For February we bring you the latest news about the most talented of Belgium when it comes to fashion, art, shopping and generally having an interesting time. Whether you like minimal or baroque, avantgarde or sweetness & light, it’s all there for you to enjoy. If you have any comments –be they positive or negative-, ideas or suggestions about Belgian creative talent in any field imaginable, please let us know at: mintred@pandora.be

Please check in regularly at www.mintred.be -and we hope to see you again next month!
[Design]
Antwerp embraces product design
Next to the well-known agencies like Enthoven Associates and Verhaert, Antwerp is enriched with yet another design agency: GBO Design-Engineering, originating in Holland, has opened a second office.

‘And certainly not without a reason’, states Eric Dumortier, the Belgium partner of GBO, ‘Antwerp is -besides a fashion city,- also increasingly present in the European design field. GBO, with its international and regional clients such as Ahrend, Volvo Styling, Samsonite, Heinz and Henkel cannot be missed here’. From their new location in Designcenter De Winkelhaak, Eric Dumortier wants to reduce travelling time and other barriers to contact GBO for existing and new clients in Belgium. The central location of the Designcenter and its professional promotion of design certainly means an added value. Antwerp is increasingly developing, which has an inspiring effect on creativity in design and architecture and a positive influence on business and entrepreneurship. GBO wants to confirm the importance of product development for production, emotion and user-friendliness that lead to successful innovative products.

Last year Eric Dumortier was already in the spotlight of the Belgium design world through his selection as acknowledged designer by Design Flanders (VIZO), who currently hold an exhibition in the Design Flanders Gallery, called ‘De Nieuwe Oogst 2005’ (until March 6th).

Info: 00-32- 3/233.10.31
or www.gbo.be
[fashion]
Put a spring in your step

Just in time for the first watery rays of sunshine, budding tulips and stirring hormones, we received this photo from one of our favorite Belgian creatives, Harald Ligtvoet. He customized a pair of Onitsu Tiger trainers for Belgian TV station JimTV and went wild with fake grass, tiny figurines and flowers. We can’t help but love them- and him!
[Art]
KIMIKO YOSHIDA AT TRIBECA ISSEY - MIYAKE
Tribeca Issey Miyakeand Fifty One Fine Art Photography are proud to present the photography of Kimiko Yoshida in New York City. The exhibit will feature works from her series Intangible Brides. Subtle, fictional, paradoxical, Kimiko's Bachelor Brides form an ensemble of quasi-monochromatic self-portraits, fragments of an intimate web elaborating on one single story: that of Japan and the feminine condition. Large formats, luminous squares all in the same size underline the fantasy epic of the artist. The exhibit will take place at Tribeca Issey Miyake, the interior sculpture of which store is designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry. Tribeca Issey Miyake is a laboratory and atelier: a place in which to experience the thrill of new discoveries and the process of making clothes, a place for new talent, the unexpected and the excitement that lies within the power of creation.

Location: Tribeca ISSEY MIYAKE, 119 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10013. Date:Friday, March 11, 2005.VIP 7:00 pm ­ 9:00 pm


Info : www.tribecaisseymiyake.com or www.gallery51.com


[fashion]
Precious & personal
Flemish designer Marjolijn Van den Heuvel has a special attention for details, handmade quality fabrics and finishing. Reworking classic garments is a constant in in every collection.

For this summer collection she worked around the word ‘precious’: every piece has been thought through, Marjolijn worked on special details, light fabrics, layering light cottons, hand-woven accessories and put hand stitches on the garments. The collection sends out a relaxed, intimate, pure and contemporary feeling. Colours are light blue, white, light grey, dark grey, blue and black. With fabrics such as a light batiste cotton a linen-cotton mix, silk (layered or simple), cool wool and soft jerseys to choose from, you won’t be spoiled for choice. Marjolijn assisted Martin Margiela in Paris for a couple of tears and developed a strong design vision, which you can see in every garmet she creates. For insiders only!

Info: +32-485/49.91.01
or
www.marjolijnvandenheuvel.com
[fashion]
Identity and Living


Identity and Living by Romy Smits translates the fine line between intuition and form, from emotion to object in fashion or interior. Her work includes concept and image consulting, colour and material direction, corporate and individual private design.

