In his over thirty-year long career, Belgian fashion designer Walter van Beirendonck questioned, through his otherworldly point of view, fashion and its paradigms – among them, gender.

In July 1999 Walter van Beirendonck featured, in his spring/summer show, guys cladded in ponchos, kite shaped clothes, heavily embroidered t-shirts, crocheted dresses worn over floral cotton pants and natural-coloured leather shoes that followed the anatomy of the feet. Entitled ‘Gender?’, the collection discussed the universally recognised aesthetic and social canons usually attributed to the distinct genders.

Embroidered hemd in vichy fabric, designed by Walter van Beirendonck for his 'Gender?' s/s 2000 collection. Courtesy MoMu - Modemuseum Provincie Antwerpen.

Commenting the collection with fashion critic and journalist Suzy Menkes, the designer said: ‘Whether clothes are for men and women is all in the head – and none of these are 100 percent’. Defined through imitation, sexual identity in fashion and clothes is usually conditioned by education and society. Reacting over this clichés, the designer presented clothes that could be questionably either for men and women, pushing not only new colours and decorations, but also shapes and constructions.

Shoes in leather, designed by Walter van Beirendonck for his 'Gender?' s/s 2000 collection. Courtesy MoMu - ModeMuseum Provincie Antwerpen.

However, the designer was not new to questioning gender canons. Since the late 1980s, in fact, van Beirendonck experimented with menswear, introducing new men silhouettes, drawing from the historical female wardrobe, borrowing pieces such as skirts, dresses and corsets.

In A/W 1989-1990, the designer presented “Hardbeat”, a collection where the S&M influence was softened, and men were dressed with sexy and sexualized tricot clothes in bright colours. The collection invited to look at sex from a very personal point of view free of preconceptions; it also envisioned the role of men and women in society in a new form of unisex.

Top in knitted wool, designed by Walter van Beirendonck for his 'Hardbead' a/w 1989-1990 collection. Courtesy MoMu - Modemuseum Provincie Antwerpen.

Inspired from queer culture, from the work of Robert Mapplethorpe, Kansai Yamamoto, but also from fairy tales, literature, art and the ancient-astronauts’ theory, Walter van Beirendonck keeps using fashion to question society and its rules, expressing opinions that perfectly describe the many contradictions and surrealistic elements of contemporary culture. To find more of his creations, browse the Europeana Fashion collection.