show 98 of the royal academy of Antwerp

Life as an intern

The Daily Events

The Skills Learnt

The Skills Applied

Ann Demulemeester


Its been a month of  anxiously checking emails and persistant follow ups, awaiting to hear the results of my interview. Then i finally got the news a week ago... that i am to start interning at Ann Demeulmeester through untill  August.. Amazing!..So here i am in the City of Antwerp... just about found a house... and most importantly it would seem a bike!

Week 1

Walked and cycled and walked the route to my new place of work about three times... just to be safe! Its has just been a bank holiday, so this gave me time to prepare for the big first day! Of course i was there about half an hour early... and about half a pack of Marlbros down.

However everyone was so nice... I was given a tour of the beautiful building, the highlight being a sneak peak at the archieve situated in the basement of the building.which was overwhelming.. it seemed impossible a single person could fit between the rails of clothes...! Jolien, explain the Heider Acikimen also part of Ann Demeulmeesters company BVBA 32 was also situtated at the atelier.


I am working in preporation for the mens collection, and have been deligated the task of preparing the boards which monitor the delviry and stock of fabric and then correllate to sketchs, flats and garment mesurments and componates and a visual system for the whole department. Further maintaining all information of past collection is very important for the archive and as reference for the future collections.. so i therefore had to but books together which serve the same purpose as the fabric boards but are the final selections including prices etc. The best part of this task was having a chance to study the whole of last seasons collection, what amazed me was they still work by hand. Ann D wants to keep a very natural feel to everything within her collection. Therefore all flats are done by hand and then scanned to annotate and add information to create the books. Another amazing opportunity this week was the STOCK SALE! So staff got first choice on everything and this was held at their unit about four miles from the atelier, where all stock from past seasons was reduced to insane prices! So this resulted in no food budget for the next three weeks... but its was worth it! The best part was i also got an opportunity to buy fabric.. and all fabrics for £6 a meter, this was amazing.. and great value.. how i could  not get a few things! 

My Fellow intern outside Ann Demeulemessters home and to the right the atelier. Although i have not had chance to see  Ann yet, she doesnt use the le Coubsier Building as her home anymore only to her son Victor. Hopefully i will get chance to meet her soon! I think i will probably faint. 

After my first week, it is clear that you have to stop at the very bottom to work your way up. However i have learnt a lot. I did not realise the extensive organisation involved in collection and its importance. Although here clothes may have a rock and roll edge.. the process and techniques are not... every edge to a sheet cut on board must be to a 90 degree angle evan the fedex boxes sent out must be taped immaculately edge to edge.

Week 2

Had the amazing opportunity of organising the archieve this week! AMAZING! This meant i got a chance to nosey at all the past collections... I was mainly working with the leather goods and shoes.  Pairing up shoes and labling etc... this sounds boring, but you saw the stuff.. its not! The importance of this archive is Collection Blanche. This a mini collection which will show alongside the mens collections in paris and i am also working alongsinge to prepare. The collection basically takes sucessfull garments from the past and changes them slightly to add a new edge, with new fabrics and finishes. Ann D explains in a past interview..

''It’s called Collection Blanche, or White Collection. It’s white because it’s blank, without any identifying dates. I did it because people kept saying things like, “Oh, I loved those trousers. Can’t you make ones like them again?” Or, “I love my jacket, but it’s falling apart. I want the same one.” It’s because certain pieces of clothing become like friends. They become a part of your life. You can’t stand it if, all of a sudden, they are gone. I wanted to do this collection because it was like going back and finding old friends for me, too. It was great to go through the archives and say, “Wow, why don’t we make this again?”

This is a great idea, i have had the chance to study some classice peices and see techinques on how they modify these garments with the slightest of changes to create something completly new.

Okay so the highlight this week was meeting Ann herself... she arrived in the studio with her huge greyhoound in hand... This was my saving grace and it took shine to me and wouldn't leave me alone... so therefore.. i got an introduction, she is was so humble and wished that i get a lot from my time here and hopefully learn something along the way... She is beautiful.. I cannot remember what i said, all i know is i was shaking a little.

Friday was also a good day, i got put with the pattern cutting team. Here i was to copy the patterns by hand.  This was a great opportunity to see how the patterns worked in contrast to what i have already learnt at university. It was amazing how much information the apply to these patterns, i wish i could of got a photograph, but there was honestly no chance of this. 

