A.f. vandevorst boots
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AF Vandervorst
AF Vandevorst was the Belgian fashion label started by An Vandevorst (born 1968) and Filip Arikcx (born 1971). The married couple met at Antwerp's Royal Academy in 1987, before setting up the label together ten years later. Vandervorst had previously worked as first assistant to Dries Van Noten, whilst Arikcx worked as a freelance designer and stylist following a three-year spell working with Dirk Bikkembergs.
After their second collection, AF Vandevorst were awarded the Venus de la Mode, a prestigious prize given to young designers at Paris Fashion Week. They were invited to design the Ruffo Research collection for Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter 2000. The AF Vandevorst collection comprised shoes, accessories and a lingerie range called Nightfall.
In 2007, AF Vandevorst published a book co-authored with Sarah Mower, and Tamara Igoemnova called AF Vandevorst: Katharina Prospekt: The Russians, which accompanied an exhibition AF Vandervorst put together that explored Russian design.
In February 2020, AF Vandervorst announced that the label would be closin
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Together they established their own label in 1997, and presented their first collection in Paris for autumn/winter 1998. The label quickly came to the attention of both the fashion press and establishment; after only their second collection they were awarded Paris Fashion Week’s Venus de la Mode award for ‘Le Futur Grand Createur’, a prestigious prize for newcomers. For the spring/summer and autumn/winter 2000 seasons the pair were invited to design the Ruffo Research collection, an opportunity periodically offered to young designers by the Italian leather house Ruffo.
AF Vandevorst clothes convey a slouchy confidence, and a version of femininity that evokes a sexy yet intellectual cool. Traditional clothing (horse riding equipment, kimonos, frock coats) is often referenced, reworked and refined until it sits slightly left-of-centre; a medical-style red cross is their enduring symbol. For collection themes, they often favour the unexpected, as for autumn/winter 2003, when honey bees provided inspiration. Following no set colour palette, AF Vandevorst stray from
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A.F. Vandevorst, other Projects besides Cool Collections
Filpi Arikcx & An Vandervorst, ph. Ronald Stoops
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AF Vandevorst stands for the Belgian design duo of An Vandevorst (born ’68) and Filip Arickx (born ’71).
The husband-and-wife design team met in ’87 at the Royal Academy in Antwerp. On graduating, Vandevorst worked as assistant to Dries Van Noten. Meanwhile Arickx, who worked for Dirk Bikkembergs for three years as a teenager, completed military service after leaving the Academy and then worked as a freelance designer and stylist.
Together they established their own label in ’97, and presented their first collection in Paris for a/w ’98. The label quickly came to the attention of both the fashion press and establishment; after only their second collection they were awarded Paris Fashion Week’s Venus de la Mode award for ‘Le Futur Grand Createur’, a prestigious prize for newcomers. For the spring/summer and autumn/winter ’00 seasons the pair were invited to design the Ruffo Research collection, an o
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