"I think good & beautiful things enrich your life"
A Belgium fashion designer with a career spanning more than three decades, Ann Demeulemeester is one of the world’s most respected creative voices. She was an instrumental member of the Antwerp Six, designers who stormed London fashion week in 1986, changing the international reputation of Belgian design forever. She quickly became a key figure in redefining the voice of fashion and came to represent an intelligent approach to fashion design.
Known for her deconstructivist style, creating untraditional clothing, she launched her label with long-term creative partner and photographer Patrick Robyn in 1985. In Antwerp in 1999 she opened her first store and now has stores and sells her label across the globe.
Antwerp
New York Seoul
Inspired by the shared principles of her muse Patti Smith, Demeulemeester created a highly recognisable fashion uniform for a group of working women who constitutionally objected to power suits. Her deconstructed but functional and elegant approach to clothing design was perfect for these working women.
She also made emotional connections with those who invested in her work and became an inspiration to her peers and the working woman, refusing to sacrifice motherhood for her career.
Demeulemeester’s growing followers reflected here vision, dressing with a deconstructed and minimalist wardrobe. Her vision was focused and strong forging her own path through a fashion world that was often a world away from her own. Even when fashion veered toward cocktail dresses and bling, Demeulemeester showed her followers exactly how to ignore it.
In 2013 she stepped down from her fashion house to explore her interest in ceramics and in 2019 launched her first range. Returning to her fashion label in 2020 the minimalist Antwerp store was renovated to focus on her homeware and furniture collections, confirming the brand's smart transition from a Fashion House to a Lifestyle Brand.
She joined forces with Belgian furniture and homeware brand Serax to launch the collections.
Ann Demeulemeester, a respected creative voice, has approached her tableware ranges with the same spirit as her fashion label, with an inherent pursuit for beauty.
Whether a home or a backdrop for a fashion show, she has always been drawn to old buildings, buildings with soul, character and history. Built in 1926 to 1927 in Antwerp she has owned Guiette House for over 30 years. Bought by her in 1985 it is the only Le Corbusier house in Belgium. She now lives in a 19th century villa just outside Kessel.
Guiette House
She loves spaces for their feelings, spaces that evoke an emotional intelligence. She places a real importance on the home and once said ".... a home is like a bird’s nest......so, I consider it as very important.”
It was at her home in Kessel that she began to experiment sculpting with porcelain clay. Through trial and error and time spent with professional potters, she began to use her creations when she hosted dinner parties and so launched the idea of a homeware range.
Her exacting standards of quality are part of the appeal of her range. "It is always a challenge to realise ideas..." she said so she made all the first porcelain prototypes herself so she could feel the idea come to life, and work with it until it was exactly as she wanted it before putting it into production.
Her exacting standards of quality are part of the appeal of her range. "It is always a challenge to realise ideas..." she said so she made all the first porcelain prototypes herself so she could feel the idea come to life, and work with it until it was exactly as she wanted it before putting it into production.
The results are thought-provoking, intelligent and beautiful.
RA, the most elegant range of tableware, covers a whole poetic range of emotions beautifully thought through with impeccable attention to detail, but what makes the range so special is the beauty the pieces create on the table.
Made of the finest porcelain, form is simple with a glamorous but serene aesthetic. The glaze is matt in a gentle moss green which like a woodland carpet looks sublime adorned with a feast.
Dora’s very pale subtle green glass is strong and sculptural with an architectural feel. An intriguing mix of bold and sophisticated structures, a range of five glasses that have a rounded glass goblet that is seamlessly linked to a solid moulded glass cross base.
Whether intended or not the range embodies the characteristic elegance, glamour and romantic essence of the 1920’s New York skyline.
Grace glassware - a very delicate handmade lead-free crystal glass range in both stemware and tumblers presents a refined elegance.
The eclectic nature of the range in a mixture of clear and an intriguing fern green make for an unusual but exquisite choice for elegant dining.
Ann Demeulemeester’s tableware ranges are now available on our Makers & Merchants website.