On the occasion of the celebration Happy Birthday Dear Academie, MoMu – Fashion Museum Province of Antwerp, Antwerpen Open and Toerisme Vlaanderen are presenting the project Antwerp Icons.

12 renowned designers, all graduates of the Antwerp Fashion Department, chose an iconic piece from their archive. MoMu, the Fashion Museum of the Province of Antwerp invited photographer Ronald Stoops, make-up artist Inge Grognard and fashion designer Dirk Van Saene to interpret these garments in a styling with printed bodysuits which refer to the signature of the desig- ners. The large format photos pop up at various locations all over the city.

12 iconic garments by Antwerp fashion designers have been immortalised in large format photographs positioned around the city. Rendered in heroic proportions reminiscent of the totemic ‘giants’ that have been carried in Antwerp processions since the 14th century, each photograph represents the work of a celebrated graduate from the Fashion Department of the Antwerp Academy.
Styled by designer Dirk Van Saene a visual link has been made between the silhouettes by the use of a simple bodysuit. Each is printed with a pattern or textile strongly associated with the appropriate designer’s work, chosen following research through the archives of MoMu. The designers then selected a single, iconic piece to be worn over the bodysuits.

Ronald Stoops’s photographs emphasise the monumental scale of the image by dramatically manipulating the proportions of the model. Both Stoops and makeup artist Inge Grognard are strongly associated with Antwerp fashion of the last 25 years, and their intimate understanding of the aesthetic and working methods of each designer is apparent in the highly individual styling choices made for each silhouette. The towering, 10-meter-high images have been placed at appropriate locations around the city.

Discover the Antwerp Icons in Antwerp: Ann Demeulemeester (Leopold de Waelplaats/ Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten), Bernhard Willhelm (Astridplein), Dries Van Noten (Hanzestedenplaats/MAS), Dirk Van Saene (Wapper), Dirk Bikkembergs (Theaterplein), Marina Yee (Handschoenmarkt/Kathedraal), A.F. Vandevorst (Bolivarplaats/Justitiepaleis), Veronique Branquinho (De Keyserlei), Walter Van Beirendocnk (Nationalestraat/MoMu), Christian Wijnants (Falconplein), Peter Pilotto (Ernest van Dijckkaai/Voetgangerstunnel), Maison Martin Margiela (Mechelseplein).