Where does Olga Leyers shop during the Antwerp Designer Sales? ‘At home I learned an admiration for Dries Van Noten’

A good designer piece is something you have for life, says TV face Olga Leyers. As an ambassador for the Designer Sales, which will take place in Antwerp from May 13 to 19, she hopes that a wider audience will become acquainted with Belgian fashion.

You go to the Designer Sales for Knack Weekend. What do you have with Belgian fashion?

‘I have mainly gotten to know Belgian designers since I met my husband Giancarlo (Angeletti, ed.) met. He runs his own fashion boutique VIER in Antwerp, where he used to sell designs by Dries Van Noten and Raf Simons, and now Walter Van Beirendonck. We certainly didn’t have cupboards full at home, but we did develop a kind of admiration for Dries Van Noten. I remember a beautiful dress from my mother from the nineties that I once borrowed for a wedding.’

Has your husband had an influence on your wardrobe?

‘I have been much more conscious about clothes since I met him. Just as my taste in food became more refined as I got older, the same goes for the importance of fabrics and fits. Through him I gained an appreciation for fashion as an art and also got to know young talents such as Léo and Tim Coppens. Belgian fashion, just like Japanese fashion, is often special and yet timeless. You don’t get tired of a good designer piece quickly, and otherwise you can still resell it for value, unlike fast fashion.’

You call the Designer Sales the ideal way to get acquainted with the Belgian fashion scene.

‘It’s true that designer fashion has a price tag, but you actually pay the fair price – especially with stock sales. It is an illusion that trousers can cost less than fifty euros without being unethically produced. If the market for Belgian fashion flourishes more, costs can also be reduced. That’s why I think Designer Sales is the ideal way for people to get to know our designers. We not only need to buy less, but also better.’

Olga’s route

Butter

‘When Rushemy Botter graduated from the Fashion Academy, Giancarlo was on the jury. We have been following his work ever since.’

Kronenburgstraat 13, May 14-18, botter.world

D’Heygere

‘The ideal jewelry to immediately give a simple look like a little black dress some more edge.’

SQ Antwerp Tower, Franselei 5 (4th floor), May 18, dheygere.com

Dries Van Noten

‘One of the most coveted stock sales, and one of the few for which you need to reserve tickets in advance.’

IJzerlaan 3, May 14-19, by appointment via Eventbrite, driesvannoten.com

Rosier 41

‘If there is one place we send our customers at Vier for affordable Belgian fashion, it is this vintage store.’

Rosier 41, May 14-18, rosier41.be

Leo

‘One of the coolest young Belgian designers who is doing a big sale because she is going to take a break. I’m curious about her future plans.’

Leguit 15, May 16-19, different opening hours, leo-official.com