| VISIONAIRE'S by Stephen Gan |
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| Walter Van Beirendonck was one of the original Antwerp Six —a group that included fellow Royal Academy of Art alumni Ann Demeulemeester and Dirk Van Saene. But from the very beginning, the unflappably avant-garde Van Beirendonck stuck out from this predominantly deconstructionist pack. His colorful, optimistic, and futuristic stance couldn't be further from the earthbound aesthetic that defined that moment if Van Beirendonck had been sent to us in the fashion world from another planet. Walter Van Beirendonck launched his signature line in 1983. But he is perhaps best known for designing W<. Dating back to the mid-1990s and backed by the German company Mustang, W< stood for Walt (Van Beirendonck's nickname), but also for Wild and Lethal Trash. "Wild is obvious", Van Beirendonck once explained. "Lethal is something that can be over-the-top, like you are lethal in love. Trash stands for consumption and throwing away". As a testament to the constantly expanding reaches of his imagination, and to fashion's ultimate power of transformation, he once had himself photographed a part man, part dinosaur. Van Beirendonck's out-of-this-world idea and even more out-of-this-world ways of presenting them soon caught the eye of the members of U2, who later commissioned him to create costumes for their Popmart tour. The edge's cowboy look and Bono's "Fly 2000" were inspired by cartoon superheroes and action-man dolls. Some think Van Beirendonck's clothes are amazing. Some think they are amusing. Others have found them vaguely disturbing. "I think the best interpretations were from the rubber show", Van Beirendonck once said. "I did 120 men covered in rubber latex and then on top I put the clothes. For me, the idea was an ecological statement. Some people saw it as a safe-sex message. Others saw it is an S&M thing. So many interpretations. I was amazed !" Now that his relationship with Mustang is over, Van Beirendonck is returning to research and the original spirit of his work. In January of 1999, Walter Van Beirendonck made his runway debut at the age of forty-two. The collection, called "No References", was a series of studies in cut, a new archetype of menswear, without allusion to the past, other cultures, or other fashion movements. Members of Van Beirendonck's extensive toy collection, all seated prominently in the front row, were there to cheer him on. —AB | ||