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Brussels Fashion Days will propose an ever more complete panorama of the Belgian fashion through four fashion shows, a giant popup store, the presence of Belgian fashion schools, workshops and beauty corners.

A POP-UP STORE, 50 DESIGNERS

The famous pop-up store of the Brussels Fashion Days is expanding again and will host 50 designers ( 30 in 2017 and 40 in 2018). During the whole event, visitors will have the occasion to discover and get the latest trends of the Belgian designers. This year, the designers presented in the pop-up store were selected thanks to 3 criteria : sustainability, entrepreneurship and crafts.

4 MAJOR FASHION SHOWS

The Opening Fashion Show of Friday night will feature 13 designers from all over Belgium. Visitors will discover the latest creations of ARIANE LESPIRE, CONNI KAMINSKI, DASCHA LEMECHTCHOUK, EMSE STUDIO, HELDER ANTWERP, JOAN DE RIJCK, NC BY NC NZOGANG, RECTO VERSO, SARA ROCES BUELGA, STEPHANIE RENS, TUTU CHIC, VALERIE BERCKMANS

Saturday from 17:30, AKASO, ALICE ET MAMAN, APA_INTEMPORAL, DESIGNERS AGAINST AIDS, IMPREVU, LNKNITS, MARIE MERO, NOEMIE MAKBOULIAN, RUMBL, SIGNE ZOE and TONI CAPTAIN will invade the catwalk to offer the public the most dynamic and surprising 100% Belgian fashion show.

The International Fashion Show will take place Saturday night at 21:30. Belgian and foreign designers will take the visitors on a travel through their most gorgeous and prestigious creations. CATALINA J, DESIGNERS AGAINST AIDS, ERIYA MIURA, FEMME DE MARS, LOLA ANTOINE, MONOKROME, OLIVER FIELD, TALABAYA, TINY INK, VALENTINA TSITIRIDIS, VERA ROAD will propose a tour over Vietnam, Andorre, Italy, Bangladesh, Cambodge, and many other as original as unexpected destinations.

The weekend will end with a big and colorful fashion show of the best students from Belgian fashion schools on Sunday at 17:00. Participating schools : Haute Ecole Francisco Ferrer, Ecole Supérieur des Arts de Saint-Luc Tournai, Helmo Mode, Château Massart, EPS Saint-Luc de Bruxelles, SASK, KASK, Syntra Brussel, la Maison de Couture, Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp. The schools will also be present through the Schools’ Street during the whole event.

WORKSHOPS & BEAUTY BARS

Thanks to our beauty partners “Kevin Murphy” and “Make Up For Ever”, visitors will benefit from precious hair and makeup tips while enjoying a pleasant beauty treatment.

Other activities will also be proposed for the public to dive into the fashion universe and its many facets: a couture workshop with Bernina; two Fashion Talks (Future of Retail by Lightspeed, Sustainable Fashion by Jaante); a workshop offered by the brand FREYWILLE that will help visitors to choose their jewelry according to their morphology.

Finally, live demonstrations and a textile printing workshop will also be offered to the visitors thanks to the Japanese company Epson. For the party-animals, the venue dedicated to the fashion show will turn into a club and the catwalk into a dance floor. See you at 22:30 for the Fashion Afterparty !

Program:

FRIDAY 11th October 2019
18.00: Opening
21.30: Opening Fashion Show
23.00: Fashion Drink

SATURDAY 12th October 2019
14.00: Opening
15.00: Fashion Talk by Lightspeed:
Future of retail
17.30: Fashion Show
21.30: International Fashion Show
23.00 – 4.00: Fashion Party

SUNDAY 13th October 2019
12.00: Opening
15.00: Fashion Talk by Jaante :
Sustainable Fashion
17.00: Schools Fashion Show

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For a weekend in March, the magnificent Alfândega do Porto (old customs house) hosts the most important fashion event in the country: Portugal Fashion. Created by the Portuguese Textile Association (ATP) and the Association of Young Portuguese Entrepreneurs (ANJE), Portugal Fashion first came to life back in 1995, with the presence of top models like Claudia Schiffer, Elle McPherson and Carla Bruni among others.

“From the very beginning we understood that whe world needed to know Portugal was not only a textile-producer nation. We also have very good designers, we can create products of value,” said Manuel Serrão, CEO of Selective Moda. For six years he was VP of ANJE, and in this position he was the engine behind the success of Portugal Fashion.

