Here are the winners of the Belgian Fashion Awards 2024!
On Thursday evening, 28th of November, the Belgian Fashion Awards 2024 were presented in Brussels. With this seventh edition, Flanders DC, MAD Brussels, Wallonie-Bruxelles Design Mode and Knack Weekend and Le Vif Weekend once again crowned the talents and experts within the Belgian fashion industry.
Remarkable: never before in the history of the Belgian Fashion Awards did so many women win the coveted awards. In no less than 5 of the 8 different categories, a woman took home the prize. Moreover, the most important awards, the Designer of the Year award and the Jury Prize, were also won by women.
And the winners are...
- Designer of the Year: Meryll Rogge
After a successful career at Marc Jacobs in New York and at Dries Van Noten as head of the women's line, Meryll Rogge launched her namesake brand in 2020. In 2021, she was already a winner at the Belgian Fashion Awards, in the Emerging Designer category. This year, she is the first woman ever to take home the title Designer of the Year.
‘Meryll has built an internationally acclaimed brand and yet remains down to earth. She creates gender fluid ready-to-wear, keeping her finger on the pulse of today's world.' - according to the jury
2. Jury Prize: Marina Yee
As a member of the legendary Antwerp Six, Marina Yee helped put Belgium on the global fashion map in the 1980s. She later continued her personal artistic path by exploring other art forms as well. In 2022, Marina made a successful international comeback with a collection of timeless pieces that can be worn by both men and women.
3. Accessory Designer of the Year: Stéphanie D’heygere
From 2011 to 2015, Stéphanie D'heygere was Head of Jewelry at Maison Margiela. After several years at Dior, she launched her own label D'heygere in 2018, which stands for minimalistic but eye-catching jewellery and accessories. The jury wanted to reward D'heygere not only for her talent, but also for her personality and work ethic. Back in 2022, she also already won the Jury Prize at the Belgian Fashion Awards.
4. Emerging Talent of the Year: Marie Adam-Leenaerdt
Marie Adam-Leenaerdt studied at La Cambre Mode[s] in Brussels and released her first namesake collection in 2023. The jury wanted to reward her for the decisiveness and creativity she showed at such a young age. Her collections can now be found worldwide at Net-A-Porter, SSENSE and Bergdorf Goodman, among others, and also earned her nominations for the Andam Fashion Awards and the prestigious LVMH Prize earlier this year. The Emerging Talent award also carries a cash prize of 5,000 euros.
5. Changemaker of the Year: REantwerp
Designer Tim Van Steenbergen and former journalist Ruth Goossens founded the sustainable fashion atelier REantwerp. In cooperation with non-profit GATAM, they offer foreign-speaking newcomers in Belgium the chance to gain professional experience before moving on to a job in the Belgian fashion industry. Using deadstock fabrics from renowned Belgian labels, new fashion pieces are created that reflect the tailoring craft and the personal stories of the team members. Moreover, this laudable project also results in remarkably strong fashion pieces.
6. Professional of the Year: Daniel Henry
Daniel Henry works for fashion houses such as Rabanne and Nina Ricci. This year in particular, he gained attention for his collaboration with John Galliano for Maison Margiela's spring-summer 2024 haute couture collection. He also won the competition organised by Brussels City Hall to design a contemporary textile work for the wedding hall. This passionate designer also works with furniture and wallpaper designers as well as the automotive sector.
'We awarded Daniel Henry because we want to emphasise that fashion is not just about shows. Fabrics and material development are the basis.' said the jury
7. Most Promising Graduate of the Year: Célestin Verheyden
For this prize, the jury selected Célestin Verheyden, graduate of La Cambre Mode[s] in Brussels. During his studies, he did internships at Saint Laurent and Ester Manas. For his graduation collection, he transformed the two-dimensional pieces into dynamic, structured volumes, adding a personal and interesting interpretation to the traditional codes of menswear. His work reminded the judges of that of the late Claude Montana. They were also impressed by the level of craftmanship and the way he presented his work.
8. Fashion Brand of the Year: Four Roses
This year, this public award went to Four Roses. This Belgian family company, which prides itself on its personal contact with producers, customers, ambassadors and its own team, has opened no less than four shops in the past five years. Two years ago Four Roses also opened a fast-growing webshop and last year forged a partnership with multi-brand store Juttu.
THE JURY
This year the international jury was chaired by world-renowned trend watcher, publisher and curator Lidewij Edelkoort and her colleague, trend analyst and consultant Philip Fimmano. They were joined by Serge Carreira (Head of Emerging Brands Initiative at the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode in Paris), Sarah Levy (Accessory Designer of the Year in 2023), Martina Zerneri (Communications specialist and Brand Image Manager), Daniel Rodgers (fashion journalist at British Vogue), Alexander Fury (Fashion Director at Another Magazine and Fashion Critic at the Financial Times), Lena-Sophie Röper (General Manager Designer & Luxury Zalando), Élodie Ouédraogo (co-founder UNRUN and Fashion Director at Elle Belgium), Raïssa Verhaeghe (Founder and CEO of RAVER agency), curators Elisa De Wyngaert (MoMu/ Fashion Museum Antwerp), Eve Demoen (Fashion Museum Hasselt) and Nicolas Lor (Fashion & Lace Museum Brussels) and Marie-Hélène Vanderborght (Journalist C'est du Belge, RTBF).
THE AWARD CEREMONY
The Belgian Fashion Awards 2024 ceremony took place at MAD Brussels. Belgian actrice Emma Moortgat hosted the evening. The award winners received a unique creation designed by Paul Boudens, the graphic designer who was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Henry van de Velde Awards earlier in 2024.
THE BELGIAN FASHION AWARDS
The Belgian Fashion Awards have been organised each year since 2017 by the different organisations in the Belgian fashion industry, namely Flanders DC, MAD Brussels and Wallonie-Bruxelles Design Mode, and the magazines Knack Weekend and Le Vif Weekend. The awards aim to celebrate the uniqueness of Belgian fashion and highlight both established names and emerging talents in the Belgian fashion industry.
www.belgianfashionawards.be
instagram.com/belgianfashionawards
