audience

Sarah Levy

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27wallonia and brussels magazine WINTER 2019/2020wallonia and brussels magazine

The local fashion scene may be fa-mous for its modesty, but there’s one time of year when the coun-

try proudly celebrates its avant-garde de-sign credentials and fiercely independent streak: during the annual Belgian Fashion Awards. The awards honour the country’s designers at home and abroad, focusing on big names as well as behind-the-scenes talent, and act as a springboard for up-and-coming brands.

The third edition of the event took place in November in the context of the fashion seminar Fashion Talks. It was organised by publications Le Vif Weekend and Knack Weekend alongside three bodies key to the promotion of Belgian creativity: Wallo-nie-Bruxelles Design Mode (WBDM), MAD Brussels and Flanders DC.

“These days, being an entrepreneur in the fashion sector is a bigger challenge than ever, both for newcomers and for the numerous professionals in the sector,” says Elke Timmerman of MAD Brussels. “By taking part in the organisation of the Belgian Fashion Awards, WBDM wants to strengthen the reputation and inter-national visibility both of the sector as a whole and the talented individuals with their unique character, whether they work independently or within a fashion house,” adds Laure Capitani of WBDM.

Awards were given in seven categories, and francophone designers were well rep-resented. Couture lingerie creator Carine Gilson, whose label celebrated its 30th an-niversary this year, was nominated for De-signer of the Year, while in-demand fashion

editor Benoît Béthume and photographer Pierre Debusschere both vied for Profes-sional of the Year, with Debusschere tak-ing the crown. Dominique Rocour of Liège school Château Massart and Thurel Thou-et of HELMo Mode were among the joint winners of the Most Promising Graduate title. The jury felt the seven finalists all deserved the title, saying they found the candidates “very strong individuals who give a great overview of what our various Belgian fashion schools have to offer”.

The Emerging Talent of the Year award, re-served for brands less than three years old, saw a nomination for rising star Sarah Levy, a Brussels-based accessories designer and La Cambre Mode(s) graduate who recently scooped the Public Award at France’s pres-tigious Hyères Festival. “When you have a more discursive than business-oriented approach to design, being a finalist in such contests is a great opportunity to share

your work with your peers as well as with a wider audience,” says Levy.

An architect by training, Levy’s award-win-ning project Creatures of Habit draws on exchanges with sociologist Mathieu Berger, materialising often-vapid contemporary fetishes in the form of accessories. Such a conceptual approach feels very Belgian – one reason she feels a kinship with the country’s radical creative scene. “Of course I appreciate the dynamics of big cities like Paris or London, but Brussels’ outsider sta-tus gives me a feeling of freedom that’s de-cisive in the development of my work.”

Having won the Emerging Talent award last year, contemporary denim label Façon Jacmin, founded in 2016 by twins Alexan-dra and Ségolène Jacmin, underscored its popularity as one of several francophone brands honoured in the Fashion Brand of the Year category. The public selected the winner from a jury-selected shortlist of 10 brands including veterans Natan, a brand whose roots stretch back to 1930.

“Awards like this are really a boost on so many different levels: they create visibility and so are a marketing boon where you real-ly feel the commercial consequences of win-ning,” say the sisters. “We’re also very proud of Belgian fashion and its excellent reputa-tion and history worldwide, so the quality of the prize is an extra motivation to win it – although just to be nominated already feels like a reward.” It’s a response suggesting that, even on prize day, Belgium’s famed modesty isn’t something that’s easily set aside. belgianfashionawards.be

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