Oscar van den Boogaard in conversation with Dirk Leyman

Oscar van den Boogaard is a highly acclaimed novelist whose extensive body of work has been widely translated and shortlisted for major literary prizes. De Heerlijkheid van Julia, Liefdesdood, Meer dan een minnaar and Kindsoldaat were all bestsellers. De Standaard and Vrij Nederland have both named him the defining voice of his generation.

On the first floor of the 1986 British Designer Show in London, tucked away among the bridalwear, six unknown Belgian designers from Antwerp were discovered almost by accident. Because their names were unpronounceable to international visitors, someone is said to have called out: “Come up and see the Six from Antwerp!”

The echo of those words never left the designers. Quite the opposite: over the years, it grew louder, and the Six acquired an almost mythical status. With their international success, Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester, Dirk Bikkembergs, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Van Saene and Marina Yee put Belgian fashion firmly on the global map.

In this book, novelist Oscar van den Boogaard reconstructs the rise of the Six and the dynamics between them through intimate conversations with the designers themselves. He weaves their memories and experiences into a unique collective biography.