An Vandevorst and Filip Arickx meet in 1987, on their first school day at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. Ten years later they set up their company Blixa and present their first collection as A.F. VANDEVORST in Paris.

The current A.F. VANDEVORST line is a complete women’s ready-to-wear line compris-ing shoes, lingerie, bags and accessories. The ready-to-wear collection is developed and produced with Belgian manufacturers from inception with specific outsourcing in Turkey for certain categories (Jersey). Shoes and accessories are developed and manufactured in Italy. In January 2006 A.F. VANDEVORST presents a lingerie and beachwear collection. This collection is manufactured in France and is to be regarded as a research into the classic traditions of ‘corsetterie’.

Press is managed by Totem in Paris, Pred PR in Tokyo, Nouveau PR in New York and Agentur K in Munich. All other aspects of the company - including sales, production, distribution and finances - are controlled from their Antwerp base by a small but efficient team of ten employees.

A.F. VANDEVORST shows twice a year during the Paris fashion week and, in addition, presents all new collections equally in it’s own showrooms in Antwerp, Paris, Milan, Tokyo and Berlin. The collection is on sale at the majority of prestigious shops and department stores in Paris, New York, London, Tokyo, Moscou…

A.F. VANDEVORST has always taken on outside projects: there has been the creation of a unique collection for Ruffo Research Italy (Male/Female, 2000-2001), they designed for Allegri in Italy (Male/Female, 2005), created stage costumes for the Susan Sontag play “Alice in Bed”, as well as outfits for the Dutch Opera House in Amsterdam. In 2005 An and Filip were asked by MoMu - the renowned Antwerp Fashion Museum - as curators of “Katharina Prospekt”, an exhibition based upon the couple’s impressions of Russia.

A.F. VANDEVORST is a company in full expansion, with a keen eye for the future: further developments include a clothing line for men and the opening of their own shops. The company however remains focused on the evolution of the current women’s collection.

1991: An and Filip graduate at the Fashion school of the Royal Academy of fine Arts Antwerp.

1991-1997: An starts at Dries Van Noten as first assistant while Filip becomes free-lance designer for several commercial brands and stylist for magazines and television shows.

1997-2000: An becomes visiting lecturer at the Fashion school of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp.

1998: A.F. VANDEVORST starts showing their collection twice a year in Paris. They win the prestigious Parisian award “Venus de la mode” for “Futur Grand Créateur”.

1999-2000: A.F. VANDEVORST signs a one-year contract as designers for the men’s and women’s collection of the Italian brand Ruffo Research.

2000: A.F. VANDEVORST designs the cos-tumes for the play “Alice in bed” written by Susan Sonntag and performed by the NewYork Theatre workshop. They are presented by Anna Wintour (Vogue U.S.A.) as the “new guard” for the next millennium.

2001: The work of A.F. VANDEVORST is presented in the Metropolitan museum at New York.

2002: Costumes for the opera play “Vèc Mak-ropoulos” by Leos Janacek for the Dutch Opera House in Amsterdam. Presentation of their work at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, with Valerie Steele as curator.

2003: A.F. VANDEVORST launch Fetish, a women’s shoe collection. Their work is presented at the Museu Textil I de la Indumen-taria in Barcelona.

2004: A.F. VANDEVORST signs a one-year contract as designers for the men and women’s collection of the Italian brand Allegri. A.F. VANDEVORST is invited to par-ticipate at the “Malign Muses” exhibition at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum.

2005: “Katharina Prospekt” exhibition at MoMu - the Antwerp Fashion Museum - with A.F. VANDEVORST as curator.

2006: A.F. VANDEVORST launches Night-fall, a women’s lingerie collection, and complete their Fetish shoe collection with a line for men.

2008: A.F.VANDEVORST celebrates its 10th anniversary, looking back on a chal-lenging decade of ever growing creativity and commercial success.

2009 : June: Launch PRE - collection Spring Summer 2010. June: Launch A.FRIEND collection Spring Summer 2010. December: Launch AFVandevorst Guerilla Store Aktion I

Photo: Ronald Stoops

1991: An and Filip graduate at the Fashion school of the Royal Academy of fine Arts Antwerp.

1991-1997: An starts at Dries Van Noten as first assistant while Filip becomes free-lance designer for several commercial brands and stylist for magazines and television shows.

1997-2000: An becomes visiting lecturer at the Fashion school of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp.

1998: A.F. VANDEVORST starts showing their collection twice a year in Paris. They win the prestigious Parisian award “Venus de la mode” for “Futur Grand Créateur”.

