THE BELGIANS

This summer Bozar, the Royal centre for fine arts in Brussels, has presented us a series of expositions and events around Fashion. Today we visited the central exposition, ‘The Belgians. An unexpected Fashion Story’ for about the fourth time, and the exposition keeps amazing. Everywhere you look new details catch your eye and tell you a little bit more about the beautiful and rich history of ‘our’ Belgian fashion.

As always, an exposition begins with its curator, and with Didier Vervaeren Bozar and MAD Brussels made an excellent choice. A lot of people may see this man as ‘the weird guy with the sunglasses’ but we see him as an Icon of Belgian fashion, or dare we say, the king of today’s Belgian fashion. With his years of experience, both in the creation of ready-to-wear at the Belgian label Xavier Delcour and the creation of high-end leather accesoiries as creative director of the Belgian luxury label Delvaux, Monsieur Vervaeren knows exactly how the fashion industry works. Today, next to working as a curator, Vervaeren can be seen and heard on belgian television and radio, teaches at La Cambre (where this year he’s starting his Masters course in Accesoiries design), organises international fashion projects and works as a fashion expert for the MAD Fashion and Design Centre in Brussels. 

That last one might be the perfect introduction of this fashion know-it-all, a fashion expert. Didier Vervaeren is a walking encyclopedia of fashion terms and history and with this exposition he allowed us a wonderfull experience: a look inside his genious mind.

The exposition is an 'hommage' to Belgian fashion in its purest form and consists of 10 theme's - going from ' Héritage / A surreal Tribute' to 'Martin Margiela : When artistry meets industry' -  that guide you through the beautiful history of our Belgian fashion. Where other expositions, such as those of the Antwerp Fashion Museum, show you the work of the already famous Belgian designers, this exposition also shines a light on the Belgian fashion schools and its students and Belgian designers of tomorrow like the label 'Vetements'. 




Now, let's stop talking and get to the pictures...

You can visit the exposition 'The Belgians' at the Centre For Fine Arts Brussels, BOZAR until September 13th. If you aren't from Belgium and you don't count on visiting the city of chocolate and mussels (aka Brussels) before September, don't worry, we're sure the exposition will travel in the coming year.