Iconique talks to Belgium fashion designer Didier Van der Vorst, who graduated at the Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts and is a Fragma Award winner.
What was your inspiration for this collection?
With this collection I wanted to show a serene and elegant take on beauty. The girls had to be like frail, breakable princesses, hidden under a veil, preserving there innocence and purity, not yet wanting to reveal their
blossoming desires. The silhouette is long and gracious; it both covers and illuminates the female figure. The clothes look rich and full of dignity with a twist of melancholic romance.
The Royal Art Academy of Antwerp has become a prestigious name in the fashion world, what was your experience being in this school, how did it influence you as a designer?
As a student u are not aware of that prestige. You have one goal, and that is to make fashion, which results in a collection at the end of the year. I think the school wants to bring the best out of all students, for everything else you do it on your own.
Do you consider yourself a typical Belgium designer? And if so, what makes a Belgium designer 'Belgium'?
Somehow I do feel a bit like a typical Belgian designer, because more than elsewhere, designers are not influenced by hypes here. They have their personal style and go further within it as well as questioning it. This process results in new technical ideas. I believe I have a very personal style, and I always want to experiment on coupe, finding new ways to drape or make a pattern.
Have you been you influenced by the Antwerp Six?
I appreciate what they do, but I was never influenced directly by what they do.
What can we expect from Didier Van der Vorst in the future, what are your ambitions/dreams?
I want to have creative freedom and a stage to show it on, that’s what is most important to me.
Who is your icon?
I do not have an icon, there are many great designers and there is still place for more.