:: SHOWstudio ::

AF Vandevorst interviewed by Christabel Stewart

What first interested you both in fashion design?
Filip: It all started at fifteen when I read an article in a fashion magazine entitled 'Youth of 15' which portrayed 15 year-olds as impersonal snobs. I disagreed completely and immediately wrote a letter to the editors at the magazine. Soon after, I was invited by a fashion television programme to explain my motivations in detail and to give my opinion on fashion. They arranged a discussion with Dirk Bikkembergs and from that moment my interest in fashion just kept on growing.
An: At the age of 17, I saw a story on TV about the 'Antwerp Six' followed by the Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts annual student fashion show. Dressing was a very important way for me to express myself and I realised then that fashion was my dream.

You studied at the same institution. How did your education affect your development as designers?
We met each other on the first day of school at the Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts. The Fashion Department does not really offer technical training, instead it leads you through a period of tough self-discovery. The course is more about researching the creative inner rather than how to cut a blouse. During four years of studying, we stimulated each other's creativity, and we still do. At school we each discovered our own personalities. It is very important to develop your inner source because it is from this source that you constantly draw truly personal ideas.

What is your process for working together - do you share many roles, or bring together different skills to make the whole?
We work together on the whole process. Sometimes, or mostly, the starting point can be just one word or feeling. Then we talk, talk, talk; day in, day out. Sometimes we can barely keep up with the pace and we wish we had tape recorders in our minds. We are like volcanoes. We share and exchange ideas and keep a sort of a diary where we write down our thoughts. It is from these discussions that we build a story. The collection is like writing a book, with every season as a new chapter.

Are you each other's greatest critics or admirers?
We don't see the two as separated. We only aim for the best so it is important to be critical, but you also need each other's admiration and stimulation. The advantage of working as a couple is the ability to easily evaluate each others input to a collection. We can stimulate each other and optimise ideas in order to reach the best possible end result. The keyword in our collaboration is RESPECT.

What difference do you see between looking at your clothes captured in film to those in still imagery?
Capturing clothes in a film is closer to reality. In a film many aspects become more enhanced than they would in pictures. For example, the movement of a garment and how the fabric behaves on a body are important parts of creating fashion and these details show up best in a film. In pictures you freeze an instant impression, you have the opportunity to create the atmosphere of a garment in a certain surrounding and a picture immortalises that moment.

Whereas in previous collections you have taken classic garments and reinterpreted them (a kimono, a bomber jacket), the collection featured in Jean-Francois Carly's film (A/W'03) references the bumble bee as a key motif. Was the natural world a departure from fashion history for you?
Nature, and in particular animals, are always important inspiration sources for us because they are vulnerable yet strong at the same time. They have a lot in common with human beings.

What do you think it means to categorise you as 'Belgian designers'?
There is no escape from the categorisation that you receive as a 'Belgian Designer'. It is with this distinction that your whole definition as a designer stops. We all work in a very personal way by not following trends, each of us has his or her own style. We don't see that we have anything in common simply by being 'Belgian Designer's', except for the fact that we are all very down to earth.