The fashion department’s annual catwalk show features the designs that its Bachelor and Master’s students have been working on all year long. Finally, they get to present them to a crowd of friends, family, fashionistas and an international jury.

For Fleming Mattia Van Severen and Canadian Devon Halfnight LeFlufy, it will be a farewell; both are presenting their graduation collections. What the next step will be and where they will end up are questions that remain largely unanswered. But, if it’s up to them, they will follow in the footsteps of the Antwerp Six (see sidebar) and the many other successful alumni the academy has spawned over the last 50 years.

Striving for imperfection

LeFlufy left Canada for Flanders four years ago, when he decided to complement the technical fashion design training he completed in Montreal with a degree from Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts, now part of the Artesis-Plantijn University College. “I wanted to challenge myself, and Antwerp has one of the best fashion schools in the world,” the 29-year-old explains. “I was terrified I wouldn’t get in, and then I thought it was a miracle that the school accepted me. But somewhere in the third year, I started feeling more comfortable.”

Unlike what you hear from pretty much every Project Runway contestant, LeFlufy had not dreamed of being a designer since he was little. Far from it, in fact. “I wanted to be a nautical engineer and did a locksmith’s apprenticeship,” he says, “but when I eventually turned to fashion, it immediately made sense to everyone around me.”

He sees the trade as a constant learning process and hesitates to call himself a “designer”, although he has been selling his menswear at concept store RA in Antwerp for several seasons. “If I ever did something that I thought was really perfect, then I would have to stop.”

He may not think of his designs as perfect, but they are good enough for RA’s avant-garde tastes. This summer, the graduate will present his latest menswear collection at the boutique’s showroom during men’s fashion week in Paris. “I think I’m mature enough for it now,” he adds.

Close to the chest

LeFlufy’s collection will debut at the graduation shows this weekend. It fits right in with current streetwear trends and yet manages to stand out. A psychedelic re-imagining of 1970s road trip movies, the silhouettes scream a Technicolor tribute to the chaos of American counter-culture.

“The collection is called ‘LA Ethnic’,” he say. “Los Angeles is a melting pot, and the city’s artificiality makes it almost surreal. To capture that weird mix, I used a lot of prints, which I developed together with my friend, Canadian artist Brian Kokoska. I basically wanted to do all the things I know I won’t be able to do anymore after I graduate: find sponsors for the fabrics, do all these ridiculous treatments, develop my own textiles, go all out on laser-cutting the leather…”

The Canadian isn’t nervous about the show and not that many friends or relatives are coming over for it. “I’m getting married here in August, so they all had to decide when to visit,” he laughs.

LeFlufy plans to stay in Flanders for the foreseeable future, though career plans have not yet solidified: “I always said I would like to be part of a team, but now it seems I am pushing in the direction of my own little label. It is a big time of flux in the fashion industry right now; everything has become commercial and sales-oriented. I’m just keeping things close to my chest and, we’ll see how it goes.”

Starting from scratch

The fashion education of Mattia Van Severen started with an exhibition celebrating 20 years of famed Flemish designer Martin Margiela in Antwerp’s Fashion Museum, several floors below the classrooms Van Severen now frequents.

The 26-year-old studied interior design in Ghent, and Margiela’s architectural shapes immediately appealed to him. He became increasingly interested in fashion and decided to give the academy’s dreaded entrance exam a try. Like his classmate LeFlufy, he never expected to get in. But he did.

“I really wanted to study in Antwerp because the academy is one of the few schools in our country that can compete with the best. Once I graduate from here, I know I’ll be able to find work on a world-class level.”

Because he enjoyed no previous fashion education, Van Severen had to start from scratch: “I didn’t even know how to sew.” Now he applies time-consuming and complex techniques such as flocking to his fabrics. The process of covering part of a textile with many small fibre particles to create a felt-like surface, as often seen in the numbers on football jerseys, provided the starting point for his collection.

The menswear series is called “Play Time” and features garments covered in angular patches of colourful flock. “I picked the reference to Jacques Tati’s 1967 comedy because it approaches modernism ironically,” Van Severen explains. “I wanted to do a modernist collection with graphic influences, but nothing too heavy.”

Job hunt

Despite the deliberate choice to steer clear of architectural influences the last three years, Van Severen felt like the time was right to revisit those roots in his final year. He likes cycles as well as continuity: “I started designing for men in my first year because it looked easier. Now I just wanted to see that choice through and show the evolution I have made in my work. But I can definitely picture myself doing womenswear in the future.”

A week after the show, Van Severen, who was born and raised near Ghent, is organising a small exhibition in Antwerp to promote a book by graphic designer Inge Rylant inspired by his collection. “The books are screen-printed and I also used silkscreen in my designs, which will be on display. I really enjoy these kinds of side projects.”

Then, as for any graduate, the job hunt will begin. “I plan to apply anywhere that interests me. An internship is another option … I know that Raf Simons, for example, hires interns from Antwerp.”

Although he’s developed a line for Show2013 and won the Artos Award for his line in Show2011, a personal clothing line for the market still seems far off. “I hope to gather at least 10 years of experience at a big fashion house or working under a designer before I venture out on my own,” he says. “At the academy, we are rather isolated in our work, and I want to know how it feels to be part of a team.”

Sacha Shoe Award

As the winner of this year’s Sacha Shoe Award, Van Severen has already had a taste of collaboration – and compromise. The shoe brand produced the leather ankle boots he designed for his models to wear with his line in the show; the design will also be sold in Sacha stores. “You have to compromise if you want the outcome of your hard work to be realistic and affordable.”

Designing on a budget is not part of the curriculum at the fashion department, where the motto has always been to dream big. Van Severen, however, realises that fashion is a luxury in times of crisis. “Thanks to sponsors, we can create exuberantly expensive collections,” he explains. “Lampe Textiles agreed to weave most of my fabrics, designer Michaël Verheyden supplied the handbags, Sacha did the shoes, I found a small factory to do the flocking. These contributions are crucial to the success of my collection. But in July, that will all be over.”

It is clear that Van Severen’s head is full of the doubts and worst-case scenarios common among graduating fashion students. The academy, though, has a history of producing successful alumni, from his hero Margiela to Ann Demeulemeester to current head of the fashion department Walter Van Beirendonck.

Aside from the famous Antwerp Six, Van Severen knows many more recent graduates who have found their way to covetable positions at major French houses such as Chanel and Dior. A reassuring thought in times of doubt. "Their stories give me hope,” the young designer concludes, “and the encouragement to pursue my own dreams.”

14-15 June

Hangar 29

Rijnkaai 150, Antwerp
See the website for online streaming of Saturday’s show
www.antwerp-fashion.be

Who are the Antwerp Six?

In 1988, a group of Royal Academy fashion department alumni inspired shock and awe with their avant-garde styles when they showed together at London Fashion Week. Dubbed the “Antwerp Six” by the British press, they are credited with elevating the department to its current reputation as one of the best fashion design schools in the world. The Antwerp Six, who all graduated in the early 1980s, are Dirk Bikkembergs, Anne Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Van Saene, Walter Van Beirendonck and Marina Yee. Martin Margiela graduated from the department just before them, in 1979.