Since 1999, Portugal Fashion has taken place twice a year, mostly in Porto, but also in other parts of the country in the past: Algarve, Madeira, Figueira da Foz and Lisbon. Besides the focus on fashion and design, Portugal Fashion offers a glimpse of local culture, business trends, advances in technology and sustainability. It is a reference for the bustling world of creativity and aesthetics of present-day Portugal.

Behind golden-rimmmed glasses, Manuel Serrão is a man who observes the world with the eye of a seasoned entrepreneur, someone who has changed the landscape of the textile and fashion industry in Portugal. “Every year I am involved in the set up of 85 fashion and culture events in 35 countries. All of this experience I’ve wanted to bring to Portugal Fashion. And anyone coming here today can see it, the kind of quality Portugal is able to deliver.” 

For the past 10 years the Portuguese textile industry has experienced a renaissance shown both in economic numbers and creativity output. “This is an industry responsible for more than 130,000 jobs and for 10% of national exports,” said Paulo Vaz, director of ATP. “In 2018 the total turnover reached almost 8,000 million Euros, and we are glad to see that the graph continues to point upwards.”

What makes the Portuguese textile industry unique is its cluster-like model: all segments of the value chain can be found in the country, mainly in the northern areas around Braga and Porto. These clusters give Portugal several competitive advantages including speed, flexibility, adaptability, and technical development.

“In Portugal we have the production in-house. We can test a new technology, get the results and go back to the lab immediately. Then we use the feedback of the results, and try again, and so on. It’s a circle of virtue,” said António Braz Costa, Director General of CITEVE (Technological Centre for Textile and Clothing Industries) and CeNTI (Centre of Nanotechnology and Smart Materials).

Besides the men’s and women’s clothing, Portugal has also been at the forefront of innovation in the “technical textile” segment, which includes: automobile industry, high competition sports, security, medical, and defense.

“We have been working on yet a new domain called cosmetic-clothing,” said Mr. Braz Costa. “How does it work? When the textile reaches 36.5 degrees and when a certain tension in the fibers is reached, tiny cup-like shapes are open and release the active element. After you wash the clothes, a spray is used to refill the tiny cups. What are the potential uses, you ask. To treat a skin condition, to get rid of cellulite, to name just a couple.”

One of the main challenges that any country faces is to develop a strong image on the stage of world’s brands. The way consumers shape their perceptions about a product or service is often mysterious, difficult to predict and explain. With the business concept of Private Label, Portugal has found a way to hone all its skills and pave the way to stand as a fashion-country second to none.

“Private Label allows us to have a lot of the design done here in Portugal, which develops the skills of our own designers,” said Paulo Vaz. “Plenty of international companies rely on Portugal to have successful collections. And that tells a lot of what we are able to deliver. We keep investing and developing ourselves.”

For four days the Alfandega do Porto was witness to more than 20 fashion shows, including those by well established Portuguese brands such as Concreto, Nuno Balthazar, Alves/Gonçalves, among many others.

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Akaso,  from the Italian ‘a caso’ – meaning « by coincidence » – refers to the many coincidences that led to its creation. It is the story of an improbable meeting between Belgian designers and Ethiopian artists.

An improbable meeting

The label was born from the encounter of founder Philippe Vertriest with a book on African body painting art containing striking pictures of the Kara people, a small group of about 1,500 people living in South-Western Ethiopia and renowned for their distinctive body painting art using the skin as a canvas. He managed to connect with this closed community with the support of an Ethiopian anthropologist and invited the Kara community to give a new dimension to Kara body painting art. 

From there, Philippe Vertriest, who hates cultural appropriation, developed the idea of a collaborative design label. Each collection grows from a co-creation workshop between Ethiopian artists and Belgian designers from Akaso. Artists from the Kara tribe design drawings themselves, for which they receive a fair payment, and Belgian designers then use the drawings as a basis to design clothes in consultation with the artists. Together, they collaborated on a collection that mixed their art with knit pieces in cotton and silk.