Throughout the years, Romy Smits has developed her philosophy which she uses in several stylistic, functional and material expressions, including the production of furnishings that embody the same spirit as her new perspective in the art of the contemporary female garment. Her collections are for sale at Stijl in Brussels and next month her fashion room will be opened in Windsor Hotel, also in the capital of Belgium. Other fashion rooms in the hotel were designed earlier by Belgian designers as diverse as Marina Yee, Jean Paul Knott and Gerald Watelet and the others in the second wave besides Romy are Haider Ackermann, Nicolas Woyt, Kaat Tilley, Pascale Kervan and Nina Meert.

www.romysmits.com
[expo]
Capucci’s sculptural fashion
February 1st- June 3th 2005

Italian haute couture fashion designer Roberto Capucci gained a lot of media attention again lately because Belgian/German designer Bernhard Willhelm started to design collections for the famous Roman house. But of course the designer, born in 1930, was active long before that. For the 100th birthday of the Biennal in Venice in 1995 Capucci, designed 12 creations, genius art pieces sculptured from fabrics with an unparalleled beauty, inspired by nature, stones and minerals. Those designs will now be exposed in the Modemuseum in Hasselt, together with illustrations and drawings dating from the fifties until today.

If you love beauty- and who doesn’t ?- this exposition is a must.

Modemuseum,
Gasthuisstraat 11,
3500 Hasselt.

www.modemuseum.be
[fashion]
Are you ready for the power of NU?
For the second time running, Belgian design collective NU will show their collections during Paris Fashion Week, this time from March 3-7th at Galerie Corinne Caminade, 14, rue du Perche in 75003 Paris. The opening event and presentation will take place on March 2nd at 7 PM and you’re very welcome to that!

Belgium has been a forerunner when it comes to avantgarde fashion and design since the last two decades and both the concept of NU and the creations of the designers assembled in the collective are witness to that.

NU wants to show a wide variety of what Belgian fashion has to offer, from ready to wear to jewelry and from leather accessories to handwoven fabrics.

While every participant keeps his or her own identity within NU, their co-operation also creates a strong synergy, for instance when it comes to their individual experiences with commercial contacts, press and buyers, which they freely share with each other. Another thing the NU-ies have in common is a deep respect for authenticity, ethics, craftmanship and innovation.

Some participants already have some international collections under their belts, while for others NU is the chance to present their creations to a wide public for the very first time. Nu are: Betet Skara (handwoven fabrics and fashion accessories), Atelier 11 (silver jewelry), Revital Avidar (women’s fashion), Violetta & Vera Pepa (women’s fashion and accessories), Eric Beaudoin (bags from recycled leather for women and men) and Anne Masson (knitted accessories).

For buyers and press NU offers the possibility to see six different and extremely talented designers at the same time, in a relaxed atmosphere. You are welcome!

Contact: Atelier 11 (Ludevic)
website: www.atelierelf.com

[expo]
Where had they fled when the next morning I awoke? *
From February 3th until March 13th

Christoph Heftiis a fabric designer on the Antwerp fashion scene: currently he works with Dries Van Noten andpPrior to that he was to be found in the studios of Jean-Paul Gaultier in Paris. For many years, together with Dominik Scherrer, he has been active as a performer and multimedia artist on behalf of the pop band Taxivalmentek.

From dawn till dusk Christoph spends his time and creativity printing on fabrics and paper. Where had they fled …is a reproduction of this endless printing, reprinting and copying. His prints become animated protagonists in his videos. We witness a printing process on the screen, with a time lapse. However, all we see is temporary; as quickly as the images appear, as swiftly they are gone again.

While creating Where had they fled…use was made of old graphic techniques, of ink and of a glass plate. This entails undeniable consequences for the result, which seems to jump right off the drawing board, as opposed to having gone through a series of filters and effects. The hand, even the fingernails of the artist still seem to linger. The work is tangible. Unfinished, still on the move. Christoph Hefti gradually wipes away his results, and that is what we see.

Where they had Fled …by Christoph Hefti.

From Feb 3th - March 13th at
fst forward gallery,
Ernest van Dijckkaai 4,
2000 Antwerp.

Tel. +32-3/234.02.07.
www.fstforward.be

* Mary Shelly, Frankenstein
[Fashion]
Bernhard Willhelm for Misericordia
The nursery school Madre Maria Crucificado Petkovic is located at 36,5 km of the Northern Pan-American Highway with Zapallal in the suburbs of Lima inPeru.
The school opened its doors in March 2002 for the beginning of the Peruvian school year. There are 50 children, from 3 to 5 years, and three professors.These professors are themselves orphans, who passed their childhood in the orphanage Nuestra Senora de la Misericordia founded by Madre Maria Petkovic and they asked Misericordia to design a sport uniform for the children.

Misericordia decided to organize a meeting between a famous designer and the children from the slums and so we invited Bernhard Willhelm to draw this uniform. With his team, he conceived a complete track suit, a T-shirt and a dress for the professors. The patterns and manufacturing were carried out in the Misericordia Haute Couture Hut in Peru, by Valentina Quispe Montes de Ortiz and Melina Rosenda Rabanal Camas under the direction of Aurelyen, Misericordia's artistic director. This project falls under the mission of Misericordia for promotion and support of employment and education for Peru, more particularly within the poor suburbs of north Lima.

