Editing Ann Demeulemeester

{{Short description|Belgian fashion designer (born 1959)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Ann Demeulemeester
| image              = <!-- just the name, without the File: or Image: prefix or enclosing [[brackets]] -->
| image_size         = 
| alt                = 
| caption            = Belgian Designer
| birth_name         = Ann Verhelst
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1959|12|29|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Waregem]], Belgium
| death_date         = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date) -->
| death_place        = 
| death_cause        = 
| resting_place      = 
| alma_mater         = [[Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp)|Royal Academy of Fine Arts]]
| occupation         = Fashion and houseware designer
| years_active       = 1985–present
| title              = 
| spouse             = {{marriage|Patrick Robyn|1985}}
}}

'''Ann Verhelst''' (born 29 December 1959<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/people/ann-demeulemeester |title=Ann Demeulemeester is part of the BoF 500 |website=The Business of Fashion |language=en-GB |access-date=26 December 2019 }}</ref>), known professionally as '''Ann Demeulemeester''' ({{IPA|nl|ɑn dəˈmøːləˌmeːstər}}), is a Belgian fashion designer whose label, Ann Demeulemeester, is mainly showcased at the annual [[Paris Fashion Week]].<ref name="Ann Demeulemeester Exits Fashion">{{cite web | url=http://www.wwd.com/fashion-news/designer-luxury/ann-demeulemeester-to-exit-house-7284094?src=nl/mornReport/20131121 | title=Ann Demeulemeester Exits Fashion | publisher=WWD | date=21 November 2013 | access-date=21 November 2013 | author=Socha, Miles}}</ref> She is known as one of the [[Antwerp Six]] in the fashion industry.<ref name="Ann Demeulemeester Exits Fashion"/>

==Early life==
Ann Verhelst was born in [[Waregem]] in 1959<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fashionmodeldirectory.com/designers/ann-demeulemeester/ |title=Ann Demeulemeester |website=Fashion Model Directory |access-date=26 December 2019 }}</ref> to Albert and Monique Verhelst-Pappijn,<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://probat.west-vlaanderen.be/uitgebreidzoeken/default.aspx?d=601713&k=ann%20Demeulemeester&l=4&p=0&id=-1&t=1&pn=1&pz=50 |title=Ten huize van... |language=nl |first=Dolf |last=Derammelaere |magazine=Waregemse Gidsenkring |date=Winter 2000 |via=Waregem City Archives |access-date=29 December 2019 |archive-date=18 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218135502/https://probat.west-vlaanderen.be/uitgebreidzoeken/default.aspx?d=601713&k=ann%20Demeulemeester&l=4&p=0&id=-1&t=1&pn=1&pz=50 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and later lived in the city of [[Antwerp]]. The reason why she made the decision to change her real name "Verhelst" to "Demeulemeester" remains unknown. Initially, Verhelst showed no interest in fashion. She attended art school for three years, where she discovered her fascination with people and portraiture, which led her to begin thinking about clothing design.<ref name="Dazed and Confused Interview" /> From this, she went on to study fashion design at the [[Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp)|Royal Academy of Fine Arts]] in [[Antwerp]] from 1978 to 1981.<ref name="Ann Demeulemeester Exits Fashion"/> In 1986, Verhelst, along with fellow graduates from the Antwerp Royal Academy, decided to showcase her collection in London. Though, as she was pregnant at the time and unable to make the trip to London, she only displayed a selection of sunglasses.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mffashion.com/news/livestage/ann-demeulemeester-la-regina-dell-estetica-rock-202112231247483995/ |title=Ann Demeulemeester, la regina dell'estetica rock |date=8 January 2022 |website=MF Fashion |access-date=8 January 2022}}</ref> This group of Belgian designers would soon be known as the '[[Antwerp Six]]', a radical and distinctive Belgian group of designers of the 1980s.<ref name="Ann Demeulemeester Exits Fashion"/> This group of avant-garde designers are known for their deconstructivist styles of creating untraditional clothing lines.<ref name="Ann Demeulemeester Exits Fashion"/> Other notables from the group include [[Dries van Noten]] and [[Walter Van Beirendonck]].<ref name="Ann Demeulemeester Exits Fashion"/>

