Beyond excited. The Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp Fashion Department is a hive of creative activity right now, as the annual student runway presentation SHOW2018 is mere days away. It’s your trusted yearly rendez-vous with the bright young things of fashion tomorrow and a graduation rite of passage for the Masters but also a chance to get close to industry heavyweights as assembled in the professional international jury. We couldn’t be more proud to see one particular name among this year’s line-up. For SHOW2018, Walter Van Beirendonck asked KNOTORYUS’ Very Own Dominique Nzeyimana to be a jury member alongside Antwerp Academy alum and cultural tide-changer Demna Gvasalia of Vetements and Balenciaga, PURPLE’s Sheila Single, Luigi Preziotti of Prada, the peerless photographer and DOP Nicolas Karakatsanis and many more. With over 15 years of experience in fashion and culture writing, having her work featured in countless national and international tone-setting publications and as one of the founders of KNOTORYUS and KNOTORYUS.com, the thought of seeing Dominique on the opposite side of the runway this year feels truly fitting and deserved. A meauxment!

This year’s complete jury will be:

DEMNA GVASALIA – Creative director Vetements & Balenciaga, Zürich/Paris
MAX COLOMBIE – Artist Oscar And The Wolf, Brussels
LUIGI PREZIOTTI – Design director RTW Prada Woman, Milan
MIREN ARZALLUZ – Director Palais Galliera, Paris
SARA SOZZANI MAINO – Deputy editor in chief Vogue Italia & head Vogue Talents, Milan
INA DELCOURT – Project coordinator & former international press director Hermès, Paris
DARIO VITALE – Design director RTW Miu Miu, Milan
JELKA MUSIC – PR director Jean Paul Gaultier, Paris
SHEILA SINGLE – Fashion director PURPLE, Paris
ANNE-FRANÇOISE MOYSON – Fashion editor Weekend Le Vif, Brussels
ADRIANO BATISTA – Editor in chief FY!, Barcelona
NICOLAS KARAKATSANIS – Photographer & cinematographer, Brussels
DOMINIQUE NZEYIMANA – Editor in chief KNOTORYUS.COM, Brussels

Along with the faculty, the jury will closely review the graduate collections.

As official prep for the show, it's high time you met the Masters. This year’s class of nine consists of:

Shayli Harrison

Presenting the collection ‘Crimes Against Nature’, inspired by her native Western Australian bushland among many other things. Read her Antwerp Fashion Department 'Meet The Masters' profile here.


Federica Di Leo

Showing the collection ‘Rita’, inspired by the life and death of a young Sicilian girl in 90s mafia-infested Italy. Read her Antwerp Fashion Department profile here.

Gennaro Genni Velotti

Presenting ‘Libera’, inspired by free women and Neapolitan culture. Read more about the collection on his Antwerp Fashion Department profile here.

Kjell De Meersman

Kjell’s collection ‘MAMI WATA’ is inspired by his mother’s professional looks and female dress of the last two decades. Find out more on his profile here.

Predrag Petrovic

Presenting the collection ‘PULS ASFALTA’, Predrag was inspired by Serban music videos and the Belgrade underworld of the 90s among other things. More to be found on his Antwerp Fashion Department profile here.

Michal Gruca

If you follow the @antwerpfashionmasters Instagram, you’ll have seen warship dazzle paint and vintage male erotica on the moodboard of Michal Gruca. Stay tuned for his 'Meet The Masters' profile here.

Stefan Kartchev

The mood for Stefan Kartchev’s collection features motorcycle gear and Bulgarian iconography. His 'Meet The Masters' profile is coming soon.

Noa Kapchitz + Elijah Schali

Designer pair Noa Kapchitz and Elijah Schali will debut their graduate collection ‘α’, juxtaposing leather with Ethiopian inspiration against the very clean and sharp elegance of 1920s couture lines. Find out more here.

For the full meal on the Masters, be sure to pick up this year’s SHOW2018 Magazine, featuring KNOTORYUS interviews with the graduates and more.

There's dessert. On June 2, the exhibition EXPO2018 offers a chance to take a closer look at each Master's collection and really get a feel for the details and subtexts. There will be nine Master's installations and lookbooks on display alongside first-year students' pieces - who designed dresses inspired by 'Antwerp Baroque 2018'. The Masters will be present so Notes app those questions and get your tickets for EXPO2018  (June 2) here.

Get the last of the SHOW2018 tickets here.

Header image: Jan/Jorre
Images: antwerp-fashion.be