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Much of Antwerp's reputation for edgy chic comes from its clothing designers; dedicated followers of fashion consider the city in a league with Milan and Paris, and Antwerp-based couturiers regularly appear in the international glossies. Credit for this development goes to the so-called Antwerp Six (students of Linda Loppa from the class of 1981 at Antwerp's Fashion Academy) and in equal measure to the new wave of talent that has more recently stormed the catwalks. Ready-to-wear by stalwarts Ann Demeulemeester, Dirk Bikkembergs, Dries Van Noten, Martin Margiela, and relative newcomers Raf Simons, Véronique Branquinho, and Wim Neels command high prices. However, in the shopping area south of Groenplaats, prices are less astronomical. And, of course, the Diamantwijk is prime territory for glittering precious stones. Bear in mind that pretty much everything grinds to a halt on most Sundays, but unlike the rest of Belgium, on the first Sunday of the month, retailers' shops doors are miraculously flung open and customers are welcomed inside. In January and July, these special shopping days signal the start of the sales.
Tucked just off a lovely square in a 19th-century town house, Graanmarkt 13 offers a nicely edited selection of women's clothes, including pieces by local designers Bernadette and Sofie D'Hoore, plus unique ceramics, pottery, and jewelry. Its first floor has something of a shoe fetish, stocking the likes of Mansur Gavriel, K Jacques, and Aeyde; it's also worth a postshopping stop for lunch or dinner at its namesake restaurant downstairs.
Ann Demeulemeester belongs to that golden generation that set the city's couture apart from the rest. She sells her clothes in an elegant corner store across the street from the Royal Museum of fine Arts (KMSKA).
One of the iconic Antwerp Six that turned this city into the couture haven it became, Dries Van Noten collections for men and women can be found in the splendid Modepaleis, a five-story Belle Époque building that he bought in 1989.
Opened in 1986 to sell clothes by the Antwerp Six, this stalwart of the Antwerp fashion scene is now run by Marjan Eggers, who, as well as stocking it with established names like Ann Demeulemeester, also has one eye on the future, inviting final-year fashion students to exhibit in its window.
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