The event, which took place over four days, hosted three catwalk shows from three generations of Belgian designers (Walter van Beirendonck, Christian Wijnants, and Marcel Sommer); 6 exhibitions; installations; and talks with Julian Klausner and Meryll Rogge. Julie Kegels hosted an immersive installation in an apartment gallery overlooking Antwerp’s cathedral, examining how design-driven objects are displayed, used, and behaved around. It invited audiences into her world which melds fashion with furniture and object design. Bernadette, another young label, staged a screening of their first fashion short film, showcasing looks from their Fall-Winter 2026 collection. Unlike fashion week, the festival was mostly open to the public too.
“This is a celebration of the pool of talents we have here,” said Timmerman.
Three years in the making, the Antwerp Fashion Festival launch coincided with the 40th anniversary of the Antwerp Six’s rise to prominence in London in 1986. The festival aligns with a landmark retrospective of the group at MoMu - Antwerp Fashion Museum, running until January 2027, illuminating the origin story of Dirk Bikkembergs, Ann Demeulemeester, Dirk van Saene, Dries van Noten, Walter van Beirendonck, and Marina Yee.
Today, the hallowed halls of Belgium’s two fashion education institutions, La Cambre in Brussels and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, continue to produce the next generation of design talent who follow in the footsteps of Martin Margiela, Haider Ackermann, and Matthieu Blazy. Their effect is wide-reaching: today, Belgian designers like Meryll Rogge, Anthony Vaccarello, and Glenn Martens, to name a few, occupy top creative director positions. Julie Kegels and Marie Adam-Leenaerdt have earned a reputation as buzzy upstarts with a strong proposition.
A primary focus for the festival was acting as a bridge between the legacy of the Antwerp Six while also making space for younger voices. Timmerman is committed to uplifting young talents emerging from design schools in the region, programming an exhibition of 16 postgraduate students' work in an installation format.
“The legacy of the Six is still there. For a long time, there was pressure to find the next generation of Belgian designers but I think we’ve shaken that off,” said Timmerman, who is excited about the next wave of talent, particularly the growing number of female designers emerging from the country like Julie Kegels, Marie Adam-Leenaerdt, Meryll Rogge, and Bernadette. She said, “Those girls are writing a story of their own.”
Much of the homegrown talents still present their work at Paris Fashion Week. This June, Dries van Noten, Walter van Beirendonck, and Meryll Rogge will present on the official calendar at Paris Fashion Week. Timmerman acknowledges there is still pressure for Belgian designers to “make it” in Paris to achieve international recognition.
“We cannot deny that Paris is the capital but that’s super fine. The traditional network, or traditional system, is gathering there and we need that in the fashion business,” said Timmerman. “Belgian people can be too humble but this festival shows that we can be proud too. [With the festival,] we are saying: ‘We’re here and we have a story to tell’.”
“We’re not going to compete with Paris or any other fashion week but we’re going to do something our own Belgian way and install a modern translation of a fashion week. We wanted to take fashion out of this elitist context so everyone could have the chance to see the backyard of their favourite fashion brands.”
As the plans for forthcoming editions begin to take shape, Timmerman expects there to be a growing appetite for the festival as Belgian tastemakers continue to exert influence on the fashion conversation. This year, they invited 50 international guests. Next year, she wants to build on that and continue to involve the public too.
“Belgians have always done it their own way,” Timmerman said.
