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Christian WijnantsBelgian fashion designer
Country:
 Belgium |
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Biography of Christian Wijnants
Christian Wijnants is a Belgian fashion designer who draws inspiration from surrealism, dadaism, and African folk art. He has gained special recognition for his knitwear innovations and his presentation of a feminine and poetic style.
Born in Brussels in 1977, Wijnants moved to Antwerp in 1996 to study fashion design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. After graduating from the academy in 2000, he won the grand prize at the 'Festival de Hyères', a competition for emerging designers. This win allowed him to showcase his collection for sale at conceptual boutiques such as 'Colette' in Paris, 'Pineal Eye' in London, 'Via Bus Stop' in Tokyo, and 'Henri Bendel' in New York.
After working as a creative assistant for Belgian designer Dries Van Noten and Italian designer Angelo Tarlazzi in Paris, Wijnants finally launched his own brand in 2003. He presents his collections twice a year during Paris Fashion Week and has earned numerous prestigious awards, including the 'Dries Van Noten Price' in 2000, 'Festival of Hyères' in 2001, 'Swiss Textiles Award' in 2005, and 'Yves Saint Laurent/Andam Prize' in 2006.
Wijnants' collections are produced directly in Belgium and his fashionable creations are distributed through many prestigious stores worldwide, including 'Le Bon Marché' and 'Maria Luisa' in Paris, 'Jeffrey' in New York, 'Mameg' in Los Angeles, 'United Arrows', 'Midwest', and 'Beams' in Tokyo, 'Club21' in Singapore, 'Podium' in Moscow, and more.
Design Inspiration and Style
Wijnants draws his design inspiration from surrealism, dadaism, and African folk art. He is particularly known for his knitwear innovations and his presentation of a feminine and poetic style. After a recent collaboration with Italian photographer Carlotta Manaigo, the Belgian designer adopted her soft, slightly cool romanticism, which was vividly presented in his Fall-Winter 2012 collection.
His new garments from the 2012 collection perfectly fit the atmosphere of urban streets but also possess a magical and mysterious element, as if they were treasures from the natural world. Wijnants' color palette in his work creates lasting associations with the history of Earth's development, geology, whether it be shades of "cold ice," "gray stone," "mineral pink," or "wood-green."
In addition, Wijnants introduces the concept of organic forms into his collection. It creates the impression that his sweaters and coats envelop the body like cocoons, and his hand-knit pieces create a fur-like effect. Wijnants transforms contemporary fashion in accordance with his unique vision, blending glossy artificial leather with alpaca wool in a single garment.
The picturesque prints, developed by Wijnants for his collections, appear as frozen landscapes due to their realism. In reality, they were inspired by working with textile fabrics. The main theme of the prints is named 'Mahlia' in honor of Mahlia Kent, who worked with knotted woven tweed for Coco Chanel.
Since 2005, Wijnants has been one of the lecturers at the Royal Academy in Antwerp.
