The Antwerp flagship boutique, acquired by Demeulemeester and her partner Patrick Robyn, opened its doors in 1999 in a historical 1880s Beaux Arts located in the South of Antwerp. Originally, the building was a school for seamen.
It is symbolic for the brand that Robyn himself redesigned the 520-square-meter flagship from start to finish in order to stay true to the Ann Demeulemeester vision, while updating it for the new era. “The question that we wanted to answer was, ‘What do we expect from a shop today when fashion is everywhere and everything can be bought online?’” says Robyn. “The task was to differentiate ourselves while staying true to the brand’s DNA.”
“Shopping is a very intimate, even vulnerable moment, and we wanted to make our store as welcoming as possible,” he adds. Robyn designed all furniture and fixtures for the two sales floors on which the brand’s offerings will no longer be differentiated between women’s and men’s.
Besides the main collection, the store will also house accessories from the fashion line and the Ann Demeulemeester—Serax collection of homeware.
