ra exhibition ss11 – returning to the marais in paris (but in an exciting new space) the ra ss11 exhibition during womens fashion week was
a wonderland of creative installations by our international guest collaborators. a cocktail event of october 2nd was a raging success, with
many new faces & old friends coming to explore the little piece of antwerp in paris. a new partnership with the beaux arts’ academy in paris
allowed wonderful new artists to join us, alongside several loyal names who exhibited for fw10.
narelle dore / paula selby avellaneda / daniel andresen / kia utzon / romain brau / dimitri afanko / elise gettliffe / hide a.h. / lliure briz / irene
alvarez / sayaka yamamoto / pierre-antoine vettorello & marie le traon / hicham berrada / sophie gaucher
too sugary – a crowd of fashionistas in crazy headwear could be seen meandering from the brilliant exhibition of stephen jones millinery at
the momu down the road to kick up their heels & hold onto their hats for the “too sugary” afterparty at ra. lasting well into the night, guests let
loose to the dj stylings of pop rules & the motley crue of ra djs.
camper/bernhard willhelm party – on the 23rd of september ra and camper threw a party to celebrate the launch of the bernhard willhelm
shoe colab, with tropical scenery, crazy coloured snacks & happy party people. delicious cocktails flowed & there was a stunning
performance by pete randy and a sizzling dj-set by villa. this night was the unofficial beginnings of ra’s secretlover affair…

sunset vintage reception – ra and Labels Inc. hosted an exclusive collaboration for fw2010 with a selection of vintage fashion for sale,
curated by Labels Inc.’s erna vandekerckhove at ra. extending the ra vintage corner, erna presented pieces from her own private collection
& the archives of houben and francis, including pieces from the early 20th century as well as designers such as yohji yamamoto, balenciaga,
junya watanabe, chanel & claude montana. the sunset champagne shopping preview on september 4th was a jovial affair, with guests
enjoying champagne from piper heidsieck and kinky fashion cakes featuring karl lagerfeld and anna wintour (seen like never before!).
collecssion – japanese designer sayaka yamamoto presented her latest collection of handmade brooches and other unique jewellery
pieces through the ra corridor, offering her works like a museum exhibit by presenting her pieces like found organic specimens in perspex
cases. she accompanied the collections with her own intricate illustrations, published in a 20-page limited edition book, on sale with ra
printed matter. 3 separate series “second life”, “tuber” and “sketch 1 – pine” were created from such unusual materials as toy soldiers &
vintage buttons, & inspired by new life & alternate perspectives of nature.
narelle dore afternoon tea – australian designer narelle dore hosted an intimate afternoon tea with her fw 2010-11 collection in the back
garden and atrium of ra. her capsule of twenty handmade, feminine pieces was based on a series of pinhole camera photos narelle made at
the salt lakes near her hometown of perth in australia. narelle hung the garments across panels of stained stable wood, for an effect that
echoed the ‘homespun’ nature of her concept. guests were treated to special spiced teas from local organic collective otark productions and
a soundtrack from noted local artist and dj dennis tyfus. narelle produced a limited edition pattern of her ‘sunray blouse’ for purchase on the
day.
its#9 ra award – ra announced the recipient of the 2010 inaugural ra award at the ITS#9 fashion competition in trieste, awarded to 3rd year
antwerp academy designer niels peeraer, with his collection “kisokuzy akai no dorei geishan 58-65″.
niels’ chose to show his collection on a lithe group of asian boys, as a relevant social piece that asks us to look past gender to see his
utopian beauty. the garments were an array of body conscious stretch corsetry, high-waisted skirts, artfully-draped silk dresses and bondage
harnesses worn with coats. accessories were crafted from equestrian equipment – tying in with his study of the japanese “ponyplay” fetish,
when people dress as horses.
mxxx media – the MXXX media exhibition brings together an unusual assortment of created and found objects from five international artists,
with a visual and tactile feast of pale, cool colours and textures. in MXXX media, responders were engaged in a battle between the synthetic
and the organic – as materials and intent are never exactly what they seem.
featuring: du wei wei / florian tomballe / loes everaert / charlotte grandgaignage / denitsa
todorova
swash balloons – following in the “dream machine” theme of their spring summer 2010 collection, the illustrating & silk-printing duo of
‘swash london’ hung hand-made hot air balloons through the downstairs fashion floor, suspended from the ceiling grid around their
psychadelic, surrealist collection of fringed scarves, silk cardigans & leggings.
