And the MoMu Award Goes to... Lars Mertens
Each year, MoMu honours the work of two master's students from the Fashion Department at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp with a prize for outstanding graphic quality. One of this year's winners is Lars Mertens, with his graduation collection What a Farce, If Only People Knew!
What inspired your collection?
LARS MERTENS: "I came across a photograph of a man who immediately fascinated me, even though I had no idea who he was. He was wearing a floor-length leopard print dressing gown and had an incredibly alluring expression. That man turned out to be the British photographer, scenographer and costume designer Cecil Beaton."
LM: "Though Beaton is best known for his work, I found myself increasingly fascinated by him as a person and by his dandyish character. His personal wardrobe was a constant play of different personas, colours and textures. Ironically, he described his own style as nonchalant and claimed he spent very little time thinking about his clothes. For someone who dressed with such elegance, I found that contradiction fascinating."
As I delved further into his diaries, I came across the line, 'What a farce, if only people knew!' It perfectly captured the tension between appearance and reality and eventually became the title of my collection.
How did you translate that inspiration into wearable garments?
LM: "Beaton's fascination with nightlife and ballroom culture also became a key source of inspiration. It shaped both the choice of materials and the overall atmosphere of the collection. I developed my own jacquard fabrics and incorporated extensive embroidery, while the collection gradually shifts towards eveningwear. I wanted the silhouettes to evolve from soft, light tones and delicate textures into the richness and theatricality of the night, culminating in three all-black looks."
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The MoMu Award always recognises collections with a strong graphic quality. How does that aspect shape your creative process?
LM: "My previous Bachelor's collection was driven by graphic design and sketching, and that process taught me how to integrate graphic elements without allowing them to dominate the collection. For this collection, graphic quality became intrinsic to the textiles. Rather than relying on printed or drawn motifs, I explored how pattern, texture and construction could become graphic elements in their own right. Developing these textiles was incredibly time-consuming, but also one of the most rewarding parts of the process."
Lars Mertens' collection imagery is on display at MoMu Café through early February 2027, when Carla Lázaro Bonet, the second MoMu Award winner, takes over the lightboxes to present her MA collection not pretty!!!!!. Follow Lars Mertens' work via @larsmertns.