== Education and early career ==
Verhelst graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1981.<ref name="Interview with Vogue USA April 1997" /> A year after her graduation, she won the Gouden Spoel, a Belgian awarded prize to the year's most promising fashion designer, though the impact of the award in the industry was very limited.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hln.be/nina/style/ann-demeulemeester-stapt-uit-eigen-modehuis~aec28762/ |title=Ann Verhelst stapt uit eigen modehuis |date=20 November 2013 |website=HLN |access-date=29 December 2019}}</ref> Verhelst struggled to find a first job and began working as a freelance pattern maker, assisting fashion icon [[Martin Margiela]] for an undisclosed Italian brand for a few years.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mffashion.com/news/livestage/ann-demeulemeester-la-regina-dell-estetica-rock-202112231247483995 |title=Ann Demeulemeester, la regina dell'estetica rock |date=8 January 2022 |website=MF Fashion |access-date=8 January 2022}}</ref>

==''Ann Demeulemeester''==
[[File:Patti Smith, 1978.jpg|thumb|Musician [[Patti Smith]], one of Demeulemeester's major influences|150px]]
In 1985, Verhelst finally launched her own brand, ''Ann Demeulemeester-Verhelst'', in collaboration with her husband, Patrick Robyn, who put an end to a burgeoning career as a photographer to devote himself to his wife's fashion label, assuming the role of a shadow creative director for the brand, an unofficial position that he still occupies to this day.<ref name="Ann Demeulemeester Exits Fashion"/><ref name="bio">{{Cite web|url=https://www.anndemeulemeester.com/page/biography|title=BIOGRAPHY {{!}} Ann Demeulemeester|website=www.anndemeulemeester.com|language=en|access-date=2 February 2018}}</ref> She produced her first collection for the fall 1987 season, adding shoes and accessories the following year.<ref>Miles Socha (2 July 2020), [https://wwd.com/fashion-news/designer-luxury/sebastien-meunier-exits-ann-demeulemeester-1203665388/ Sébastien Meunier Exits Ann Demeulemeester] ''[[Women's Wear Daily]]''.</ref>

In 1992, [[Dirk Van Saene]] self-published ''Dirk Van Saene’s Bambi'', a photo-collaged comic that lampooned his fellow Antwerp designers with a special focus on Ann Verhelst, highlighting the tensions between Demeulemeester and the other designers in the Antwerp Six.<ref>{{cite web |date=17 April 2015 |title=A Timeline of Fashion's Belgian Takeover |url=https://www.thecut.com/2015/04/timeline-of-fashions-belgian-takeover.html |access-date=17 April 2023 |website=The Cut}}</ref>

In 1994, Ann Verhelst approached Belgian entrepreneur Anne Chapelle for help in building her brand, which, under her tenure, turned into a substantial global business,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/people/anne-chapelle |title=Anne Chapelle is part of the BoF 500|date=22 May 2023 |website=Business of Fashion |access-date=22 May 2023}}</ref> debuting a menswear line in 1996<ref name="Interview with Vogue USA April 1997" /> and opening the brand’s flagship store in Antwerp in 1999.<ref name="Ann Demeulemeester Exits Fashion"/> Finally, in 2005, Anne Chapelle acquired the company’s majority stake from Ann Verhelst.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.lecho.be/entreprises/textile/ann-demeulemeester-passe-sous-pavillon-italien/10252146.html |title= Ann Demeulemeester passe sous pavillon italien |date=22 May 2023 |website=L’Echo |access-date=22 May 2023}}</ref>

Verhelst worked with the artist [[Jim Dine]], and draws inspiration from singer [[Patti Smith]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Holston|first=Fred|title=Take a Drag or Two|url=http://takeadragortwo.com/2011/04/26/patti-smith-ann-demeulemeester/|work=Patti Smith + Ann Demeulemeester|access-date=27 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110830113051/http://takeadragortwo.com/2011/04/26/patti-smith-ann-demeulemeester/|archive-date=30 August 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> She worked on a clothing line inspired by [[Jackson Pollock]].<ref name="Ann Demeulemeester Exits Fashion"/>

