The Belgian Fashion Awards 2021 crown 7 winners

On Thursday, November 25, The Belgian Fashion Awards 2021 were handed out during a festive evening at Antwerp's event venue, the Handelsbeurs. The big winner of the evening is Walter Van Beirendonck who walked away with the jury prize. The Belgian Fashion Awards are organised by Flanders DC, MAD Brussels, Wallonia-Brussels Design Mode (WBDM), Knack Weekend, and Le Vif Weekend. They honour a multitude of Belgian designers and fashion industry people.

To close the successful and sold-out Fashion Talks event organised by Flanders DC, the Belgian Fashion Awards will be presented for the fourth time on Thursday, November 25. The 14-member international jury handed out no less than seven awards. This year, the awards themselves are a creation of the Antwerp designer and ceramist Wouter Hoste. Each winner will receive a unique copy.

This year's Jury Prize goes to fashion designer Walter Van Beirendonck. The international jury praised the Belgian designer for his influential and social contributions which he translates into his designs. His influence extends across generations.

The Designer of the Year award goes to the 38-year-old Nicolas Di Felice, the new man at French fashion house Courrèges. The jury praised him for the 'unlikely and brave work he has done over the last two years. It's not easy to take over a fashion house that has a strong imprint and give it your own flair.'

Young fashion designer Meryll Rogge received the Emerging Talent of the Year award because of her aesthetic and challenging way of working.

Belgian art director, stylist and photographer Benoit Bethume was awarded the Professional of the Year prize. 'In addition to his creative contribution, he is one of the rare critical voices in the fashion industry', the jury said.

A Changemaker in the fashion industry will also be celebrated for the first time. This honour was given to Resortecs. The young Brussels-based company looks to contribute to a world in need of innovative solutions by taking an industrial approach to the recycling process.

The Liège fashion brand Imprévu, founded by Justine God in 2016, walked away with the Audience Award for Fashion Brand of the Year. Lili Schreiber, who received her master's degree from the Brussels institute La Cambre earlier this year, is awarded the prize for Promising Graduate. And finally, fashion label Bernadette wins the UPR award from the eponymous PR and communications agency. They can count on their professional assistance for one season.

All winners at a glance

The Jury Prize: Walter Van Beirendonck

Designer of the Year 2021: Nicolas Di Felice

Professional of the Year 2021: Benoit Bethume

Changemaker of the Year 2021: Resortecs

Emerging talent of the Year 2021 & Prize from the Fashion & Lace Museum, Brussels: Meryll Rogge

Most Promising Graduate 2021: Lili Schreiber

Fashion fire of the Year 2021, audience award: Imprevu
Belgian Fashion Awards x UPR prize: Bernadette

The international jury consisted of: Chris Dercon (BE), chairperson of Réunion des musées nationaux-Grand Palais, Paris, Giancarlo Angeletti (BE), founder and owner of VIER Antwerp, Vena Brykalin (UA), art director Vogue Ukraine, Serge Carreira, head of the Emerging Brands Initiative, Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, Eve Demoen (BE), curator of the Hasselt Fashion Museum, Elisa De Wyngaert (BE), curator of the MOMU, Antwerp, Angelo Flaccavento (IT), freelance fashion journalist for media organisations like the Business Of Fashion, Catherine Gauthier (BE), curator of the Mode & Lace Museum, Brussels, Alex Keller (DE), ex-CEO Jil Sander, commercial director Balenciaga and Martin Margiela, Christopher Morency (CAN), editorial director HighSnobiety, Pascale Mussard (FR), chairman of the Festival de Hyères, Guillaume Steinmetz (FR), founder of The Broken Arm, Paris, Marie-Hélène Vanderborght (BE), journalist, C’est du Belge, RTBF, Christian Wijnants (BE), fashion designer & winner of the BFA Designer of the Year 2019

About the Belgian Fashion Awards

The Belgian Fashion Awards have been organised annually since 2017 by the organisations Flanders DC, MAD Brussels, Wallonia-Brussels Design Mode (WBDM), and the magazines Knack Weekend and Le Vif Weekend. These awards were created to highlight the reputation, creativity, and diversity of Belgian fashion both at home and abroad. We also want to pay attention here to those who work behind the scenes and provide a stage for lesser-known names and new talent. Annually, the awards are a stimulus to celebrate Belgian fashion, meet each other, and deepen ties across the creative sector. Besides being surreal, modest, industrious, avant-garde, and no-nonsense, the organisers show that Belgian fashion also stands for independence, personality, and sustainability. At the Belgian Fashion Awards, we give a voice to the Belgian fashion industry, which is usually humble. belgianfashionawards.be

Pictures of the winners can be found via the following link (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1X2BvcB0jnUt7XextRXXFveiC7_I65FEJ?usp=sharing).

Ruth Goossens
Hoofdredactrice Knack Weekend & Le Vif Weekend
ruth.goossens@knack.be
+32/477 53 31 22