Walter Van Beirendonck

Walter Van Beirendonck (b. 1957, Brecht) graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp in 1980 and now heads up the fashion department there. He was one of the Antwerp Six fashion collective, along with Dirk Bikkembergs (b. 1959, Cologne), Ann Demeulemeester (b. 1959, Courtrai), Dries van Noten (b. 1958, Antwerp), Dirk van Saene (b. 1959, Louvain) and Marina Yee (b. 1958, Antwerp). The group of the six then students at the academy, was active in the 1980s and brought Belgian avant-garde fashion to the international stage. Van Beirendonck launched his own brand in 1982. The Terror Mask is part of his Winter 2003–4 collection, presented under the anonymous aestheticterrorists® label. It reflects Van Beirendonck’s fondness for masks and hoods, which can transform the way a person looks while concealing their face. His label is characterised by a mixing of genres: the idea of guerrilla warfare and combat, driven by a biting humour, is a recurring feature of his work, which frequently incorporates cartoon and science-fiction elements. Van Beirendonck also likes to use unexpected combinations of fabrics and materials and to mix quirky colours and motifs with outsize styling.