In Memoriam: Marina Yee (1958–2025)

We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Marina Yee (1958–2025). On Saturday, 1 November 2025 she lost her courageous battle with cancer. A pioneering member of the Antwerp Six, she helped shape the identity of Belgian fashion on a global scale.

Yee studied fashion at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, where she met Walter Van Beirendonck, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Van Saene, Ann Demeulemeester and Dirk Bikkembergs. She stood out for her innate sense of style and her unmistakable gift for drawing.

She took her first steps in the fashion world through assignments for Belgian labels such as Gruno & Chardin and Bassetti. From 1986 to 1990, she gained recognition under her own label Marie. Afterwards, she withdrew from the fashion scene to dedicate herself to teaching, first at Saint-Luc in Tournai and later at KASK in Ghent and later at KABK in The Hague. Yet she continued to create within the quiet of her studio, both as a designer and as an artist.

From 2018 onwards, Yee began taking careful steps back into fashion, starting with a small collaboration with a Japanese partner for the Asian market. In 2021, she re-emerged with her label M.Y. Collection, together with her close collaborator Rafaël Adriaensens. Over the following years, she developed the brand sustainably and entirely on her own terms, building it into an internationally respected name.

Her artistic sensibility transcended the boundaries of fashion: she designed costumes for theatre productions, created paintings, collages, object and interior designs, and graphic works. Her body of work, imbued with a profound humanist awareness, continues to inspire generations of designers.

MoMu extends its heartfelt condolences to her family, friends, and all those touched by her work.