Ann Demeulemeester

Ann Demeulemeester's rising star was immediately recognized after graduating from the Royal Academy in 1981, when she was rewarded with the Golden Spindle Award, a prize created by the Belgian government to revitalize its textile sector, in 1982. A few years later, she launched her namesake label, making her Paris Fashion Week debut in 1992 - with a dark, punk-inspired look infused with Gothic inspirations that immediately distinguished itself from the glamorous, commercial collections dominating runways at the time.

Demeulemeester's sense of volume and proportion had a strong impression right away. She would create eye-catching designs using a subdued, frequently monochromatic color scheme, blending billowing, floor-length jackets with trim waistcoats and cropped trousers or showcasing sharply fitted shirts with large, exaggerated cuffs. Her early collections were primarily adaptations of traditional clothing. One of her earliest shows in Paris, her Fall/Winter 1992 collection offered a revisionist history by picturing an androgynous Edwardian age in which ladies wore elegant topcoats over ankle-length gowns and hefty boots.

For those tuned to its frequency, Demeulemeester's apparel speaks on a level deeper than only aesthetics—it resonates emotionally. It stands for a mindset, a way of life, and a full universe that includes music, literature, visual art, and philosophy. Those that want in can enter through the clothing. Poets, beggars, punks, and vampires are all elegant and filthy while in the gutter but gazing up at the stars.

Born: 1959
Nationality: Belgian
Brand: Ann Demeulemeester