Fashion designer Julie Kegels about life on the edge of her unpretentious office chair: American positivity, banal beauty and expensive charcuterie.
‘My mainstream white office chair, which I have been working on for eight years. I’m so used to him now that I no longer notice how banal he is. I think that’s wonderful. People who come in here sometimes ask me why I sit on such an ugly office chair. That always scares me, because I just don’t pay attention to it anymore. That chair is not by an important designer, I can’t name drop it. Banality, ugliness and clichés often inspire me for my fashion collections. I take that as a starting point, but I like to combine it with something very sophisticated or glamorous.’
‘For my friend Calvin. We are foodies. But not the type that posts a photo of every dish on Instagram. A good dish can move me deeply, if the flavor combinations are great or if the products are of amazing quality. Calvin recently made a list of his 101 favorite restaurants in Antwerp. We realize how spoiled we are here in the culinary field. Just as I love classic cuisine, with or without a contemporary twist, I also love classics in fashion. When I see a 25-year-old woman walking around in a vintage suit from Chanel with a pearl necklace, I find it incredibly beautiful.’
‘Walking around in old fabric stores where there are haberdashery and old leftovers. Then all kinds of stories come to mind. For a collection I like to start from something concrete. An abstract work of art, a geometric shape or a color inspires me less: they are too distant to touch me emotionally.’
‘Private: that a small range of cold cuts at the butcher may cost fourteen euros. And professionally: that my first collection presentation in Paris at the beginning of March received so many positive reactions, from press and buyers at home and abroad. It exceeded my wildest expectations. Now that the orders are in, my collection is turning into a product that needs to be manufactured. That rollout gives me much more stress than the design itself. Fortunately, I can start a new collection soon. I’m already looking forward to it.’
