A collection of pastel-coloured dresses in varying silk and brocade textures protrude from a mannequin fitted with bouncy blonde curls. The look is by third-year BA student Lulu Drawbaugh and is currently on display in the ground-floor gallery at MoMu, Fashion Museum Antwerp, as part of ‘Looks, Looks, Looks – The Antwerp Fashion Department at Work’. Curated and designed by Brandon Wen and Tom Van der Borght, the exhibition invites visitors to observe and learn about the mechanics of the acclaimed fashion department at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp (Wen has been creative director of the department since 2022). Featuring drawings and sketchbooks alongside silhouettes from students across the department, ‘Looks’ also puts the current cohort in direct conversation with the Antwerp Six: a major retrospective charting the influential sextet of designers, who reshaped fashion in the 1980s, opened at the museum in March. Together, they tell the story of how the Royal Academy of Fine Arts made the Belgian city a fashion capital.
Inside ‘Looks, Looks, Looks’ at MoMu Antwerp
A collage of looks from the current students of Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp
On the far side of the Drawbaugh mannequin, another model is dressed by Minghui Zhao; it wears a black and white outfit, a study into fragility and cuteness. Zhao is also in her third year, and describes this proximity to the Antwerp Six as the ultimate validation. ‘The Antwerp Six are the reason many of us packed our bags and moved to this city,’ she shares, reflecting on the legacy of designers Ann Demulemeester, Dirk Bikkembergs, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Van Saene and Marina Yee. Graduating from the prestigious fashion school in the early 1980s (Martin Margiela, the group’s ‘plus one’, had graduated a year earlier), their appearance at the British Designer show in 1986 reshaped international opinion on Antwerp, and Belgium more broadly, announcing its sartorial significance and ushering in a new brand of avant-garde that endures today.
Relocating from the Academy’s main campus in the early noughties, for almost 25 years the fashion department has been based in the same building as MoMu, the ModeNatie, establishing a unique intimacy between the institutions. ‘Living here you realise how closely everything is connected – the Academy, MoMu, the city – and studying in the same building really has an impact,’ notes second year BA student Kristina Evert. ‘Fashion is not just an industry here; it is part of the city's cultural DNA,’ adds the museum’s director, Kaat Debo, ‘and the Academy has had an enormous impact on Antwerp's cultural landscape, creating an ecosystem where education, creativity, entrepreneurship and institutions like MoMu continuously reinforce one another.’
‘Looks, Looks, Looks’ exhibition view at MoMu Antwerp
Indeed, the Academy’s reputation, coupled with the creative principles instilled forty years ago, has long made Antwerp a primary destination for style tourists, and the fashion department has a rich relationship with the city that extends to public events beyond its walls. In June, for example, the inaugural Antwerp Fashion Festival saw talks, exhibitions and catwalk shows pop up around Antwerp, while previously, in 2001, Van Beirendonck curated a series of exhibitions under the moniker Mode 2001 Landed Geland (in 2024, the museum presented an earlier iteration of the current showcase, titled ‘MoMu x Fashion Department’). In the industry proper too, Academy alumni continue to head major fashion houses – see Meryll Rogge’s appointment at Marni, Glenn Martens at Diesel and Maison Margiela, and Demna at Gucci – while Julie Kegels, a 2021 graduate, is an LVMH Prize finalist for her eponymous womenswear label, launched in 2024.
Wen, similarly, like his predecessor Van Beirendonck, is a former student of the Academy. Introducing ‘Looks’, he relays the department’s distinct focus on craft, detail and intensity. ‘We want to drown the viewer in our students’ vision on fashion and garment, showing off an excessiveness that we bring to fashion,’ he says. ‘Antwerp is special because of the profiles of students it attracts, the dynamic groups it creates and the creative space and freedom within a strict artistic structure that allows this work to happen.’ A pinned post on the department’s official Instagram page speaks to the future of this environment, and the anticipated disruption, following an earlier announcement about fees for international students, which are set to increase considerably for the academic year 2026-2027. Though not explicitly tied to the exhibition, participating students will still feel its effects. ‘The Academy is known for its heritage, but one of its greatest strengths is the mix of people it brings together,’ says Evert. ‘That is genuinely at risk, and will inevitably make the Academy less accessible.’
A look by first year Tobias Fannrich at the 2026 fashion show
‘Fashion and art should never be exclusive, and Antwerp has always been the best example of this, but cultural exchange plays a key role,’ continues first-year BA student Tobias Fannrich. ‘The city’s real legacy is its culture of critical thinking, experimentation, and independence, which is much more important than reproducing a recognisable “Antwerp look”.’ Debo agrees, ‘The Antwerp Six and Margiela set an incredibly high standard, but their greatest lesson is that originality comes from remaining true to your own vision.’ With its bold line-up of ideas, ‘Looks’ ultimately echoes these sentiments and, moreover, is sensitive to the community that emerges among students during development. As Zhao remarks, ‘What sets Antwerp apart in 2026 isn't a secret formula, it’s the sheer energy of the environment and the people you share it with. The collective drive creates this unique ecosystem.’
Looks, Looks, Looks – The Antwerp Fashion Department at Work is at MoMu, Antwerp until 8 November 2026