The mixing and matching of different labels or of fashion with other forms of art has never been so popular. But since when did it become boring for a designer to be confined to one brand? And when did we begin expecting fashion brands to produce all kinds of side products?Full story
Benjamin Franklin, as all American schoolchildren quickly learn, is one of America’s “Founding Fathers” and his likeness graces the US $100 bill. Franklin’s achievements in science, diplomacy and other areas still stand after centuries. And all this is due to the flight of hard-working Flemish weavers, who left their homeland with little but a dream for a better life in a new land and the hope to practice their faith.Full story
This week, the first episode in a new series of Mijn Restaurant! (My Restaurant) was broadcast on VTM, with the expectation that Flanders, as before, is going to be perched on the edge of its seat for the next few months. Full story
Benjamin Verdonck has installed a new work in Antwerp-Berchem train station – three blank advertising panels rented from Clear Channel. The conceptual artist says the panels were a protest at the waste of money in the world. Full story
I am standing in front of a case of dolls while Els Flour explains something to me that is so obvious, I am ashamed that it never crossed my mind before: in the 19th century, girls’ dolls looked like women. It was only around the turn of the 20th century that the “baby doll” was introduced, to reinforce the idea – from an age when girls were practically infants themselves – that a girl’s job is to take care of babies. Full story
A veritable gem in the landscape of Flemish folk cuisine, spare ribs restaurant Amadeus has become an institution, and deservedly so. Their successful formula has led to the establishment of four such restaurants across Flanders, and the din present most nights in every one bodes well for the eatery's future.Full story
The 20th century got off to a fine start in eastern Flanders. On 2 August, 1901, “Flemish black gold” was discovered in the Kempen region of Limburg. Coal transformed this virtually uninhabited region of arid heathland and boggy morasses into a thriving industrial heartland. Full story
This year’s Flemish blockbuster Loft by director Eric Van Looy has broken the record of ticket sales in Belgium set in 1990 by Stijn Coninx’s Koko Flanel. Last week Loft bypassed the long-standing total of 1,082,000 tickets sold. Koko moves into second place, and Coninx also holds on to third and fourth place with Hector and Daens. Van Looy resurfaces in fifth place with 2003’s De Zaak Alzheimer. Full story
