The best-known Belgian clothing brands run from the Antwerp Six, among them Dries Van Noten and Ann Demeulemeester, and the house Martin Margiela founded, through everyday labels like Essentiel Antwerp, Bellerose and JBC, to a newer streetwear generation that includes Arte Antwerp, Suspicious Antwerp and Phrase Studios in Ghent.
Belgium is a small country with a long fashion history, and much of it traces back to two schools: the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp and La Cambre in Brussels. Below are the Belgian fashion brands and designers worth knowing, grouped by where they sit, from the runway to the high street to the younger streetwear labels.
The Antwerp Six and the Antwerp school
In 1986 six graduates of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp took their work to London to show at the British Designer Show, and the press grouped them together as the Antwerp Six. The name stuck, and it still shapes how many people think of Belgian fashion designers.
- Dries Van Noten built his label in Antwerp from the mid-1980s and became known for print, colour and the way he mixes fabrics. He stepped back from design in 2024, and the house continues under creative director Julian Klausner.
- Ann Demeulemeester made her name with poetic, mostly black and white tailoring and long, layered silhouettes. She stepped away from her label in 2013, and it continues under her name.
- Walter Van Beirendonck is known for bold colour, prints and a playful, provocative streak, and he led the Academy's fashion department from 2007 until 2022.
- Dirk Bikkembergs built his reputation on strong menswear and later moved towards a sport and football-led line.
- Dirk Van Saene kept a smaller, more art-led practice than the bigger names in the group.
- Marina Yee, who died in 2025, was the most private of the six. She stepped back from fashion in the 1990s, spent years teaching, and returned in 2021 with upcycled collections.
Belgian designers who shaped global fashion
Several Belgian designers went on to lead major houses in Paris, Milan and New York, which is why Belgian names turn up so often in fashion history.
- Martin Margiela graduated from the Antwerp Academy, worked for Jean Paul Gaultier and founded his own house in Paris in 1988. A blank white label held by four stitches, deconstruction and the Tabi boot became its signatures. He left in 2009, and the house, now Maison Margiela, has been led since 2025 by the Bruges-born designer Glenn Martens.
- Raf Simons trained in industrial design before launching his menswear label in 1995. He went on to lead Jil Sander, Dior and Calvin Klein, joined Miuccia Prada as co-creative director of Prada in 2020, and closed his own label in 2022.
- A.F. Vandevorst was the label of the Antwerp duo An Vandevorst and Filip Arickx, who ran it for 22 years before closing it in 2020.
- Kris Van Assche graduated from the Antwerp Academy and led Dior Homme from 2007 to 2018 before moving to Berluti.
Brussels has its own line too. La Cambre trained designers such as Olivier Theyskens and Anthony Vaccarello, who was appointed creative director of Saint Laurent in 2016.
Everyday Belgian labels
Not every Belgian clothing brand is about the runway. A broad layer of labels dresses people for work, weekends and family life, and several have been doing it for decades.
- Essentiel Antwerp was founded in Antwerp in 1999 by Inge Onsea and Esfan Eghtessadi, starting with T-shirts in a wide range of colours. Colour, print and playful details are still its signature.
- Bellerose started in 1989 with a line of men's shirts and is based just outside Brussels. It now covers men, women and children, with relaxed, vintage-inspired casualwear.
- Scapa is a Belgian label with a British and Scottish streak, known for its knitwear and checked wool pieces.
- River Woods was started in 1995 by four friends as a collection of T-shirts and grew into casualwear for men, women and children with a relaxed, American-inspired feel.
- Xandres is a womenswear label based in Destelbergen, just outside Ghent, with roots in a company founded in 1927.
- JBC is a family-owned retailer from Houthalen in Limburg, founded in 1975, selling affordable fashion for the whole family.
Outside clothing, the Brussels leather goods house Delvaux, founded in 1829, is one of the oldest Belgian fashion names still trading.
The new streetwear generation
Over the past fifteen years or so, Belgium has grown its own streetwear names, mostly from Antwerp and Ghent. We cover them in detail in our guide to the best Belgian streetwear brands, so here is the short version.
- Arte Antwerp was founded in Antwerp in 2009 by Bertony Da Silva and is known for graphic, painterly prints on knits, tees and outerwear. See streetwear brands like Arte Antwerp for alternatives.
- Suspicious Antwerp started in Antwerp in the late 2010s and grew through limited drops of sweats and tees with restrained branding. More in streetwear brands like Suspicious Antwerp.
- Phrase Studios is an independent studio in Ghent, founded in 2023 under the line 'From friends, to friends'. It works in numbered chapters of small heavyweight-cotton runs that are not restocked, in a relaxed unisex fit from XS to XL.
We call our own lane Lowlands streetwear and explain what we mean by it there. You can see current pieces in the shop, keeping in mind that pieces come in small runs and may sell out, or look further afield on our European streetwear brands page.
Belgian fashion is easiest to understand in layers: a group of designers who put Antwerp on the fashion map, a set of everyday labels people actually wear, and a younger streetwear scene building its own audience. Start with the layer that matches how you dress, and the rest of the map fills in from there.
FAQ
What are the most famous Belgian clothing brands?
The best-known names include Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester and Maison Margiela on the designer side, everyday labels such as Essentiel Antwerp, Bellerose, Scapa and JBC, and streetwear labels like Arte Antwerp and Suspicious Antwerp. Which matters most depends on whether you mean runway, high street or streetwear.
Who are the Antwerp Six?
The Antwerp Six are Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Bikkembergs, Dirk Van Saene and Marina Yee, graduates of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp who showed together in London in 1986. Martin Margiela studied at the same academy but is not counted among the six.
Is Maison Margiela a Belgian brand?
It was founded in Paris in 1988 by the Belgian designer Martin Margiela, so it is a Paris house with Belgian roots. It is now part of the OTB group, and since 2025 its creative director has been the Belgian designer Glenn Martens.
