Dear reader,

Autumn has started for real, so now’s the time to think about next summer- or even Autumn ’05. If you work in the fashion world that is, meaning about 50% of the readers of the MintRed newsletters, who love to read about what new creative delights Belgium has to offer. This one (the October issue) is number 5 already and we’re proud to report that we’re getting more & more recognition -and praise- with every fresh issue. If you have any news or events to report with a Belgian input –be it great or small- from the worlds of fashion, art, design, music, gastronomy, architecture, photography or any other creative discipline, please let us know. We’ll be more than happy to spread the word worldwide!

Love,

Ninette (creative director MintRed PR)
Seduction on a can
Big brands linking their products to creative talent- it’s nothing new anymore, but some do it better and more imaginative than others. Big up to Coke Light, who after their Belgian Fashion and Art cans now present seven Photography Cans.

Photographers worked with the theme ‘Seduction’ and include Lieve Blanquaert, Marie-Jo Lafontaine, Etienne Tordoir and Guy Kokken. The limited edition cans will be distributed at venues in Belgium and Luxemburg linked with photography, such as the FotoMuseum in Antwerp, SMAK in Gent, MAC’s in Le Grand Hornu, FNAC stores and galleries.

But there’s more: aspiring photographers (ie: you!) can enter a competition, where you load up your favorite ‘Seduction’ photo on the site www.seduction.be (or.lu) and with a bit of luck, your photo will be on your very own Coke Light can (5 winners), part of a calender (12 winners-duh) or an exposition in the FotoMuseum in Antwerp next spring (25 winners), while the overall winner gets his or her very own media-campaign. Things go better with Coke. Sometimes, at least.

www.seduction.be
Underwear? Outerwear? Eveningwear?
French leathergoods company Lancel also discovered that a healthy dose of creativity can mean a young, trendy image -and hopefully a host of new, fashion loving customers. Lancel asked four designers to create a variation on their classic bucket bag, of which more than three million have been sold in the last twenty years.

Of the designers selected, two out of the four are Belgian: nightlife-lover Xavier Delcour, who created an utterly delightful black leather, silver studded bag with the name ‘Midnight Rock’ and Tim Van Steenbergen. The Antwerp-based designer opted for the futuristic two-in-one bag ‘Marcel bien aimé’, consisting of a rattan-print tweed outer bag shaped like an old-fashioned vest and an inner bag made out of finely woven leather. The bags can be worn snapped together or separately, and will take you from shopping spree to chic dinner.

Of course they’re all limited edition, so if you’re curious about the designs –the other two are by Frenchman Erik Halley and Yazbukey from Turkey- get thyself to the nearest Lancel shop!

www.lancel.com
Young designer in the picture: Harvey Bouterse
Dutch designer Harvey Bouterse (23) was born in Rotterdam and has South-American roots and a partly German mother. He moved to Antwerp at age 18, to join pattern-company Troi Quarts where he worked at the cutting table, cutting the patterns for Belgian designers. Here he came in contact with a lot of designers, including Wim Neels, for whom he did production for a couple of seasons. This gave him the experience he needed from the production and selling sides of fashion. Creatively Harvey already had a lot of experience by doing presentations and shows back in Holland, for example The Hague Dresscode, Rotterdam Moha, Utrecht and Amsterdam, where he also worked part-time after school as a window dresser for several boutiques. After doing production he did freelance work for Christian Wijnants, making patterns and to earn some extra cash, Harvey helped out Antwerp Academy students with their collections.


After this he started to work for designer Veronique Branquinho, where he's still working as a full-time production assistant. Working in several bars and clubs at the same time, he saved enough money to launch his first womens ready-to-wear collection HRVI in November 2003 (spring-summer '04) and a fall-winter collection in August 2004. Not only are his clothes highly casual and wearable, but with his South-American roots and his love of nature Harvey puts in small details and plays with forms, experimenting with combining different styles and fabrics, keeping it elegant and feminine at the same time. Now busy designing his first men's collection for the winter of '05,
Harvey's background as a dancer is a great inspiration for the coming season.

Info: harveybouterse@hotmail.com
No more fashion seasons?
Revital Avidar’s collection is an ongoing process that occurs throughout the entire year; at any given day new designs may appear on display or be brought out from the atelier into her boutique Maison Close in Antwerp’s fashionable Nationalestraat.

Revital follows her own rhythm and is inspired by people, the streets, the universe, the weather and many other elements in her design process.

Every garment plays, behind a visible simplicity, on the purity of animated lines via delicate details, folds and intricate topstitching.

Revital dares to work with highly unusual combinations, fearlessly mixing materials as diverse as lace, tulle and wrinkled linen. Recently, she began using leather in her collection. The leathers used are exceptional and unique. For example, one is elastic and has a fabric backing which strengthens it and increases its longevity, while another is folded, giving it a distinct pattern. The designer also likes experimenting with fabrics, which she reworks to create new and interesting textures. She irons materials which should not the be ironed, washes wool on a high temperature, experiments with paints, or mixes textures and displays an overall preference for natural fabrics. As Revital's collection evolves her main goal remains the same -  maintain both an intimate relationship with her collection and the highest level of craftsmanship while still expanding production and distribution. From October 9-13th her work can be seen in Area, the independent designer’s showroom that takes place in Espace Saint Martin, 199bis rue Saint-Martin (4th floor), 75003 Paris.



