Belgian designer Marina Yee, a member of the Antwerp Six collective that revolutionized fashion in the ’80s, died on Sunday at the age of 67, the ModeMuseum Antwerp said.
“Her name is inextricably linked to the legendary collective Antwerp Six, which put Belgian fashion on the world map,” emphasized the museum.
In 1986, six young Flemish designers, graduates of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, packed their creations into a van and stormed the “British Designer Show” in London.
Due to their almost unpronounceable names outside Belgium, Ann Demeulemeester, Dirk Van Saene, Marina Yee, Dries Van Noten, Walter Van Beirendonck and Dirk Bikkembergs were henceforth referred to as the Antwerp Six. Her sober, raw and deconstructed creations were the antithesis to an era dominated by sequins and shoulder pads.
Since then, these designers have taken different paths: from the relative anonymity of Marina Yee to the international success of Dries Van Noten and Ann Demeulemeester, who are celebrated from Tokyo to New York, or Dirk Bikkembergs, whose T-shirts and sneakers have been worn by athletes.
Even before the death of Marina Yee, who died as a result of cancer, the ModeMuseum Antwerp had planned to dedicate an exhibition to the Antwerp Six 2026 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their international breakthrough.