Ann Salens

Long before the Antwerp Six, Ann Salens (1940-1994) was considered the first avant-garde designer from Antwerp. Salens did not pursue any fashion training and designed her creations in the twilight zone between art and fashion, between great luxury and flamboyant bohemia.

In the late 1960s, Salens opened a shop selling unique crocheted designs in Wolstraat in Antwerp, very much in the spirit of the times. In that period, a lively art scene developed around Wolstraat, a hotbed of alternative artists. Ann Salens and her husband, performance artist Ludo Mich, played a key role.

Salens' silk crochet and knitwear featured an increasingly subtle play of colours: surfaces evolved into intricate colour gradations, with various patterns flowing together into a harmonious whole. She found classic fashion shows kitschy and impersonal, so she turned them into genuine happenings: rituals in a blaze of light, colour, movement, and bodies Those shows became her signature. She used unconventional models, mainly female friends and dancers, as an alternative to the strict Parisian ideal of beauty and the traditional image of women. Above all, her designs had to fit the buyer's personality. Salens hated the commercial side of fashion, and assignments and orders were not her thing. Her work continues to inspire a young generation of fashion designers, including Christian Wijnants, a passionate designer who specialises in knitwear.