[[File:Stav Strashko4 Civilita.jpg|thumb|Model [[Stav Strashko]] modelling Ann Demeulemeester shoes]]
In November 2013, Verhelst announced she was leaving the [[fashion house]] with a handwritten exit letter.<ref name="Ann Demeulemeester Exits Fashion"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Ann Demeulemeester to leave eponymous fashion house|work=Telegraph|date=November 2013|url=http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/columns/bibby-sowray/TMG10463693/Ann-Demeulemeester-to-leave-eponymous-fashion-house.html}}</ref> Prior to her departure, Ann Verhelst personally chose the French designer [[Sébastien Meunier]] as her successor as artistic director of the brand. Sébastien Meunier had previously worked for 10 years with the Belgian fashion genius [[Martin Margiela]] before joining Ann Demeulemeester in 2010, officially designing the house's men's collections, while in reality being trained by Ann Verhelst and Patrick Robyn themselves to his future position of artistic director. [[Sébastien Meunier]] left the label in July 2020.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wwd.com/fashion-news/designer-luxury/sebastien-meunier-exits-ann-demeulemeester-1203665388/ |title=Sébastien Meunier Exits Ann Demeulemeester|date=2 July 2020 |website=WWD |access-date=2 July 2021}}</ref>

===''Ann Demeulemeester by Serax''===
After leaving fashion, Verhelst attended porcelain master classes in England and France. In 2019, she launched ''Ann Demeulemeester Serax'' in collaboration with Belgian diffusion label Serax, a collection of affordable porcelain dinner services made in China, but also silverware, glasses and larger houseware, following the path of other famous fashion designers of the like of [[Inès de la Fressange]], [[José Levy]] or [[Christian Lacroix]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Lou |last=Stoppard |date=21 August 2019 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/21/style/ann-demeulemeester-doesnt-miss-fashion-at-all-she-has-other-plans.html |title=Ann Demeulemeester Doesn't Miss Fashion at All. She Has Other Plans. |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

===''Ann Demeulemeester by Antonioli''===
After the Italian retailer [[Claudio Antonioli]] bought the company in 2020 <ref>{{cite web |url=https://wwd.com/fashion-news/designer-luxury/sebastien-meunier-exits-ann-demeulemeester-1203665388/ |title=Sébastien Meunier Exits Ann Demeulemeester|date=2 July 2020 |website=WWD |access-date=2 July 2021}}</ref> and after the resignation of [[Sébastien Meunier]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wwd.com/fashion-news/designer-luxury/ann-demeulemeesterf-fall-2021-antonioli-new-owner-1234755180/ |title=Ann Demeulemeester's 'New Beginning' Under Italian Ownership|date=20 March 2021 |website=WWD |access-date=21 March 2020}}</ref> Ann Verhelst announced, in September 2021, her return to the Ann Demeulemeester label,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fashionunited.uk/news/people/ann-demeulemeester-returns-to-namesake-label-ahead-of-antwerp-flagship-reopening/2021083157424 |title=Ann Demeulemeester returns to namesake label ahead of Antwerp flagship reopening|date=31 August 2021 |website=Fashion United |access-date=31 August 2021}}</ref> therefore forever linking her name and legacy to Claudio Antonioli, whose name is mainly associated with the rise of luxury streetwear. That same month, the brand's Antwerp flagship store reopened after a year of renovation,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-features/ann-demeulemeester-antonioli-antwerp-store-opening-dries-van-noten-1234908129/ |title=Ann Demeulemeester Is Happy as Antwerp Flagship Reopens|date=2 September 2021 |website=WWD |access-date=2 September 2021}}</ref> now being mostly focused on the ''Ann Demeulemeester by Serax'' homeware and furnitures collections rather than on the fashion collections.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/ann-demeulemeester-to-reopen-antwerp-flagship-store-1234904767/ |title=Ann Demeulemeester to Reopen Antwerp Flagship|date=28 August 2021 |website=WWD |access-date=28 August 2021}}</ref>