Rapid expansion

The young brand (Akaso was founded in 2016) has managed to expand its range considerably in only a short time. Starting with T-shirts and sweatshirts, Akaso has since developed a full-fledged accessories line and fine knitwear. The first handbag range celebrates Kara tribe skin scarification culture, for which Akaso developed and patented a unique technique to visualise a three-dimensional print on supple Italian calf leather. The entire collection, which is made in Europe with eco-friendly fabrics, stand out for its unique print and pattern techniques. In November 2017, Akaso opened its first flagship store in Brussels and inaugurated a second store in Antwerp in mid-September. In addition, the brand has now fifteen sales outlets in Belgium. In the Netherlands, Akaso can be found at Avalon in Goes, Nivoo in Venlo and Anne-Belle Mode in Weert.

Originality without sacrificing quality

Akaso works exclusively with suppliers in line with their human and ethical values. Respect for the environment and workers are amongst the brand’s priorities. These high standards and attention to detail are reflected in products of exceptionally high quality. The handbags are especially eye-catching, with patterns looking like the scars that the tribe members use as body decorations. 

Too often, luxury brands find inspiration in other cultures without acknowledging their sources or giving back to these communities. The only alternative for lovers of unusual patterns is to turn cheap exotic clothes or accessories whose quality leaves a bit to be desired. That Akaso managed to unite luxury and authenticity while paying an hommage the culture of the Kara people is probably the brand’s greatest feat.

Good to know:

Address:  Galerie du Roi – 1000 – Brussels
Website: http://www.akaso.eu
Contact: +32 (0)2 513 20 07 ; info@akaso.eu

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In this framework, the national association for clothing and textile (ATP) together with the agency for investment and external commerce from Portugal (AICEP) organised a promotional evening in Brussels in order to brand the portuguese sustainable fashion and convince Belgian investors to invest in Portugal.

 » The aim of our visit is to reinforce the external communication of one of the most dynamic and exporting sectors of the Portuguese economy. Today, our companies are renowned for their know-how, creativity, flexibility, service and strong commitment to sustainability » explained Paulo Vaz, General Director of ATP.

Fashion from Portugal 4.0

Fashion from Portugal 4.0 is the brand new campaign for the upcoming years. And Belgium is invited to explore this opportunity. « In 2016 and 2017 we focused our attention in four main markets: Germany, Spain, the Nordic countries and the United States. The excellence of the previous project exceeded all expectations and was publicly acknowledged when it received the European Enterprise Promotion Award (EEPA). We want to reinforce our positions in those markets and invest in new ones. Namely in Belgium » continued Paulo Vaz.

Multiple companies, designers and investors from Belgium attended this evening. Portuguese Ambassador António Alves Machado underlined that 2018 is an important year for the relationship between Belgium and Portugal. « Last month King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium payed a state visit to Portugal. I’m very happy to see that in multiple fields our cooperation remains extremely alive ».

Maria Manuel Branco, AICEP Director in Brussels stressed: « We stand available to help any Portuguese company interested in getting to know the Belgium market. This evening was a perfect example of what we can do ».

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From 9^th to 11^th November in the wonderful premises of Halles Saint-Gery, Brussels, a three-day show presents the best of Czech and Slovak contemporary fashion design. The market presents for sale items of 14 designers who will be available for a chat on their brand. The event aims to give space for networking between the Czech, Slovak and Belgian scene. But of course, the doors are open for everyone who is curious about the contemporary fashion trends.

This treat for fashion lovers will offer three up-cycling workshops with designers on Saturday 10^th November, at 15:00, and the Fashion market will be open from 12:00 – 20:00.

“The Czech fashion scene is abundant in new ideas and superb craftsmanship – from bold new stories in Prague’s Baroque palaces and renovated warehouse to Brno’s entertaining mix of traditional textile techniques with punk attitude,” says Tamara Katuscak, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Kingdom of Belgium.

The curator of Czech and Slovak Fashion Festival 2018, Darina Zavadilova, emphasises the importance of developing a scene which has such a wide range of style – from unique traditional motifs to female empowerment and minimalism. ”The scene is particularly indebted to the current European trend of returning to national values and local traditions, combined with an ethical and environmentally friendly approach to production.”

Most importantly the products have been manufactured in Prague and Brno from start to end by young designers who have become widely recognised with their own brands not long after their graduation.

« They all represent values central to the contemporary Czech and Slovak fashion scenes and rooted in our shared history and traditions: highly skilled manufacturing, traditional techniques, textile design and folk motifs, combined with playfulness, a little provocation, recycling approaches, urban culture and minimalist aesthetics.”

