Ann Demeulemeester

Ann Demeulemeester
Born	Ann Verhelst (1959-12-29) 29 December 1959 Waregem, Belgium
Alma mater	Royal Academy of Fine Arts
Occupation(s)	Fashion and houseware designer
Years active	1985–present
Spouse	Patrick Robyn ​ (m. 1985)​

Ann Verhelst (born 29 December 1959), known professionally as Ann Demeulemeester (Dutch pronunciation: [ɑn dəˈmøːləˌmeːstər]), is a Belgian fashion designer whose label, Ann Demeulemeester, is mainly showcased at the annual Paris Fashion Week. She is known as one of the Antwerp Six in the fashion industry.

Early life

Ann Verhelst was born in Waregem in 1959 to Albert and Monique Verhelst-Pappijn, 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. From this, she went on to study fashion design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp from 1978 to 1981. 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. This group of Belgian designers would soon be known as the 'Antwerp Six', a radical and distinctive Belgian group of designers of the 1980s. This group of avant-garde designers are known for their deconstructivist styles of creating untraditional clothing lines. Other notables from the group include Dries van Noten and Walter Van Beirendonck.

Education and early career

Verhelst graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1981. 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. 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.

Ann Demeulemeester

Musician Patti Smith, one of Demeulemeester's major influences

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. She produced her first collection for the fall 1987 season, adding shoes and accessories the following year.

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.

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, debuting a menswear line in 1996 and opening the brand’s flagship store in Antwerp in 1999. Finally, in 2005, Anne Chapelle acquired the company’s majority stake from Ann Verhelst.

Verhelst worked with the artist Jim Dine, and draws inspiration from singer Patti Smith. She worked on a clothing line inspired by Jackson Pollock.

Model Stav Strashko modelling Ann Demeulemeester shoes

In November 2013, Verhelst announced she was leaving the fashion house with a handwritten exit letter. 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.

Acquisition by Antonioli Group

In September 2020, Italian entrepreneur Claudio Antonioli acquired the Belgian fashion brand Ann Demeulemeester, aiming to revitalize its esteemed legacy while honoring its foundational ethos. Under Antonioli's leadership, the brand underwent significant transformations, including the renovation of its Antwerp flagship store by Patrick Robyn, Demeulemeester's longtime partner, which reopened in 2021 with a refreshed black-and-white aesthetic reflecting the brand's distinct style.

In June 2023, Italian designer Stefano Gallici was appointed as the new creative director of Ann Demeulemeester. Born in 1996, Gallici began his career assisting Haider Ackermann in Antwerp after graduating from the IUAV University of Venice. He joined Ann Demeulemeester's menswear design team in 2020, quickly demonstrating a strong creative vision that earned him the top role. Claudio Antonioli remarked that Gallici "represents the DNA of the brand with an eye to the future."

His debut collection during Paris Fashion Week in September 2023 showcased his ability to balance structure and fluidity, with sheer shirts layered under sharply tailored coats, distressed knits, and supple leather pieces exuding a worn-in sensuality. Critics noted that while previous collections felt like reenactments, this one had an underlying conviction, reflecting Gallici's ownership of the house's aesthetic codes.

Stefano Gallici has actively fostered a vibrant artistic community around Ann Demeulemeester, blending the brand's heritage with contemporary creativity. In his visual self-produced project titled 'KIDS,' Gallici documented a global network of collaborators, including musicians, poets, sculptors, painters and artists, capturing the raw and unfiltered essence of the underground creative scenes in London, Paris, Berlin, New York and Los Angeles. This initiative emphasizes Gallici's commitment to building a "tribe" of like-minded artists, reflecting his personal and creative drive to cultivate a community.

Gallici's efforts to intertwine fashion with music have attracted both emerging and legendary artists to the brand. Notably, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan, and Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie attended the Gallici's shows in Paris, highlighting the brand's enduring influence and its resonance with iconic figures in the music industry.

In May 2024, Ann Demeulemeester unveiled its first pre-collection under Gallici's creative direction. Presented in Paris the Spring/Summer 2025 pre-collection, dubbed the "Wardrobe Collection," emphasized timeless elegance and versatile sophistication. Gallici collaborated with London-based musician October Logan, integrating her artistic sensibilities into the designs. This partnership resulted in garments featuring graphics inspired by her music and lyrics, underscoring the brand's dedication to artistic expression and community building. The collection reinforced Gallici's vision of creating a modern uniform that fuses artistry and functionality, ensuring that the brand remains relevant in contemporary fashion conversations.

His Pre-Fall 2025 collection further demonstrated his innovative approach, blending fashion with fine art through a collaboration with London-based photographer Cole Flynn Quirke. This partnership resulted in a textural symphony that resonated with both longtime admirers and new audiences, reaffirming Ann Demeulemeester's position at the forefront of artistic innovation in fashion.

Gallici's Autumn/Winter 2025 collection, showcased at Paris Fashion Week in March 2025, received praise from major fashion critics. Vogue Italia highlighted how the collection exemplified what Ann Demeulemeester represents today, commending Gallici's ability to stay true to the brand's DNA while evolving its aesthetic.

SHOWstudio's fashion features editor, Joshua Graham, described the atmosphere of the show as "electric," with standing guests packed behind barricades as if awaiting a major concert act—underscoring the brand's transformation into one of the most anticipated moments of Paris Fashion Week.

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.

Personal life

Verhelst married photographer Patrick Robyn in 1985.

Awards

• 1982 Golden Spindle Award, Belgium

See also

• Antwerp Six
• Deconstruction (fashion)
• List of fashion designers

External links

Media related to Ann Demeulemeester at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Ann Demeulemeester at FMD
• "Ann Demeulemeester at DesignerHistory.com". Archived from the original on 11 March 2005. Retrieved 14 January 2005.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)