In the meantime, Belgian national newspaper [[De Tijd]] revealed that 42 out of the 48 Antwerp-based employees of Ann Demeulemeester had been dismissed, despite most of them have been working for the label for over threw decades and were hired by Ann Verhelst herself. The article also revealed that the company itself was relocated to Milan,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.tijd.be/ondernemen/textiel/productie-van-modelabel-ann-demeulemeester-verhuist-naar-italie/10316033 |title=Productie van modelabel Ann Demeulemeester verhuist naar Italië|date=27 August 2020 |work=[[De Tijd]] |access-date=27 August 2021}}</ref> definitively cutting the fashion house from its historical Flemish roots. In an exclusive interview granted to journalist Jesse Brouns, Ann Verhelst, Patrick Robyn and Claudio Antonioli confirmed the relocation of the Belgian brand to Italy, the later stating that "Milan [compared to Antwerp] is a fashion city. That made recruiting a new team of 25 people easier."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.tijd.be/sabato/mode/ann-demeulemeester-na-8-jaar-back-in-fashion/10328415 |title=Ann Demeulemeester na 8 jaar back in Fashion|date=28 August 2021 |website=De Tijd |access-date=28 August 2021}}</ref>

Claudio Antonioli enrolled designer Nina Maria Nitsche as "ghost" creative director of the brand, another [[Maison Margiela]] alumni, after her short stances at both [[Vetements]]<ref>{{cite news |url= https://hero-magazine.com/article/75111/vetements-has-recruited-former-margiela-designer-nina-nitsche |title= Vetements has recruited former Margiela designer Nina Nitsche |date=29 September 2016 |website=Hero Magazine |access-date=29 September 2016}}</ref> and [[Kering]]'s own [[Brioni (brand)|Brioni]].<ref>{{cite news |url= https://wwd.com/menswear-news/mens-designer-luxury/brioni-nina-maria-nitsche-part-ways-1202765878/ |title= Brioni, Nina-Maria Nitsche Part Ways |date=27 July 2018 |website=WWD |access-date=27 July 2018}}</ref>

The brand's first fashion show of the Antonioli era that took place in October 2021 in Paris, and relied mostly on denim, received mixed reviews from the international press.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2022-ready-to-wear/ann-demeulemeester |title=Ann Demeulemeester Spring 2022 Reay-to-wear |date=3 October 2021 |website=Vogue Runway |access-date=3 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://ww.fashionnetwork.com/news/Ann-demeulemeester-returns-sort-of,1340493.html |title=Ann Demeulemeester returns, sort of |date=4 October 2021 |website=Fashion Network |access-date=4 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/da-lanvin-givenchy-show-grandiosi-ma-collezioni-cerca-d-autore-AEXzjNn |title= Da Lanvin a Givenchy show grandiosi, ma collezioni in cerca d'autore |date=4 October 2021 |website=Il Sole 24 Ore |access-date=4 October 2021}}</ref> As for the second outing of Claudio Antonioli for the brand, in March 2022, ''Vogue'' described it, in a notably harsh review, as if "The models all looked like they were heading to a meeting with their bank managers to declare themselves bankrupt".<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2022-ready-to-wear/ann-demeulemeester |title= Ann Demeulemeester Review |date=5 March 2022 |website=Vogue.com |access-date=5 March 2022}}</ref>

For [[Sanremo Music Festival]] 2022, Ann Demeulemeester dressed Italian musician [[Mahmood (singer)|Mahmood]],<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.mffashion.com/news/backstage/mahmood-e-blanco-due-stelle-fashion-vincono-sanremo-202202041722002289|title= Mahmood e Blanco, due stelle fashion vincono Sanremo |date=6 February 2022 |website=MF Fashion |access-date=6 February 2022}}</ref> who joins the list of the brand's legends alongside Patti Smith and [[PJ Harvey]].

