The Six on the Big Screen: Behind the Documentary
Forty years after the international breakthrough of the Antwerp Six, the anniversary celebrations continue on the big screen. Following MoMu’s exhibition The Antwerp Six and its accompanying publication, a new documentary revisits their story.
Filmmaker Reiner Holzemer sat down with Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Van Saene, Marina Yee and Dirk Bikkembergs to look back on their early years, breakthrough and individual paths.
Ahead of the Belgian release of The Six, MoMu spoke to Holzemer and producer Aminata Sambe.
How did the idea for the documentary come about?
REINER HOLZEMER: "The idea had been developing for some time. Journalists around the world kept asking me to make a film about the Antwerp Six, as they felt it would fill an important gap in fashion history. When Geert Bruloot and Aminata told me the Six were ready to participate, I immediately agreed."
AMINATA SAMBE: "Geert was also the first person to mention the project to me. For him and Kaat Debo, the documentary felt like a natural complement to the book and the exhibition. I didn’t need any convincing. How can you refuse the opportunity to document a phenomenon that was part of your youth?"
The Antwerp Six are often seen as a group, yet each has a very distinct identity. How did you balance the two?
RH: "The film begins with how they met at the Academy in Antwerp and became friends, sharing the ambition to become successful fashion designers. That created a positive competition that pushed them forward, but their visions were very different from the start. Once they became known as ‘the Six’, they continued developing their own identities. It felt natural for the film to follow that same evolution."
AS: "And those differences are precisely what create the balance: colour versus sobriety, simplicity versus sophistication, loud versus quiet. Yet there is a red thread: clothes that support rather than erase the individuality of the person wearing them."
Reiner, how different was it to portray six designers rather than one?
RH: "In some ways, it was easier. A feature-length portrait of one person asks a lot of them. With The Six, we spent three or four days filming each designer. The real challenge was giving everyone their proper place in the film and finding the right balance between their stories."
AS: "For me, it was almost frustrating! Their universes are so rich. Summarising forty years of fashion history in ninety minutes is quite a challenge."
How do the exhibition and documentary complement each other?
RH: "The exhibition gives you the background and allows each designer’s work to occupy its own space. The film adds another layer: you feel the ambitions, emotions and struggles of those early years. Their individual memories come together, and the group comes alive again."
AS: "Exactly. An exhibition lets you take your time and explore the history in detail. Film brings the garments to life and, importantly, lets the Six reflect on their journey themselves."
What do you hope viewers will take away from the film?
RH: "I hope people are inspired by this unique story and ask themselves whether such a moment could happen again today. I believe it can, simply in a different form that reflects our times."
AS: "A positive feeling. And the idea that when there is a will, there is a way."
The Six will have its Belgian premiere at Film Fest Gent on 14 October, followed by its release in Belgian cinemas in early November 2026. More information about the international release will follow.
The Antwerp Six is on view until 17 January 2027. More info and tickets.