Ann Demeulemeester

IN 1985, ANN DEMEULEMEESTER FOUNDED, WITH HER HUSBAND, A FASHION HOUSE IN HER NAME BASED IN ANTWERP, BELGIUM. BEFORE THAT, SHE STUDIED AT THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF FINE ART OF ANTWERP, FROM 1978 TO 1981, WHERE SHE MET THE OTHER MEMBERS OF WHAT LATER BECAME “THE ANTWERP SIX”. A GROUP OF SIX DESIGNERS WHO STUDIED IN ANTWERP AND CREATED THE CULTURE AND FAME OF BELGIAN FASHION. TOGETHER, THEY PRESENTED THEIR FIRST COLLECTIONS IN LONDON IN 1986. IN 1992, DEMEULEMEESTER PRESENTED HER FIRST SHOW IN A PARISIAN ART GALLERY.

ANN PERCEIVES FASHION AS A WAY TO EXPRESS HERSELF, AND HER UNIQUE STYLE CHARACTERIZED BY A DARK YET ROMANTIC AESTHETIC TRANSLATES INTO HER CREATIONS. SHE DRAWS MUCH OF HER INSPIRATION FROM THE PUNK ROCK SINGER PATTI SMITH. INITIALLY ONLY CREATING WOMEN’S CLOTHES, IN 1996, ANN ADDED HER FIRST MENSWEAR COLLECTION TO HER BRAND THAT SHE LAUNCHED AT THE SAME TIME AS HER WOMEN’S COLLECTION THAT YEAR. THE BRAND WAS A GREAT SUCCESS, AND IN 2006 WAS SOLD AT APPROXIMATELY 200 STORES AROUND THE WORLD. THAT SAME YEAR, ANN DEMEULEMEESTER INTRODUCED JEWELLERY TO HER LABEL.

IN 2014, ANN DEMEULEMEESTER LEFT HER BRAND AND APPOINTED SÉBASTIEN MEUNIER, A FRENCH STYLIST WHO WAS MARTIN MARGIELA’S RIGHT HAND FOR 10 YEARS, TO SUCCEED HER IN THE ARTISTIC DIRECTION. MEUNIER, WHO HAD ALREADY DESIGNED THE MEN’S COLLECTION SINCE 2010, STRIVED TO CREATE A NEW COLLECTION WHILE KEEPING THE GOTHIC, REBELLIOUS, WHILE ELEGANT STYLE OF ANN DEMEULEMEESTER. CURRENT COLLECTIONS OF THE HOUSE ANN DEMEULEMEESTER BLEND THE TRADITIONAL BLACK AND WHITE PUNK LOOK OF ANN WITH THE SEDUCTIVE TOUCH OF MEUNIER.