Antwerp Fashion Academy alumnus Brandon Wen presents first show as academy's department director

On Friday, June 9 and Saturday, June 10, the fashion department at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts presented its end-of-the-year student fashion show entitled ‘Show 23’, directed by former student and the department's new creative director Brandon Wen.

The show took place in Antwerp, where 5,000 fashion enthusiasts from the Belgian city and abroad descended upon the impressive spaces of the Waagnatie, located on the banks of the Scheldt river, to discover the creations of the international graduating fourth year (master) class of the academy and its current (bachelor) students.

’Show 23’ was the first show of the Academy to be directed by US fashion designer Brandon Wen, who was appointed creative director upon the departure of Belgian designer Walter van Beirendonck. Van Beirendonck announced his retirement as head of the fashion academy in May 2022 and stepped down in June of last year.

In addition to the show, students also presented their creations to industry professionals and the public in an exhibition.

Wen graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp himself, and apart from his experience as a fashion designer, he also has a background as a performance artist. This was very apparent in this year’s fashion show which was at times -more specifically in the first 25 minutes or so of the show- a mix between a traditional fashion show format and a dance performance.

A group of models dressed in traditional ball gowns created by the academy’s bachelor students opened the show as they moved elegantly to classical guitar music. This was followed by more energetic dancing and dance routines to alternative pop and punk rock while the male dancers/models, dressed in historical costumes, came onstage and the female performers stayed in character.

The fashion show was divided into two parts. During the first part, the first year, second year and third year bachelor students of the Antwerp fashion academy showcased their collections.

The sound of a loud horn followed by a deep male voice that seemed to come straight from a science-fiction movie announced the study year of the designers and their names. The students’ names were also projected on a digital panel above the stage.

During the second part of the show, the World Costumes collection was presented. This was followed by the collections of the graduating master students of 2023.

The names of the graduating master students of the Royal Academy of Arts Antwerp 2023 are: Laura Meier Hagested, Aaron Hüttenmeister, Marcel Sommer, Cezary Zalit, Jiawen Gong, Xuewen Chen, Antonia Vera Kannefaß, Tim Stolte, Ashton Lang, Yue Kong, Victoria Lebrun, Juyoung Ahn, Violette Des Roseaux, Frederik Liederley, and Jiayue She.