A.F. Vandevorst's signature embroidered red-cross logo is nearly as recognisable and coveted among fashion insiders as the Maison Martin Margiela white stitches. Since the Belgian husband-wife team launched their label in 1998, they have earned admiration for their textual contrasts, assertive aesthetic and Army-inspired palette. Garments by An Vandevorst and Filip Arickx range from risqué minimalism and unisex sensuality to a sexy militaristic style ideal for a female Joseph Beuys. Here, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week's guest star designers address the kinship between their gritty sensibility and Berlin's unpolished ethos before presenting their collection at Bebelplatz.
Ana Finel Honigman: The show is called A.Friend because of the process involving your friends. How does this work?
A. F. Vandervorst: They were the influence for starting the line but it’s not a total collaboration. Our friends really like our work but complained that they couldn’t buy it all. It is too expensive. So we decided to create a diffusion line for them. We discussed the details with them, so that they felt it was right.
AFH: Who are they? What are their professions or connected interests?
AFV: They are all in creative fields but very different ones. There are photographers, stylists, make-up artists and interior designers. There are ten in total.
AFH: How involved were they throughout the process. Were they merely muses or actually offering insight?
AFV: We had them involved from the sketches to the fittings. It was quite funny because they were rather demanding. We were exhausted. They wanted things to be longer, more feminine, scooped-necked or fitted. They were really involved and opinionated.
AFH: That’s surprising. Creative people tend to respect other creative peoples’ boundaries and back off.
AFV: Well, these people are all among our best friends.
AFH: Best friends are often the worst co-workers. Since you’re so close with them, was there a common demand that you feel exemplifies what drew you all together?
AFV: Clean! They wanted the collection to be clean. That was the most common requirement. They wanted fewer details and less ribbons. They wanted to streamline and cut. And they wanted season-less daily-wear. The collection isn’t home wear. It’s not that comfortable. But these people are all creative and they didn’t want too much styling or fussiness. They wanted the freedom to really make the garments their own after it was all done.
AFH: This is the fourth collection in the range. Have the demands or suggestions changed?
AFV: This collection is far more feminine. The first collection was almost unisex. It was very simple and flexible. But this collection has a more feminine line. It really is season-less. It can be layered and changed but the basic items are ideal all year. That was another of the main demands.
AFH: Why do you think that your friends have started asking for more feminine items?
AFV: It’s not exactly that they have asked for it. In the end, we design the collection.
AFH: What about your other influences? What about Beuys?
AFV: Joseph Beuys is always an influence. He is always there.
AFH: How does this line reflect that influence differently than your main line?
AFV: We like to think that the main line is influenced by Beuys’s work, whereas this line is influenced by his life.
AFH: That makes sense, since he was a huge mentor and you’re essentially treating your studio like a seminar class with these collaborations.
AFV: Yes, that is true. We are looking to express the human aspect of Beuys in this line. While the main line is influenced by his art.
AFH: How does Beuys, as a German, feed into the experience of showing in Berlin?
AFV: We love Berlin. It’s funny but we were talking about the various artistic and cultural figures that influence us and suddenly realised that most were German. It turns out that we love Germans.
