Kiss the future, again!
Born in the 80s, I experienced the vibrant rave era that sparked my passion for fashion. At the age of 12, I even skipped school to attend the renowned Berlin “Loveparade” in 1998. Even after two decades, the influence of that era still resonates in my wardrobe. I’m captivated by the vivacious colors, fuzzy fabrics, mesh materials, utilitarian designs, vinyl accents, and psychedelic patterns that defined the rave fashion of yesteryears. One fashion designer who truly stood out during that time was Walter Van Beirendonck. His label, W.&L.T. (“Wild And Lethal Trash”), dominated the fashion pages of every teen magazine and happened to be my first fashion obsession.
Walter Van Beirendonck, born in Belgium in 1957, belongs to the esteemed group known as the “Antwerp Six,” alongside renowned names like Dries Van Noten and Ann Demeulemeester. These influential designers graduated from the Royal Arts Academy Antwerp in 1980 and revolutionized the fashion industry with their distinct aesthetics. While their styles varied greatly, they collectively put Antwerp on the fashion map and challenged industry norms, paving the way for more artistic forms of self-expression.
In an interview with “The Guardian” in 2001, Walter Van Beirendonck described his impact, particularly concerning his smaller-scaled label, “Aesthetic Terrorists.” He explained, “I came up with the name when I was feeling upset with the fashion world. The whole thing is a little bit of an ironic vision of fashion – I am trying to put small bombs into the fashion world. I don’t agree with people only talking about which designer has been bought by whoever; I don’t like that they only talk about marketing, and that they copy each other, and that they end up all looking the same. I will not change the fashion system or the fashion business, but I feel like Greenpeace for the fashion world.”
Most of his iconic pieces back in the 90s were connected to the interactive cyberspace world Van Beirendonck had created and published via CD-ROM.
“Kiss the future!” was his message and to bring his vision and perspective nearer to the consumer Walter Van Beirendonck had created Puk-Puk, a crazy, blue alien avatar guiding the user through the W&L.T. homepage and was depicted on t-shirts, bags, pants, umbrellas and wherever a patch or a print could get placed. Some pieces also had hidden features like blinking LEDs or voices coming out of a backpack. As naive and playful as his flashy bike shirts, sweaters with plastic inlays, or hand-painted denims were – Walter Van Beirendonck did not only put his 1998 collections out, he put it out into a completely new universe he built around it like the true visionary he is.
As the 90s faded, Van Beirendonck got more inspired by nature, textures, tribes, cultures and did many knitting studies. He always seemed to focus more on crafting, tailoring and designing from scratch than selling products for the masses when it came to fashion, so he always worked with local weavers from England and Scotland to produce his individual fabrics in his individual colors. This way the process of making would take a while, but to Walter Van Beirendonck the whole thing is “an adventure with many deadlines” as he says in an interview in 2014. The same year he also supported a group installation at Art Basel Miami alongside designer Bernhard Willhelm in which the artists tried to explore South African language and culture seeking to break down boundaries.
Van Beirendonck’s artistic perspective offers a detached view of humanity and the world at large, enabling him to be both critical and humorous. He skillfully overpaints and exaggerates the absurdity and beauty of society, as if he were an observer from another planet. His art spans a range of mediums, from conceptual fashion fairs and store designs to installations, books, and magazines. He has collaborated commercially, even designing for the Swedish furniture retailer IKEA. His avant-garde runway shows leave spectators awestruck, while his foray into children’s clothing and mentorship at various events in the realms of mental health, education, and art projects showcase his diverse creative endeavors.
