An Vandevorst and Filip Arickx have been married and at the helm of their sustained, independent, and successful fashion brand for 20 years. Both of these partnerships are remarkable achievements and deserving of celebration. So last year the couple marked the 20th anniversary of their Antwerp-based company A.F. Vandevorst; and today, at their show in Milan, they reflected on matters more personal. The Spring/Summer collection began as a study of the “heritage of wedding dresses,” said An Vandevorst backstage, “the way mothers pass them down to daughters and on and on.” The couple has amassed a vast collection of vintage wedding gowns, which they have cut up, reworked, and completely mixed with T-shirts, hoodies, studded trousers, and thigh-high boots—the iconically tough and tender basics of their nomadic (yet still Belgian) hipster aesthetic. The nine or so total wedding looks in the show—from strapless with a back flange to an encrusted, hacked-off mini sheath—can be specially ordered, but the beadwork, lace, and satin will vary given the nuances of the vintage materials. Even the most commercial interpretations, which include a fabulous oversize white hoodie with lace inserts and embroidery, will have a one-off quality. It’s all overtly handcrafted and satiny and boldly embellished—rather unwittingly on-trend for Spring 2019!
This is wonderful for the couple, who, for two decades—trends be damned—have stayed true to their vision of a woman who favors crisp tailoring, soft shirting, kinky lingerie, and thunderous footwear to go everywhere and anywhere at any hour. And that woman is well served by this collection. Her white silk wrap dress now has pearl-and-lace-adorned white trousers to match—or swap out the trousers for jeweled thigh-high boots, a fetish mask, and a lace veil, and it’s off to Vegas, baby! There are cool riffs on tuxedos as well, from cream trousers worn with flat, bowed mules to a double-breasted jacket with an exaggerated shoulder line (also a trend point for 2019) paired with a perfect black pant. The two prints in this collection are both graphic and slyly romantic (one is of wedding rings with safety pins, the other of bridal bouquets, fractured and stripped of color), and they appear on shell tops, skinny pants, floaty summer windbreakers, and ankle boots. Finally, there were bags on the runway today, a first for A.F. Vandevorst. Their bride seems to be on the move, with carryalls, cross-bodies, and saddle purses galore in neatly utilitarian white, black, and steely blue at her disposal. Her boots may be bedazzled, but her bag means business, literally.