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The exhibition presents an exceptional collection of clothing and accessories from the 18th century to the present, drawn from the collections of the two museums and from the archives of major fashion houses. Gathering Chanel, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Schiaparelli, Alaïa, Yamamoto, Martin Margiela and Olivier Theyskens, Back Side questions the perception we have of our backs and those of others. In fact, the man maintains equivocal relations with his back: the most flat area of ​​our body, he escapes our sight, making him more vulnerable; and yet fashion never ceases to adorn, charge, or strip it.

From the closing of the garment to the majesty of a train of court through the sensuality of a cleavage or the load of a bag, the symbols related to the back are multiple in fashion. With Back Side, you will not look at your back in the same way.

Good to know:

• Place: Fashion & Lace Museum
• Address: Rue de la Violette, 12 – 1000 Brussels
• When: Thursday, November 8, 2018 until Sunday, March 31, 2019
• Opening Hours: 10h to 17h every-day except Mondays
• Price: 8 euros, as well as possible reductions

An exhibition designed in collaboration with the Palais Galliera, Museum of Fashion of the City of Paris, Paris Museums.

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14 Czech fashion designers and 4 Slovak labels will present their work in Halles St. Géry/Sint-Gorikshallen from 9 to 11 November. Bold accessories and extraordinary jewelry, modern embroidery and stark minimalism, female and male fashion – the carefully curated selection offers a sneak peek into the best of the fashion scenes of the two countries. Moreover, the fashion offer will be accompanied by gift items and off-beat home accessories. In partnership with MAD, the festival also brings Belgian guests to professional and public events in a dialogue with Czech and Slovak designers.

“Values significant for the contemporary Czech and Slovak fashion are highly precise local manufacturing, traditional crafts and techniques, focus on textile design and folklore motives, combined with playfulness, bit of provocation, recycling and up-cycling approaches, urban culture and minimalist aesthetics,” says the curator Darina Zavadilová.

Besides the designers’ market, the festival also includes a B2B event, three workshops on fashion upcycling by the designers (Saturday November 10 at 3 pm) and free babysitting with children workshops.

Designers, bloggers and journalists, buyers and curators and other professionals from the field of fashion and design are warmly invited to join the B2B session on Friday, 9 November, at 11 am, with prior registration at ccbrussels@czech.cz.

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Aside for her international clothing designs, Fürstenberg has been actively involved in charitable affairs since the millennium under her own foundation: ‘The Diller – von Furstenberg Family Foundation’. Which she uses to support various causes like the Human Rights Foundation and the City Meals-on-Wheels. She also personally launched the DVF Awards to award women who demonstrated leadership and independence which inspired other women. On 30 March 2017, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Antwerp for her outstanding achievements in the fields of fashion and entrepreneurship, along with an intense commitment to women’s rights and human rights in general. Fürstenberg also received the ‘lifetime achievement award’ from the Council of Fashion Designers of America for her achievements in the field, of which she later became chair.

The Diane von Furstenberg collection is a popular brand that spans across 55 countries and is worn by socialites such as Madonna, Jennifer Lopez and Michelle Obama.

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As an artist, Racso has tapped into his creativity in « Efforts to inspire eco-consciousness to consumers, » and a call to provide « sustainability and genuine care for the environment » without compromising the stylistic integrity of fashion or the needs of the future.

Working with zero waste by using materials deemed unsuitable for basket and furniture production, these collected pieces are crafted into something new and useable; maximizing the life of the raw material.

Growing up the youngest son of a jeweller in the Phillipines, Rasco saw the potential intricacies and nuances that rattan offered, and with his later schooling in design, got the idea to combine them. This eco-friendly bowtie is hand weaved using traditional techniques that draw parallels from Rasco’s own finely thread sculptors. Resulting in smoothly woven threads that provide structural integrity and a fresh look to a traditional concept. The item is completely new and is the first of its kind to reach the market and has already recieved praise from notable websites like Trendhunter.

With a core principle of the campaign being eco-friendly, the bowties also helps provide livelihood to local artisans out of cooperatives from provinces around Southeast Asia.

« We are currently working with a group of artisans from a co-op in Southeast Asia. Being able to work from their households, our expert artisans take about 15 to 20 minutes to carefully craft one bow tie. Giving them a source of income through these rattan bow ties is just a step in our mission to continue to empower the small farmer. »

Adding « We look forward to future partnerships with artisans around the world in creating ethical products and of course, making consumers look fantastic!« 

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