LA FORÊT
La Forêt relates to the fierce landscapes we saw in the broken crockery of Julian Schnabel's paintings. After we shared this with painter Ilse Vanderbeken, she started creating canvases unraveling the mystery of La Forêt. The parts of her paintings where the brush strokes merged with the layout of our footwear, were cut from the paintings, resulting in a unique appeal for each individual design.
Dark rituals to manufacture the most illustious fashion artefacts. Tears are shed. Lightning was welded onto canvas. A unique canvas makes every shoe a future relic. Within the depths of the woods, sacre heads are at work.
Collectif d’Anvers vision for the ‘La Forêt’ collection unfolded when designer Natalie Van Lijsebettens zoomed in on Julian Schnabel's work. To her eye, savage landscapes came to life in the broken crockery Schnabel had used in his paintings.
Sharing this inspiration with the Belgian painter Ilse Vanderbeken led to the realization of canvases reflecting a mysterious and brooding atmosphere that seeps through in every vein of the collection.
Natalie transfigured the mystique of Ilse's paintings to the Collectif d'Anvers footwear through cutting out parts of the paintings, masterfully fusing the brushstrokes with the leather and shape of the footwear, creating a unique appeal for each individual piece.
The figurehead of the 'La Forêt' collection is a lavishly embroidered kimono based on a painting by Ilse Vanderbeken. This artistic intervention is a quirky take on camouflage offering the wearer the opportunity to merge with the garment and simultaneously manifest oneself with the beauty and abundance of the same garment.
Natalie transfigured the mystique of Ilse's paintings to the Collectif d'Anvers footwear through cutting out parts of the paintings, masterfully fusing the brushstrokes with the leather and shape of the footwear, creating a unique appeal for each individual piece.
