Backissues

3-2013-0

Issue 3/2013
Styleguide Antwerp
Interview Bruno Pieters

Editorial

Are humour and fashion mutually exclusive? The line between ‘laughing with’ and ‘laughing at’ is far too fine for many of us to even dare to navigate with fashionable wit. And anyway: is being funny and cool at the same time even possible? Our Berlin-based author Fredericke Winkler mulled the question over – and discovered that humour and a healthy portion of self-irony have certainly earned a place in the world of fashion.

Living proof of this is Walter Van Beirendonck. The designer achieved renown in the early eighties as one of the members of the Antwerp Six. Together with his student colleagues from the ‘Koninklijke Academie voor Schone ­Kunsten’ he revolutionised Belgian fashion.
Van Beirendonck is famous for his vibrant and witty designs, a factor that certainly hasn’t held him back in the fashion stakes. In 2007 he became head of the Academy’s fashion department, a real hotbed for upcoming talents. His influence, and that of the rest of the Antwerp Six, can be witnessed on the streets of the cosy city on the banks of the Scheldt River. Considering the size of Antwerp, its density of high-end fashion stores is extremely high. The 50th birthday of the famous fashion department provided the perfect occasion for us to head over to Belgium with Hamburg-based photographer Gulliver Theis and take a sip of the fashion elixir for ourselves. Our top 20 tips for the perfect Antwerp trip, including stylishly designed restaurants, hip bars, down-to-earth pubs and top-notch museums, can be found in our city guide.

Bruno Pieters also hails from Belgium, but prefers to do his own thing. Until 2010, in addition to a collection under his own name, he was also responsible for the young Hugo line at Hugo Boss. After leaving the label, he is now back with his latest project: Honest by is the name of Pieters’ new label, which truly takes transparency to a new level by revealing all relevant information to the customer, from the manufacturing process down to the pricing policies. J’N’C author Oliver Horton met up with the smart supporter of transparent business for an interview.
Oliver also took some time to wander round his hometown London for us. He not only met up with Mark Batista who is the co-initiator and co-curator of the young menswear tradeshow Jacket Required, but also spoke to Javid Alavi, the founder of the sixties cult label Merc, along with his daughter Soraya Alavi and team member Miles Gray.

Equally rooted in British fashion history is Nick Ashley, the son of the legendary Laura Ashley and designer of Private White V.C., one of the few British labels that still manufactures its products at its own factory in Manchester.
But getting back to the Thames: the fact that some of the most inspiring international store concepts can be found here, is proven beyond a doubt by shops like Couverture & The ­Garbstore. And despite this issue’s London bias, we also allowed ourselves to venture further afield to destinations like Hong Kong, Helsinki and Munich.

And speaking of what’s allowed: when it comes to fashion, there are no rules. Which is why this issue’s fashion spreads feature everyone from rockabillies and Amish people to ‘grungies’ and minimalists. After all, it’s about time we started seeing the funny side of it all!

On that note, we hope you have a lot of fun browsing the pages of this current issue!

 

 Ilona Marx, Editor in Chief

 

Photographers
Rainer Rudolf Benoit/7daysisaweekend, Nadia del Dò, Björn Giesbrecht, Muriel Liebmann, Swantje Neubohn, Julian Niznik, Philipp Rathmer, Axel Siebmann, Gulliver Theis, Gunnar Tufta, Erwin Wenzel

Illustrators
Frauke Berg, Roman Klonek, Matthias Suess

Authors
Christine Albrecht, Jolien Deckers, Gerlind Hector GH, Oliver Horton, Svea Jörgens, Cheryll Mühlen, Eva Westhoff EW, Fredericke Winkler FW

 

 

 

JNC Ads Rectangle Home 06

Advertisement

JNC Ads Rectangle Home 07

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


The
Current Issue