June 2010 I fell in love. She was small, quaint, antique and modern and just felt familiar. Her name is Antwerp. Antwerp is a small city in Belgium. Like my beloved Philly to New York is Antwerp to Brussels. There are late night french fry spots and sandwiches piled high with veggies (broodje) and succulent seafood. There are cobblestones, hustle and bustle, friendliness, trains and cultural richness, the Diamond District and the Red Light District where sex workers pose in store windows like mannequins offering their bodies to the highest bidder.
If all of these characteristics weren't enticing enough there is also the Royal Academy of Fine Arts where fashion is sculptural art and creativity flows in the water.
The Antwerp Six: Marina Yee, Walter van Beirendonck, Dirk Van Saene, Ann Demuelemeester, Dries Van Noten, and Dirk Bikkembergs are demi gods who with one showing put Antwerp on the map and with fabric made it a respected design mecca.
And although they are not connected with Antwerp's explosive bloom, both my favorite artist, Rene Magritte and fashion designer, Martin Margiela evoke some of the same sensibilities that permeates the fibers of the city and those who love it.
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There is something familiar going on in Philadelphia. The changes in season and the growing interest in fashion and art. With these changes in attitude and industry, I watch the City blossom and wait for its Antwerp Six,to catapult it into fashion relevance.
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