The magical hats of Christopher Coppens

 

A Belgian artist living in Los Angeles, Christopher Coppens - designer, artist of all trades - from visually offensive (for some) to shocking to funny to smart to sophisticated .... Christopher's work is extremely eclectic and includes many different mediums. Usually very colorful, cringeworthy and sarcastic "in your face" visuals ... I have to admit a weakness for the more sophisticated and toned down poetry of his hats.

Trained initially as a theater director, Coppens started his own label as an accessories designer at the age of 21, a career that would span over 20 years with several outlets, international press following and buyers the world over, and that he would combine and nurture with his first stunts and solo shows as an artist. For more on his incredible journey, click here. 

But 2012 would mark a very important episode in his career, when, after 21 years of making work on the edge of art and fashion, Coppens decided to close his company to focus exclusively on his work as an artist. At this point his label was sold in 140 shops worldwide, his name was heard among fashion connoisseurs and he had become arguably one of the most celebrated milliners in Japan.

Part of this post via Wikipedia

http://www.christophecoppens.com/

Draw Me A Gaze

"Kris Van Assche and Barbara Polla launched the third edition of their magazine Londerzeel a month ago on Paris Fashion Week. The presentation of this edition “Draw me a gaze” was a celebration of art, illustration, literature and creativity in general. A little something else then another one of his fashion shows for a Dior Homme or for his own label. Read the rest of this entry » ... "

http://www.krisvanassche.com/

This post via http://www.ilovebelgium.be/

Hunting & Gathering in Brussels ...

Hunting and Collecting in Brussels is the work of former fashion editor Aude Gribomont and event producer Niels Radkte, who have pooled their creative talents and love of fashion, art, and design in the creation of this concept store. Blurring the line between art gallery and store, Gribomont and Radkte feature a heady mix of rotating artists in a nod to our global, nomadic culture. Their Online Store is equally innovative.

This post via http://remodelista.com/

Olivier Theyskens - On the other side of the picture

"While we wait to see where Belgian designer Olivier Theyskens next ends up, we can linger over the beautiful pictures of his work in Assouline’s Olivier Theyskens, The Other Side of the Picture, plus ponder more news from the Belgian fashion world.

Going against conventions, Olivier Theyskens dropped out of La Cambre when he was twenty years old, only to start a business in his own, unique way. His gothic creations took the fashion industry by storm, and Theyskens quickly became an icon.

In 2002, he decided to shut down his own line in favour of stints at Rochas and Nina Ricci, respectively. The latter didn’t prolong his contract last year, and fashion lovers are still holding their breath to see where he will end up next.

In the meantime, we can linger over the beautiful pictures of his work in Assouline’s Olivier Theyskens, The Other Side of the Picture, set to be released this spring by Assouline"

The above post via http://www.xpats.com/lifestyle/olivier-theyskens

Below is one of my favorite pieces from the New York exhibition "L'air du temps" which took place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art ... designed of course by Olivier Theyskens.



This book is available at the Austere Chic Store @ Amazon.

Chauncey - menswear

Chauncey, a Brussels-based menswear label is the idea of designer Nathalie Bouhana and her photographer partner David Sdika.

Having previously designed knitwear for Hermès, Salvatore Ferragamo and Anne Valérie Hash, Nathalie has an eye for luxury knits.

Creative, minimalist but exclusive, Chauncey prides itself on European craftsmanship. No eccentricity, but modern design. Extreme precision and the highest quality yarns and manufacturers. An "elegant gentleman traveler" look with a slice of Belgian surrealism.

This post via http://www.chauncey.be/index.html

Martin Margiela Book

"Graduating from Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts in the 1980s, Martin Margiela (and his contemporaries in the Antwerp Six) transformed global fashion with his aggressive restatement of traditional fashion design and a polemical approach to luxury trends. Working first with the house of Gaultier, Margiela absorbed the radical design of Japanese deconstruction, making it wholly his own with the founding of his own label in 1988. Margiela propounds a singular, enigmatic look, moving beyond the recognizable tropes of deconstruction—a monochromatic palette, out-sized garments, non-traditional fabrics, exposed seams, or roughly appliqué-d details—to develop a fully considered worldview, one with elegance, mystery, and menace in equal measure. This book provides an inside look at the design process from a craftsman who creates pieces prized for their originality, delicacy, and daring. In the spirit of Margiela’s garments, the book is a work of art in itself, designed exclusively by Margiela and complete with silver inks, ribbon markers, a variety of lush paper types, twelve booklets, and an embroidered white-linen cover. This book provides a window onto the intimate, handmade world of a unique designer."

This post via http://www.rizzoliusa.com/

Paper Fashion @ the Antwerp Mode Museum

Expensive fabrics are dismissed from the Haute Couture and Designer outfits made from paper that were on display at the Belgian Fashion Museum. Pieces included in the show were detailed Chanel couture, Issey Miyake and Anna Piaggi, among st others. Above are just a few examples of this past exhibit ...

The artsy space also welcomed collections of books, magazines and records, everything fashion related, as well as two exhibits per year.

Mode Museum
Nationalestraat 28
Antwerp, Belgium 2000
phone: +32 3 470 2770

This post via http://www.madeupdisease.com/

Julie Krakowski

Julie Krakowski is a Brussels-based French textile designer who gets inspired by marks left by time. She is an artist I discovered through a very cool blog called "2 or 3 things I know". Her work mimics various textures such as flowers, rusted metals, cigarettes, etc. Though I wouldn't want to actually wear any of these textiles, on a visual and photo-graphic plane, I find her work and these images to be very mysterious and beautiful at the same time.