SHOW 2010 week – australian-belgian fashion photographer sonny vandevelde exhibited a series of his backstage shots from the 2009
SHOW. featuring the collections of emilie pirlot, juan hernandez daels, irina shaposhnikova, elise gettliffe, alexandra verscheuren, lea dickley
& stephanie bösl. alongside the photographs, five graduates offered a silhouette for exhibition. on the second night of 2010 SHOW, sonny
and ra hosted the BACKSTAGE party, with DJ Darko and ra dj’s entertaining guests all evening.
christophe coppens VITRINE – brussels-based milliner christophe coppens decorated the ra entrance hut with his extraordinary
interpretation of “slow fashion” for the 2010 edition of the antwerp VITRINE project. he filled the small space with wild objects from his
atelier, from the start to the finish of his production process as a hat maker. from sequined knives to porcelain statues, horoscopes and
human skulls, the space was fantastical, grungy and kitsch.
ponyhof – ra exhibited works from five emerging painters in the exhibition “progressive recuperation of the clichés”, exploring how painters
reclaim violent, innocent, nostalgic and cinematic clichés from mass media to explore the ambivalence and places of resistance in
postmodern daily life.
featuring: celine felga / aurelien dupuis / pim arends / nicolas van kerckhoven / jan de laure
consume gorilla shop, gorilla consume shop, a special project of trajector art fair for ART BRUSSELS 2010. at the invitation
of centrifugal projects & hotel bloom, ra curated an intimate selection of creative projects, including elise gettliffe’s ss10 menswear collection,
an artwork by ponyhof artist céline felga, sayaka yamamoto’s “penna” brooches, lena lumelsky’s BLACK theatre, and nico dockx & helena
sidiropoulos’s “projet pour un film, projet pour un livre” artist book.
black vintage – three collectors came together for the ra BLACK exhibition to present their archives of black vintage garments akiko, romain
and verlaine gathered a selection of black silhouettes from the early 20th century up until the 1990’s in unusual patterns, textures and rich
fabrics. from elegant cocktail wear to futuristic tailoring, they explored 20th century fashion history with a glamorous, daring eye, featuring
pieces from christian dior, chanel, thierry mugler, azzedine alaïa, yohji yamamoto, pierre cardin, sonia rykiel and more.
lena lumelsky & françois glorieux – accompanied by the musical stylings of françois, the renowned belgian pianist, designer lena lumelsky
produced a choreographed mime act under UV lights, entrancing the audience as the heroine was slowly dressed by an army of nearinvisible
helpers.
yuima nakazato ss10 – from tokyo to antwerp via paris, yuima nakazato’s ground-breaking ss2010 collection of shoes and body jewellery
was showcased alongside a silent fashion film, with a high zipped leather boot , a low zipped flat slipper, a chainmail shoulderpiece and
chainmail legging on show. the high boots won the YKK award at ITS#8, for their ingenious design that folds and unbottons from the boot
into a flat semicircle of leather. the accompanying film was of a dancer in the dark, wearing the heavy, fluid chainmail and intricate shoes,
performing a slow routine.
mvtations – brussels based performance artist jean biche performed a torturous ritual of costume and dance on the BLACK stage at ra.
from naked to fully dressed, from liberation to restriction and back, performing in his own exquisite corsetry and full body costume.
throughout the performance, videos showed past acts of his work, showing a through line of his symbolism and the strength of his personal
aesthetic.
black exhibition, with momu – in cooperation with the black exhibition at momu, ra decorated our space with installations on the theme
‘black’ by a selection of the fashion designers in our boutique.
featuring pieces by: aitor throup / bless / bruno pieters / butterflysoulfire / hannah marshall / heaven tanudiredja / john rocha
j. smith esquire / lion blau / louise goldin / rad hourani / yuima nakazato
the black theatre – “dedicated to those who are inspired – even in the darkest places…”
a lightbox shadow puppet theatre, edited by ra printed matter & illustrated by lena lumelsky, featuring scenes and characters from 20th
century fashion history. created as a limited edition of 200 copies, handmade in belgium & sold at ra & MoMu on the occasion of the
exhibition ‘BLACK. Masters of Black in Fashion & Costume’
sugary photographs – works of anouk kruithof & fong ponto in the ra bookstore & cafeteria space.
