Walter van Beirendonck has been at the forefront of fashion for more than thirty years. One of the 'Antwerp Six' and the director of fashion at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, he is known for the uninhibited nature of his work and the wonderful daring that he shows as a designer. This is the third and final edition of Dream the World Awake by Walter Van Beirendonck; it iis a signed edition, limited to 150 copies. It has a luxury finishing with an extra changeable golden foil cover by Dirk Van Saene, one of the famous Antwerp Six. The book gives exciting and captivating form to the complexity and multilayered quality of Van Beirendonck's work, and reveals his wide range of inspirations, which include technology, art, pop culture and ethnography.

Move over Milan. Watch out Paris. Pay attention New York. Belgium has taken the fashion world by storm. Designers like Martin Margiela, Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Bikkembergs, Dirk Van Saene, Marina Yee, and Walter Van Beirendonck are creating a new eclectic and imaginative approach to clothes. Some are playful, some anguished or iconociastic; others are minimalist yet luxurious; still others stylish and sensual. Their original and elegant creations have defined a whole new development in the look of today's fashion. This well-documented, richly illustrated, and beautifully designed treasure of a book presents sections devoted to the individual designers while exploring the links between Belgian and international fashion. Authors Luc Derycke and San Van de Veire look at the forces underlying the international acclaim of contemporary Belgian fashion design and expose the often hidden interactions that determine success in the fashion world.

French body artist Orlan is Walter Van Beirendonck's muse for the Winter '98 season.

What do Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Prince Charles, and Boy George have in common? These and other sharply dressed, sexually secure, 21st-century men are incorporating skirts into their wardrobes. In this provocative, one-of-a-kind book, Andrew Bolton traces the warrior origins of kilts and sarongs and reveals how, far from feminizing men, skirts actually reinforce their virility. Some 150 photographs illustrate this colorful salute to the growing numbers of the few, if proud, men in skirts.

Today's fashion brands are relying more and more on packaging and presentation: the brand image is often more important than the product itself. This book explores the graphic imagery and packaging that make fashion sell, putting the spotlight on the graphic designers and art directors who create the brand image -- from the labels inside clothes to the swing tags and shopping bags. At the heart of the book are 25 case studies which investigate the creation of individual fashion brands with analysis of the graphics, from the typography to the colour choices, as well as show invitations, the website, fragrance and cosmetic images. Each case study will examine closely the working realtionships between the fashion and graphic designer. Art directors/fashion labels featured include Fabien Baron's work with Burberry and Armani; Alan Aboud and Paul Smith; Michael Nash and Alexander McQueen/ John Galliano; as well as the in-house graphic teams of Dolce & Gabbana, Stella Mc Cartney, IIssey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garçons.

There is a new form of design practice within the contemporary fashion industry which is active in complex forms of social commentary and critique. While fashion in the modernist era has shown signs of criticism and subversion, these were either in the form of subcultures or perversions, such as punk or BDSM styling. Today, however, these genres have been absorbed into the fashion industry itself, meaning that “critical fashion” is now far from limited to the subcultures from which it came. This book explores this new space for criticism within the popular fashion sphere to demonstrate how designers are disrupting conventions, challenging beliefs and stirring change from within the system itself. Critical Fashion Practice considers a range of contemporary designers across the globe, from the US to Japan, whose conceptual designs embody this critical language, including case studies such as Rei Kawakubo's deconstructive silhouettes for Comme des Garçons and Walter Van Beirendonck's sadomasochistic menswear collections, amongst other key players such as Miuccia Prada, Vivienne Westwood and Viktor & Rolf. Arguing that the rise of critical fashion coincides with a noticeable decline in the criticality of art, Geczy and Karaminas go beyond slotting fashion into previously established art theories. Conceiving a new cultural role for fashion that affords insight into identity, class, race, sexuality and gender, this book shows how fashion can not only reflect and comment on, but can also be a part of social change.

Surreal, avant-garde and explicit are three keywords that are commonly associated with Belgian fashion. This exhibition catalogue gives a unique historic overview of Belgian fashion, starting with the legendary Antwerp Six--including Dries van Noten, Walter Van Beirendonck and Ann Demeulemeester--and leading up to the individualistic creations of Martin Margiela, A.F. Vandevorst and Raf Simons. The catalogue also highlights the work of several influential players in various fashion and art disciplines. Additionally, it touches upon the importance of the fashion academies, especially the Antwerp Academy and La Cambre in Brussels, and documents emerging talent such as Jean-Paul Lespagnard and Christian Wijnants.

Potent, provocative and sometimes shocking, the word vulgar conjures up strong images, ideas and feelings in us all. The Vulgar is the first exhibition to explore the inherently challenging but utterly compelling territory of taste in fashion, from the renaissance through to contemporary design.Examining the constantly evolving notion of vulgarity in fashion whilst revelling in its excesses, you are invited to think again about exactly what makes something vulgar and why it is such a sensitive and contested term.Drawn from major public and private collections worldwide, this richly illustrated volume showcases over 120 stunning objects, ranging from historical costumes to couture and ready-to-wear looks.With contributions from leading contemporary designers including Chlo�, Christian Dior, Christian Lacroix, Miuccia Prada, Elsa Schiaparelli, Philip Treacy, Viktor & Rolf, Louis Vuitton and Vivienne Westwood.This book contains fascinating literary definitions by curator Judith Clark (Professor of Fashion and Museology, University of the Arts, London), and psychoanalyst and writer Adam Philips, alongside interviews with several leading contemporary designers.Taking the definitions as a starting point, more than 200 stunning images are also included - weaving together historic dress, haute couture and ready-to-wear fashion, textile ornamentation, manuscripts and photography.Published on the occasion of the exhibition, The Vulgar: Fashion Redefined at the Barbican Centre, London (13 October 2016 - 15 February 2017).

Published to accompany the exhibition Energy flash - the Rave Movement, M HKA, 17 June 25-September 2016.