"Work based on the marks left by time. Graphic work on the unpredictable and uncontrolled creation of rust on paper. Examination of the confrontation rust and preciousness. The rust embodies the notion of change, wear and tear, the staining effect, dirt and the fact that one is repelled by rust, whereas the precious is signified by silk, fashion, the body and attraction. It is an ambiguous play between fashion and trash, change and sublimation."

- Julie Krakowski

Delvaux

"In 1829, Charles Delvaux added a shop window to his Brussels studio. His handcrafted travel trunks quickly gained universal admiration amongst the cognoscenti. In 1883, Delvaux became a warrant holder to the Court of Belgium. And, in 1898, the House was the first to patent a model (the Edison trunk). Spurred on by this success, the range was further extended to include luggage, boxes, suitcases, and more. Never forgetting ladies’ handbags, which the House has offered since the beginning of the 20th century." You can read more here.

Delvaux is currently having an exhibition at MoMu Fashion Museum in Antwerp. If you go, try to stay at Hotel Julien!

Delvaux - the world’s oldest fine leather goods firm - has created a limited edition Newspaper Bag for the magazine Monocle.

Billykirk Shoulder Bag

It’s too bad that so many of the bags we like are either military or close to military, but we just find the leather goods of wartime beautiful by virtue of their stripped-down functionality, simplicity and complete lack of pointless, purely decorative features. This ridiculously beautiful bag is the No. 95 Shoulder Satchel by Billykirk and it’s a fairly faithful copy of a WWII Belgian military map case. It’s entirely handmade and the company even casts its own sturdy white brass hardware. Why can’t more civilian bags be like this – free of bling, glitz, chacha, weird anatomical looking folds, pointless, slouchy, ruched wrinkledness, and dopey hardware? We don’t understand the bags being churned out by the big couture houses at the moment. This Billykirk bag is quite transcendent, too.

This post via http://blog.ounodesign.com

Ann Demeulemeester in Nomenus Quarterly

Once again, inspired by the stylishly flawless blog Sybaritic Monkey, I was led to a feature on Ann Demeulemeester in Nomenus Quarterly Magazine. Below is the actual introduction to this stunning photo-bio-graphical profile on this world famous Belgian Designer's Men's collection between 1996-2009.

"... Ann demeuslemeester, one of Belgium's greatest
contemporary fashion desighners, is celebrated here in our extended photographic survey of her Man's archives from 1996 to 2009. We have created a 30 plus page book within this issue of Nomenus Quarterly, composed of film stills from our extensive adaptation of William Golding's book Lord of the Flies. Additionally drawing inspiration from the latest work of Italian photographer Mario Giocomelli, and his young priests at play, these photographs begin to create a fictitious narrative about youth and the desire to return to a romantic and infant state, where we're no longer alone in this world ..."

All photographs by Erik Madigan Heck

More info at
http://www.nomenusquarterly.com
http://www.anndemeulemeester.be
http://sybariticmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/07/ann-demeulemeester-nomenus-quarterly.html

Laurent Fontainas - Jewelry

Laurent Fontainas is one of those people you meet and you immediately feel his passion for the work. Having been lucky enough to have visited his 'atelier' in Brussels, it was inspiring to see the evolution of a single piece and the patience it took to realize each piece as he envisioned it. From the wax molds to the finish product, his jewelry is very austere and beautiful at the same time.

Though I've held on to his card until now ... his website doesn't seem to be active at this time - however - check back in regularly, just in case you can see more of his work!

He lives and works in Brussels.

'Hospital' (Fashion Shop) by Puresang

Belgian designers Puresang have designed Hospital, a clothing store set in a former stable in Antwerp.

The Antwerp designers used patterned tiles and reclaimed, decorative, glass panels, and added new levels built from tropical timbers.

When Jeroen Smeekens started Clinic almost four years ago, he never thought it would be such an instant success. Thanks to our craftsmanship, Clinic has been published in important magazines and has been quoted as the “Best retail concept” from the last decennia by trendwatcher Malcolm Mclaren.

" ... If Colette in Paris is known for high fashion and gifts, Clinic has become the blueprint for a new era in concept stores for casual and sportswear. In December 2008, J. Smeekens has opened a new challenge: Hospital. And again, we were the ones who did the beautiful design and concept.

Hospital will be a crossover between high fashion and casual couture with eccentric toys for him and her.

The shop is a Walhalla for new luxury, with a highlight on leading fashion trends and a diversity of accessories and one-off design pieces. It’s not Colette, nor Corso Como… it’s Hospital !

The location is in the trendy South of Antwerp, across the well-known Clinic. The space is situated in a former stables complex from the old and already destroyed Hippodrome of Antwerp.

It’s a space of approximately 1000 square meters with a ceiling of seven meters high.

We wanted to add more drama to the design and did this by using materials such as old decorative glass panels and colorful, exotic tiles combined with highly polished metals and tropical woods mixed with exposed brick walls.
In front of the store you have a listed building where a small resto-coffee bar will be installed and on the three levels a new luxury Bed and Breakfast will be designed.

The open space is split up and divided into levels which increases the retail space up to 1200 square meters. Dramatic lighting is one of the features used to illuminate the space whilst multi media effects bring more dynamism to the building. Hospital, a new challenge for new luxury! ..."

This post from http://www.dezeen.com/2009/05/17/hospital-by-puresang/

Recommended by Justin via http://sybariticmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/05/hospital.html