1999-2000: A.F. VANDEVORST signs a one-year contract as designers for the men’s and women’s collection of the Italian brand Ruffo Research.

2000: A.F. VANDEVORST designs the cos-tumes for the play “Alice in bed” written by Susan Sonntag and performed by the NewYork Theatre workshop. They are presented by Anna Wintour (Vogue U.S.A.) as the “new guard” for the next millennium.

2001: The work of A.F. VANDEVORST is presented in the Metropolitan museum at New York.

2002: Costumes for the opera play “Vèc Mak-ropoulos” by Leos Janacek for the Dutch Opera House in Amsterdam. Presentation of their work at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, with Valerie Steele as curator.

2003: A.F. VANDEVORST launch Fetish, a women’s shoe collection. Their work is presented at the Museu Textil I de la Indumen-taria in Barcelona.

2004: A.F. VANDEVORST signs a one-year contract as designers for the men and women’s collection of the Italian brand Allegri. A.F. VANDEVORST is invited to par-ticipate at the “Malign Muses” exhibition at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum.

2005: “Katharina Prospekt” exhibition at MoMu - the Antwerp Fashion Museum - with A.F. VANDEVORST as curator.

2006: A.F. VANDEVORST launches Night-fall, a women’s lingerie collection, and complete their Fetish shoe collection with a line for men.

2008: A.F.VANDEVORST celebrates its 10th anniversary, looking back on a chal-lenging decade of ever growing creativity and commercial success.

2009 : Launch PRE - collection Spring Summer 2010Launch A.FRIEND collection Spring Summer 2010 .

A.F. Vandevorst is excited to announce the opening of our new project GUERILLA STORE AKTION I. The concept behind the store is to create a space in which people can fall into the world of A.F. Vandevorst; such a world that includes fashion, and more.

This project will be launched on the 17th of December 2009 in Antwerp, Belgium. The store will remain open until the 31st of March 2010, and will then move to a new city for others to discover. Every store will be installed in an unoccupied space for a maximum of three months. Unoccupied premises will include former boutiques, laundrettes, bakeries, etc. The search for each new space will add a challenge as well as provoke creativity in the project of the guerilla store.

The guerilla stores will house all collections: A.F. Vandevorst, A.Friend, Fetish, Nightfall, and Relics. However, all artistic collaborations between A.F. Vandevorst and others will be revealed and some of these will allow the customer to interact.

Some of the institutions which A.F. Vandevorst would like to support will have a place in this concept, the first of which is the Dr. Guislain Museum from Ghent, Belgium. Without the involvement of others, the Aktion I concept would not be guerrilla. Therefore, most of the concept will be made possible due to the help of sponsors and other A.F. minded friends.

Opening Night December, 17th 2009

http://dazeddigital.com/Fashion/article/6140/1/AF_Vandevorst_Goes_Guerilla

http://www.fashionwindows.net/2009/12/a-f-vandevorst-guerilla-store-antwerp/

We are excited to launch our new line. . This collection will be inspired and worn by friends of A.F. Vandevorst. It will be the direct result of dialogues with our friends who have expressed their needs and desires in the past and continue to do so, when it comes to their wardrobes. This new line will be a collection designed with the same creativity and energy as the mainline, however, it will be more affordable and available to a larger clientele base as a result of strategized price range and distribution. Even though there will be no exclusivity. The collection will be composed of jersey and knitwear pieces in all different weights. The process of this new project will be followed up with the same precision that has been put into the main collection for the past 10 years. The collection will be available worldwide from end of Januari 2010.

Also available at Aktion I Store, Antwerp

http://dianepernet.typepad.com/diane/2009/12/first-big-snow-in-antwerp-and-an-opening.html

http://www.interviewmagazine.com/blogs/fashion/2009-12-18/af-vandevorst/

http://glassmagazine.co.uk/fo-rum/article.asp?tid=863#title

http://labelfashionfocus.be/2009/12/guerillastore-af-vandevorst-ontpopt/

&ct=ga&cd=PivLoUFOqfk&usg=AFQjCNE9hqT_PpIZx18-esy9QGykVbAIZQ/

http://labelfashionfocus.be/2009/12/guerillastore-af-vandevorst-ontpopt/

&ct=ga&cd=PivLoUFOqfk&usg=AFQjCNE9hqT_PpIZx18-esy9QGykVbAIZQ/

http://levifweekend.rnews.be/fr/style-de-vie/guerilla-store-a-f-vande-vorst/article-1194583434773.htm

http://www.style.com/stylefile/page/7/