Eva Hilinski

12 Jun 2025
Fashion

Our Favorites From Antwerp Royal Academy Ma 2025: Chloë Reners

On the 6th–7th of June, The Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp hit the stage with its annual runway show, once again reclaiming Antwerp’s status as an avant-garde fashion capital. We are honored to present one of our favorites, Chloë Reners, Belgian, 2025 MA Fashion Department graduate, and her collection Dot Dot Dot.

Women’s representation in Surrealism

“With this collection, I explored the representation of women in Surrealism. Their bodies were often fragmented, objectified, or transformed into something beyond themselves,” Chloë noted, accentuating the works of the British surrealist painter George Underwood. “He explained how images and representations can shape our perception of reality. His works often feature faces, wrapped in flowing, wave-like forms, blurring the line between reality and imagination.” Underwood’s visuals served as the foundation for translating those concepts.

Blurring familiarity and strangeness

The refined minimal sophistication had become a clear defining signature of Reners’ collection. The second the first model walked down the podium, slow and nonchalant, in her layered laser cut polka dot sheath dress with a headpiece, inspired by another surrealist, Italian, Giovanni Gasparro’s Anomaly with the Largillière’s hat, the smooth singing filled the venue and no one dared to exhale.

“I used a lot of laser cuts as a fabric manipulation, so it softly reveals her skin and body… The headpieces are inspired by how identity and beauty are distorted in surrealist art. Giovanni Gasparro influenced me because of the way a traditional portrait is disrupted by an almost grotesque hat and facial distortion. It blurs familiarity and strangeness… by partially hiding the face, the pieces question idealized images and invite a more layered, surreal reading of the female figure,” Chloë noted.

Beauty ideals and the precision of form

“I am quite minimal in design. It is important for me to have a clear shape, a clear movement. I am always looking for something happening in the look that makes it more exciting.” The feminine ‘ideals’, snatched waists, wide hips, thin elongated statures, were all present in the silhouettes, but in no way objectified the wearer. About the graphic dress that imitates this ‘perfect’ female body, Reners said, “It is a second body I created to emphasize this tiny waist again and elongated legs. They seem way longer than they should be. But I also wanted to have the contrast of having an oversized coat covering this little body.”

The name of the collection, Dot Dot Dot, Chloë explained, refers to the laser cutting technique, but also the three dots one sees when another is typing a message, it is the feeling of anticipation for something to happen. “It is also about waiting for this woman’s ideal image to break. I’m waiting for the reaction… There is more and more body positivity in how women are represented in art or in society. I feel it’s changing a little bit, but perhaps not enough.”

dream big, it is never too late

“This year, for me, was really searching for a certain style as a designer. Because I never had the time to get to know myself in that way.” Reners has a prior bachelor’s degree in communication and marketing, and during her internship at the fashion house in Amsterdam, she discovered her passion for design. “I canceled my master’s degree, and I started in the academy. Back then, I did an internship from nine to six, and then I went home, and the whole night I was looking on YouTube how to draw a basic mannequin, how to sew a straight stitch line. I didn’t know anything, so I had to self-teach to get in.”

Reners’ dream internship? In case you have not guessed, it is Maison Alaïa, and we sincerely hope Chloë fulfills her big dream.

The backstage images were shot by Ilaicha Vandeputte exclusively for Enfnts Terribles.

The MA collections are on view on the 27th and 28th of June, 12:00 to 18:00 at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Mutsaardstraat 31, 2000 Antwerpen, opening on the 26th of June at 18:00. For more information, visit the Academy’s website.

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