Fashion designer and performance artist Brandon Wen succeeds Walter van Beirendonck at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp. Beginning in September this year, Wen will become the artistic director of the academy’s fashion department.
Wen will also teach at the academy and supervise students. Walter van Beirendonck announced his departure from the Academy earlier this year. He has been head of the fashion department since 2007.
Wen himself is also a former student at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. He has worked for Rick Owens, Michèle Lamy, Maison Lemairé and Chanel, among others. “I couldn’t be more excited! This is a dream come true which I accept with great gratitude, devotion and joy. Maintaining the tradition of creativity and artistry – traits that made me fall in love with the academy instantly – we aim to inspire a new generation of artists and designers to navigate the intersection of fantasy and reality. A generation that, with the necessary authenticity, creativity and fun, also develops the tools and courage to assert its place in the world. We want to grow together and redefine our love of wonder and beauty in fashion,” Wen said in the press release. “As a teacher and artistic director, I want to live life with the same courage I have in my personal and artistic journey . I am humbled and proud and can’t wait to get started.”
Johan Pas, Director of the Academy and Chair of the Selection Committee, says of Wen: “Brandon Wen won us over with his generous creativity, strong drive, fresh ideas and great connectivity. This is exactly what the academy and our fashion school need. With Brandon Wen, we radically opt for an international, interdisciplinary and innovative profile. Together with his teaching team and colleagues from the academy, Wen will continue to place the fashion academy on the international map of fashion and strengthen it for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.”
The Antwerp Academy begins a new chapter with the appointment of Brandon Wen
Last May, it was announced that Walter van Beirendonck was retiring from the management of the fashion academy, but was continuing his work as a designer. Like Wen, Van Beirendonck is a former student at the Academy. He graduated from there in 1980. Since 1985 he worked there as a teacher, and in 2007 he became the head of the fashion department. He stated that he himself was in no way involved in the selection of his successor.
the recent graduation exhibition of the academy was also the farewell to Van Beirendonck. FashionUnited attended the show and could clearly see Van Beirendonck’s influence.
This translated post previously appeared on FashionUnited.nl.