anouk’s work “enclosed content chatting away in the colour invisibility” was an existential study of borders, depicting a 4x2m installation of
over 4000 coloured books she collected in berlin. fong ponto took a more intrusive step with “installation the bookstore”, carpeting the tiled
café floor & arranging two floating screens with his ‘video portrait’ of himself and artist kathrin klingner. fong reconfigured the space, even
causing patrons to rethink their seating choices – to enter the artwork or not!
18& – valentine’s eve with andrea cammarosano, petrus heeren, spaghetti gangbang & L.I.A in a steamy music/performance/art/party.
spaghetti gangbang broadcast over the internet from inside their pink furry phallus, mixing erotic fruit juices for their voyeuristic onlookers in
RA & across the web. andrea cammarosano offered his ‘services’ for the night, with a veritable smorgasbord of cut&paste ‘andrea aliases’
from all over the map, for paying customers to take home and enjoy. petrus heeren performed a sensual adolescent ritual in the front hut,
recreating a teenage boy’s bedroom scene exploring his own physicality in the ‘privacy’ of his own space.
‘be an idol’ – a multimedia installation of artworks by spanish artist carlos arroyo galaxia.
ra became a sacrificial space, his pieces like offerings to the deity he placed in the front window, a god with his scalloped headdress -
surrounded by gifts of fruits, flowers & slow burning candles.
canadian violinist nicholas fountaine became a god, donning a calico robe & the IDOL headdress. satellite altars accompanied – with laptop
computers showing his family at their own altars participating via skype.
‘top of the rocks’ – paris-based brothers karim and luc ‘la fratrie’ installed their miniature perspex worlds in the RA corridor. five clear boxes
held suspended islands featuring built human landscapes – perhaps with a rundown church, a sinking disco or a ferris wheel floating behind
the plastic.
painstakingly crafted by hand, each piece holds a unique significance as a contemporary existential discussion on shared experiences of
youth, the passage of time, and the juxtaposition of modern glitz with rundown, ramshackle histories.
ra exhibition fw10 in paris was the beginning of our international ventures. inviting several locally-based (but international) designers &
artists, we took over the galerie foret verte in paris’ 3rd arrondisement. each contributor highlighted the space with not only fashion
collections, but unique artistic displays to showcase their portfolios.
hide a.h. / romain brau / icaro ibanez / lena lumelsky / lliure briz / irene alvarez / daniel andresen /
elise gettliffe / narelle dore / sayaka yamamoto
material boy – australian designer mic eaton presented the european revival of his menswear line, with ‘a veritable wardrobe for the modern
nomad’. for fall winter 2010 the material boy became a renaissance man – dressed for the heaths, moors, and taverns of medieval europe.
the collection harbours a comfortable, ‘lived-in’ feel, with the pieces holding a historical sensibility as well as a modern ease. grassy knolls &
rocky outcrops were scattered through a static show in ra, as models posed in eery still-lifes.
dashenka prochazka – her artistic takeover of ra was a morbid, magical affair, as feathers grew from the floor and marshmallows flowed in
mountains. hiding in our straw hut, dashenka’s hushed lyrics floated through the space as guests explored her magic mystery boxes, and
discovered her ghost men hiding in corners, the ra forest, some with their faces alive with fantastical projections. dashenka’s bunny men
bounced in slinky suits in the blackened hut, with strobe lights sending them into a frenzy.
melting – antwerp graduate ‘09 elise gettliffe transformed a corner of ra with her contemporary street wardrobe of gangland-inspired
menswear (woven textiles mixed with heavy shirting, knitwear & denim). she also channeled her inspirations into surrealist paintings on the
walls behind the collection & has continued to add her personal touches to the ra décor with wood etchings & other murals.
un animal devra mourir – la cambre graduate giuseppe virgone showed his shredded, dissected collection of opulent menswear in a
theatrical presentation, on young boys with golden masks by guillaume airiaud & live cassette tape electronica by nemoi (berlin)