Walter Van Beirendonck is a designer from Belgium born in 1957. He is a member of the famous “Antwerp Six” group, since he completed his studies along with its other members. Great personalities like Craig Green, Raf Simons or Bernhard Willhelm have passed through his workshop.
It was not until 1982 that he began to design his first collections, which have been characterized for having a very deep sense of humor, using political criticism or communicating a powerful social message. Regarding his inspirations, Walter was fascinated by David Bowie since he first saw him. His admiration for the British singer was so great that he even paid tribute to him in his AW13 show, where he made jackets with the singer’s famous lightning bolt.
From 1993 to 1999, Walter designed collections under the signature “W & LT”, an acronym for “Wild and Lethal Trash”. This brand was one of the first to have a website and was full of graphics that made them gain a big fanbase in Japan. Do not forget about the brand’s mascot, Puk-Puk.
As for the runways, Walter Van Beirendonck wants to tell a story on each one of them. For example the SS15 collection, named “Whambam”, showed the two faces of the world. On the one hand, he showed the beauty of the world and the goodness of people and nature and, on the other hand, he wanted the viewer to be aware of pollution, wars and the destruction of life due to the violent actions of human beings.
In addition to his ability to produce high-end collections, he believes that one of his main goals has to be raising awareness about certain disasters, specially the ones created by human beings. One of the most powerful messages he has used for a runway show was in FW15 at Paris Fashion Week, when he released clothes with the words “Stop terrorizing our world”, referring to the attack occurred in Charlie Hebdo’s offices, shortly before Fashion Week.
Written by William Sunka