Misericordia is the meeting of two French men with a big heart (Aurelyen Conty and Matthieu Reumaux) and a training institute in a slum in Peru. Together, they have created "Cabaña of Alta Costura of Misericordia", the center where the Misericordia collections are designed and produced. If you want to look fashionable and do your thing for charity at the same time, please take a look at the website below, where you can find out how to get your hands of one of the very special Willhelm designs –another Misericordia classic in the making!

www.misionmisericordia.com
[lifestyle]
Meet deVille’s harem girls

la fille d’O has met her match:

a clique of kittens that roar like tigers sold their soul to ‘O, dev’Oted to spread the ‘O lifestyle all over, a bond for life promoting ‘O philosophy , showing off the ‘O undies in style - deVille style. la fille d’O promises to be faithful to the deVilles and work with them deVilles -and only them- for photo shoots, ‘O shows andany other ‘Occasion. deVilles are everywhere: she is your next-door neighbor, she is your lover, deVilles are puppets pulling our strings. any girl can be a deVille:

.pretty pretty little thing.

.feel like joining in?

.witch-ful thinking mastery?!

.if you’re good at spelling.

.roll the dice.

.you’ll be a deVille in a trice.

In protest against the reign of photoshop models, la fille d’O created deVille’s harem girls: real girls, no fuss, with a positive attitude towards being a woman, in love with our shapes and curves. a new way of showing off. la fille d’O makes underwear, but is lost without the women wearing it. deVille’s harem girls are a tribute to all these women- these are her ‘clients’, but she puts them on stage, because every girl deserves to be adored; they are an inspiration to other women.

popping black cherries.

exorcise my soul.

teach me teach me teach me baby.

till you lose control.

www.devillesharemgirls.com will be online end of march.
want to be the first to know?
deville@lafilledo.com
[Music]
Diesel-U-Music hits Belgium again
Excellent news for aspiring underground rock bands, dance-acts, deck-wizards and other talented people: the Diesel-U-Music music competition will hit Belgium a second time. After last year’s tremendous success with over 500 artists entering the competition, the goals are still the same: find and hear as many undiscovered talents as possible.The most important contemporary musical genres are covered:Techno/Tech house/House, Urban/Hip hop/R&B, Rock/Electro/Pop and Drum ‘n’ Bass/Downtempo/Nu Jazz.

Surf towww.diesel-u-music.com(go to entry form Belgium), or pick up a paper entry form (in a record store, musical equipment shop or venue near you) and send it, together with a demo (CD format) with at least two tracks or a 45 minutes dj set to the address mentioned on the site or form. Deadline: February 24th.

If Diesel likes your demo, you will be selected for the second round. And that means playing live, in front of a professional jury. In March, a jury consisting of musicians, producers, DJs, promoters - all specialised in one of the categories named above - will judge the live performances with a keen eye -and of course ear.

If the jury likes the live act you will be selected for the grand final on the 30th of April. This final round is a true music festival, as the finalists end up playing alongside well-established Belgian and international live-acts and DJ’s. To give you an idea: last year thousands of people partied in the infamous Eskimo Factories in Ghent to a soundtrack provided by such illustrious guests as DJ Premier and Adam F.

Diesel-U-Music is a worldwide support-network of record labels, producers, musicians and specialised media. The prize Diesel-U-Music has in store for the winners is not your typical ‘here’s some cash, good luck with it’ type of prize: they introduce the winnersto the right record labels, give them advice about gigs and bookings, instruments and hardware, sponsors, management, studio time …In short: Diesel-U-Musicguides the winners through the musical jungle and supports them in every possible way.Winners are assured of press and media attention. Studio Brussel and others cover Diesel-U-Music.

Info: www.diesel-u-music.com
[art]
Joëlle de la Casinière - Que serà serà
From February 1st – 28th

Since November 2004 the LOOPS-booth has been standing at the STUK entrance. Throughout the year argos is showing a monthly video compilation, its content closely linked up with the programming of the Louvain Arts Centre. Having shown works by Sven Augustijnen and Charley Case, argos turns up a link to the Artefact festival, a new media event. In February the booth will be screening Que serà serà, six videos (Carmen 84, Melodrama, Les diamants roses, Envolez-vous, Scoop and Sosie d'Elvis) by French-Belgian Joëlle de La Casinière. Her six musical 'video poèmes' are inspired by various faits-divers ("fatal moments in the life of common heroes"). Images, writing, song and dance: four different linguistic forms synchronically developed around the rhythm of music, question the format of an old medium, namely television.


STUK Arts Centre,
Naamsestraat 96,
Louvain,
Belgium.
 Mintred© 2004