Week 3

This week was pretty much copying patterns again, which i didnt mind, gave me chance to see the components of each garment for the collection i am organising, this meant that i had a peak at each stage of the process, besides the production. 

The majority of the fabrics are now arriving and this means i need to work on producing the fabric books which will be presentated to buyers alongside the collection to give an idea of the range they can produce. However as Ann D is very strict about having a hand made element throughout the process of production these books need to be made buy hand and this is put down to me and adelle. First we are to cut out samples, extremely precisily and this is an understatment, each sample must be percisely 5cm by 3cm and have no frayed edges, sounds easy??  5o of these sample must be cut for each fabric and consectivily each colour. So alot of work. 

Cutting Fabric swatches process

Last seasons fabric books and what i am to create.

Week 4

This week fabrics have had to be sent with what is called a technical fish. It is my task to gather all the components which make up the garment, fabrics, buttons, accessories, canvasing, fastenings, etc. This again sounds easy, But one mistake, miss one button and the whole prototype gets looses a day of production plus the cost of shipping the garment. So each stage follows a system, when cutting the fabric, and extra 15cm is added to each measurement, then pinned is the right side of the fabric with the relevant language, This is then folded is a specific way which i have no  idea how to explain in writing and labeled in with its properties and corresponding garment reference. Then the buttons are attached to the fish.. then i am to copy... check.. and check again... add pattern, first toile.. and bag.. box and fill out fed-ex forms to the correct area of production, which is different for each category of garment.

fabric cutting area

Preparing skins

Fabric cutting tables

So tomorrow night there is party, were the whole team and hopefully Heider Ackermans team will attend... very excited.. Ann D herself is going to be there of course! Very..very Excited!

Week Five

This week has been pretty much like the last, preparing fabrics for prototypes etc and fabrics for books. Although i wish i could apply some of my production skills i have learnt at uni to the process, so far the only action that comes close to this is machine sewing size label onto a small jersey collection. However i do not feel this is wasted experience i am gaining, i feel the preparation for a collection is to the highest standard, i now know what is involved and how i can apply this when gathering components for my final collection. Although i am running quite mundane task, it is made less boring as the fabrics/garments i am working with are actually exciting and therefore, its actually quite fun.  And as for the result of the party, managed to dance with Ann herself! Incredible! 

The story so far... Ann Demeulemeester

First things First... and Introduction to the renowned designer... a legend in my eyes...

“I want to cut nonchalance into my clothes. To do that, you have to work with balance. For example, a jacket pocket will hang differently after you've put things in it. Clothes will eventually take the shape of your body — a favorite coat will have a completely different soul than an identical jacket before it has been worn. The idea that garments are alive is a big inspiration. I want to fill them with soul. I've worked on that for a long time through the cut, the fabrics, and the treatments. I want to create the shape of your arm in the sleeve of the jacket.”

Her Story

Ann Demeulemeester is a member of a group of experimental designers who emerged from Belgium in the mid-1980s, known today as the 'antwerp six'. Termed deconstructivists, they achieved recognition by creating raw, elemental, non-traditional clothes. Demeulemeester designs with a close attention to detail and prefers to concentrate on pairing unusual fabrics, rather than focusing on colour and ornament. Demeulemeester combines unconventional cutting and tailoring with distressed fabrics, and always mixes the austere with the avant-garde. Ann loves layering, and primarily works with black and white colors. Her signature, neo-gothic rock-n-roll look is unmistakable, and gives an edge to her collections. I think Ann is also a master of the moving silhouette. The way she cuts, along with her omnipresent use of tassels, buckles, and strings creates a sweeping, exciting movement. Yet, Ann manages to keep a sense of a soft romance in her clothes, and it is that mix of soft edge, the masculine femininity, the dark romance that makes her a true artist – a designer with a clear philosophy and a strong identity. She never bows to trends, although trends sometimes intersect with her collections. She does not advertise.


 She lets the clothes speak for themselves.

S/S 1992

''When you can feel the soul of a designer in their work, its interesting, its work with a vision''

Her Muse ... 

Patti Smith

Her Thoughts...

Interview Ann.

http://www.anndemeulemeester.be/assets/interviews/fashion_now.pdf

http://www.anndemeulemeester.be/assets/interviews/guardian.pdf

http://www.anndemeulemeester.be/assets/interviews/vogue_usa.pdf

http://www.anndemeulemeester.be/assets/interviews/id.pdf

http://www.anndemeulemeester.be/assets/interviews/belgian_fashion_design.pdf