In December 2022, to the industry’s surprise, Claudio Antonioli named the social-media savvy Ludovic de Saint-Sernin as creative director of Ann Demeulemeester, only to part ways with him less than six months later and after one single collection.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/luxury/ludovic-de-saint-sernin-exits-ann-demeulemeester/|title= Ludovic de Saint Sernin Exits Ann Demeulemeester |date= 20 May 2023 |website=Business of Fashion |access-date=20 May 2023}}</ref> In June 2023, Antonioli then appointed as the brand’s fourth creative director in less than three years, Stefano Gallici, a former intern at [[Haider Ackermann]] and one-half of a duo of Italian DJs called the Nausea Twins.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://wwd.com/fashion-news/designer-luxury/ann-demeulemeester-names-stefano-gallici-new-creative-director-1235669495/ |title= Ann Demeulemeester Names Stefano Gallici Its New Creative Director |date= 1 June 2023 |website=WWD.com |access-date=1 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.instagram.com/nauseatwins/ |title= Nausea Twins |date= 1 June 2023 |website=Instagram |access-date=1 June 2023}}</ref>

In September 2023, Ann Verhelst and Claudio Antonioli released an exclusive fragrance designed by Italian nose, Nicola Bianchi.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.milanofinanza.it/fashion/il-primo-profumo-di-ann-demeulemeester-202309061910375281 |title= Ann Demeulemeester svela il suo primo profumo |date=7 September 2023 |website=Milanofinanza.it |access-date=7 September 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/fragrance/ann-demeulemeester-perfume-1235783237/ |title= Ann Demeulemeester Put Her Heart, Instincts Into First Perfume |date=7 September 2023 |website=wwd.com |access-date=7 September 2023}}</ref>

At the end of Italian fiscal year 2022, Ann Demeulemeester’s parent company, AD Milano S.R.L., reported a net loss of -10.555.311,00 euros for a total turnover of only 9.166.499,00 euros.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.ufficiocamerale.it/7925/ad-milano-srl |title= Dati Della Società – AD Milano S.R.L. |date=2023 |website=Ufficio Camerale |access-date=14 November 2023}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Verhelst married photographer Patrick Robyn in 1985.<ref>{{cite magazine |date= |title=Kindred Spirits |url=https://www.anndemeulemeester.com/sites/anndemeulemeester/files/Press/Fashion%20Rocks.pdf |url-status=dead |magazine=Fashion Rocks |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425201850/https://www.anndemeulemeester.com/sites/anndemeulemeester/files/Press/Fashion%20Rocks.pdf |archive-date=25 April 2019 |access-date=16 January 2020}}</ref><ref name="Ann Demeulemeester Exits Fashion"/>

==Awards==
* 1982 Golden Spindle Award, Belgium

==See also==
* [[Antwerp Six]]
* [[Deconstruction (fashion)]]
* [[List of fashion designers]]

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="Dazed and Confused Interview">{{cite news|title=Ann Demeulemeester|author=Susannah Frankel|work=Dazed & Confused|year=2002|url=http://www.anndemeulemeester.be/assets/interviews/dazed_confused.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231042637/http://anndemeulemeester.be/assets/interviews/dazed_confused.pdf|archive-date=31 December 2010}}</ref>
<ref name="Interview with Vogue USA April 1997">{{cite news|title=Ann of Antwerp|author=Katherine Betts|work=Vogue USA|date=April 1997|url=http://www.anndemeulemeester.be/assets/interviews/fashion_now.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231043005/http://anndemeulemeester.be/assets/interviews/fashion_now.pdf|archive-date=31 December 2010}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{commons category-inline}}
* {{Official website}}
* {{FMD designer}}
* {{Cite web |url=http://www.designerhistory.com/historyofashion/dem.html |title=Ann Demeulemeester at DesignerHistory.com |access-date=14 January 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050311190459/http://www.designerhistory.com/historyofashion/dem.html |archive-date=11 March 2005 |url-status=bot: unknown }}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demeulemeester, Ann}}
[[Category:1959 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Belgian fashion designers]]
[[Category:Belgian women fashion designers]]
[[Category:High fashion brands]]
[[Category:Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp) alumni]]
[[Category:People from Waregem]]
[[Category:Clothing brands of Belgium]]