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Over 120 Walter Van Beirendonck archival pieces are now live on Farfetch

Words by Tess Macallan

Highly coveted.

In collaboration with London-based vintage specialist House of Liza – which archives items from designers such as Helmut Lang and Issey Miyake – Farfetch has released an exclusive collection of Walter Van Beirendonck archive pieces.

The Farfetch capsule features 122 original designs from Van Beirendonck’s body of work, spanning over the past 33 years.

Alongside Ann Demeulemeester and Dries Van Noten, Van Beirendonck arose as a designer as part of the Antwerp Six. He is known for his off-kilter tailoring, oversized outerwear and eye-catching knitwear pieces.

Cartoonish motifs are also integral to Van Beirendonck’s work and were used by the designer to express his critical standpoint on political issues, including the environment, discrimination and masculinity.

Take, for example, his Fall 2016 show, which saw animalistic shapes burst through the designer’s silhouettes, and prints featuring haunting masked faces that evoked a dystopian image of the world. As Van Beirendonck commented afterwards, the collection expressed his anger towards political world leaders and the current state of the world, which he believed to be dark.

The designer’s unique silhouettes, vibrant patterns and bold meshing of colour and print have also been used to play against traditional notions of masculinity.

Alongside the above, the Farfetch collection also sees the resurgence of the designer’s iconic second-skin tees. Introduced as part of the W&LT collections during the early ’90s, the long-sleeve tees and tight-fitting printed cycling tops have become highly sought after.

Although designed for men, Walter’s nonconformist approach to design makes these pieces suitable for any wardrobe.

farfetch.com

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