Maison Close,
Nationalestraat 139,
2000 Antwerp. Tel.
03/293.39.16.

www.revitalavidar.com

Maison Close by Revital avidaR
Prize for Passion

Yet again a Belgian fashion student won a prize at an international competition for emerging designers. This time the lucky fellow was Jérèmy Dhennin, who studied at La Cambre in Brussels and who won the Sisley/Benetton Award at the 12th edition of Mittelmoda, in Grado/Italy. The prize is given for the most passionate and easy to wear collection (remember those Terry Richardson ads, anyone?) and comprises of 3500 euros and an internship. OK, he has to share the prize with Swedish talent Richard Lindqvist, but still...Hurray for Belgium!

www.mittelmoda.com
A space through time
Art, spirituality, design, respect and vision are words that spring to mind when talking about fashion designer Marina Yee. She became well-known as a member of the infamous Antwerp Six, but that period seems ages ago, as since then she seems to have led 8 more lives at least: designer, artist, curator, mother, furniture restorer, teashop owner, lover, thinker...and I’m sure we’re forgetting one or two. Add to that interior designer, as she –in co-operation with Jan Willem Thonnon- recently recreated suite nr. 104 of the Royal Windsor Hotel in Brussels into a heavenly room where you can find respite from big city life. She opted for circles, spirals and other rounded-off forms, the centerpiece being a loveseat in the form of an 8, that dominates the whole space. Apart from some dark red details at the entrance, the room bathes in white, with details of lived-in wood. Painted on the walls and partly on the ceiling re spirals that make you think of crop circles. The ‘New Millennium Wonderland’ suite is part of the Fashion Room Project of the Royal Windsor Hotel- and one more reason to visit Brussels. ‘Live in space through time, go with the flow and enjoy’, advises Ms. Yee. Another must-see spot in Brussels is the shop Marina opened last year, called M.Y. Workshop. Here you can see her unique designs, made from the best (vintage and new) fabrics and so beautiful, they take your breath away. We absolutely love it.



M.Y. Workshop,
Varkensmarkt 3,
1000 Brussels.

Royal Windsor Hotel,
rue Duquesnoy 5,
1000 Brussel.
Second Hand Second Life
For the second time running, lovers of fashion, unique pieces, recycling and Belgian design can be part of the spectacle that is Second Hand Second Life. Wellknown and emerging designers and stylists rework second hand clothes and other fabrics donated to an organisation called Spullenhulp/Les Petits Riens and show the results of their creative labour at a fashion show that will take place on Friday October 22nd in the headquarters of Spullenhulp in Klein Bijgaardenstraat 49 in 1600 Sint-Pieters Leeuw near Brussels, where lorries full of clothes are delivered every day. Each designer will create 4 pieces, 3 of which are sold for charity: the first one right after the catwalk show on October 22nd, the second one at the finale of the exposition in Modenatie’s Forum in Antwerp (from November 1st-26th) and the third one in the Spullenhulp shops which you find all over Belgium. You can also have a look at the designs during the Modo Bruxellae Parcours (October 29th-31st), when the clothes will be exhibited in the Spullenhulp boutique at Zuidlaan 145 in 1000 Brussels.

Some names of participating designers: Christophe Coppens, Delvaux, Gerald Watelet, Jean-Paul Knott, Violetta and Vera Pepa, Erik Verdonck, Romy Smits, Edouard Vermeulen (of Natan fame), while 4 in-house stylists who work for C&A (who will double the proceeds of the sales of the pieces) will design a children’s collection and Antwerp Academy graduate Julie Fogel will create the wedding dress. Tickets for the show are 25 euros (students 15 euros) and will not be sold at the door, only by pre-sale. Call +32-2/5373026 for more info or have a look at

www.spullenhulp.be
Area Independent Designer Show
A record 18 independent designers from 7 countries –including hot Belgian designers Libertin Louison and Revital Avidar- will present their collections at Area from October 9-13 in Paris, with a goal to set a new standard in avantgarde research collection presentations. The event will mark the 6th Area event in just over one year and highlights the ongoing efforts of the Association Internationale des Createurs Independants (AICI), a designer trade group organized to serve the needs and interests of independent designers at a specific international level. The show will continue the revolutionary new format pioneered by the AICI that drastically lowers presentation costs for designers and simultaneously allows maximum freedom of expression, individuality and artistic creativity in the presentations by the artists.

Faced with a worldwide economic crisis, increasing pressure from large corporate global brands, an excess of expensive commercial  trade shows in Paris and a lack of any concentrated efficient creative platform for designers, the AICI is positioning Area to become the leading industry showcase for pure, talented and innovative designers and collections.

You’ll find more information on the exhibitions, the participating designers and the AICI’s efforts on: www.geoffreybsmall.net/areapress.htm

If you are in Paris during Fashion Week, please make sure you visit Area- if you don’t have an official invitation yet, please cite the MintRed Newsletter at the door. And be prepared for a lot of exciting discoveries and exceptional independent talents at the highest level.
 Mintred© 2004