Founded in Brussels in 1829 by Charles Delvaux (and with a warrant holder to the Belgium Royal Court since 1883), the brand claims to be the oldest leather luxury goods house in the world. While paying respect to its venerable estimation, Delvaux plans to reach new audiences by using the new design concept inaugurated at 31 Galerie de la Reine throughout the new stores planned for Europe, Asia and the Middle East as part of its current focus on global expansion.

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Unlike its competitors, Gutsy Graphics rejects the prevalent penchant for bold colours and intricate, abstract designs. Instead, its T-shirts reference the literal shapes of objects on the fabric or create optical illusions through the juxtaposition of shades of the same colour. In the current competitive market of T-shirt design and manufacturing where each newcomer brand shouts louder than its predecessor, Gutsy Graphics’ subdued hues and illustrations prove to be simple ingenious design solutions that make this a brand worth keeping an eye on.

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The distinction between man-made interiors and the lush garden on the outside of the house is reinforced by a series of reflections not only in the glass but also in a pond. Equally, the contrast of ambiances continues on the inside of the house in the juxtaposition of colours of textures, with the warmth of wood used in windows and door frames softening the industrial feel of concrete, steel and glass. The result of such perfectly balanced opposites is further complemented by personal objects that create a welcoming and soothing domestic space.

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Hailing from Belgium, Jean-Paul Knott studied at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. Upon graduating in 1983, he began his sartorial career at Yves Saint-Laurent which went on to include designing for the YSL Rive Gauche luxury ready-to-wear line and assisting in the development of the label’s Haute Couture collections. In 1999 he parted with the celebrated fashion maison to return to Belgium and start his eponymous label. Since his inaugural collection in 2000, and in addition to continuing his exclusive and luxurious own lines, Knott has developed successful collaborations with brands as diverse as Dim, Tomorrowland and Les 3 Suisses.

In 2001, Knott became creative director at Krizia and in 2003 he took the same position at Louis Feraud Paris. In 2006, he opened his first ‘Galerie concept’ in Brussels dedicated to clothes and art, and in 2007, after designing a collection for Cerruti 1881, he became the creative director of all Cerruti lines. In 2008, he became a guest member of Paris’s Haute Couture official calendar and in 2009 he opened his first ‘Boutique Concept’ where he has been selling all his different lines alongside creations from other fashion designers and artists.

In 2011, Jean-Paul Knott gave free rein to his assistant Greg Van Rijck (who had studied fashion design in Brussel’s Haute Ecole Francisco Ferrer) to develop his first menswear collection, and in 2012 he launched a jewellery line during the Haute Couture fashion week in Paris.

For Spring/Summer 2013, Van Rijck has conceived a menswear collection that draws from minimalist shapes but is imbued with subtle and elegant details. The paired down palette of black and white is enriched with dashes of blue, yellow and red in the form of single wide stripes on shirts. Equally, the collection reveals slick silhouettes that rework traditional tailoring by incorporating details such as wide and high waist lines (exaggerated in the campaign by being styled with thin belts) and wide trousers tapered below the knee. Like the shirts, jackets and trousers occasionally incorporate fabric blocks of single contrasting strips.

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Kris Van Assche was born in Belgium in 1976. Having worked for Yves Saint Laurent, then Dior Homme, he started his own label KRISVANASSCHE in January 2005. He has also been the Artistic Director for Dior Homme since April 2007.

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In 2010, and after a period as first assistant to designer Yohan Serfaty, Martens decided to start working independently on various projects in partnership with several European brands (including Weekday and Honest By Bruno Pieters), and in February 2012 he launched his eponymous label with an inaugural womenswear collection shown during Paris Fashion week. Characterized by graphic tailoring woven into elegant architectural shapes, the collection received overwhelming praise by journalists. Vogue Italia described it as “a spectacle of volumes rendered even more captivating by a play on the layering”, WWD summed it up as a “unique debut effort that brims with potential”, and Interview Magazine noted that “couture-level attention to details exemplify a refined approach to easy, feminine dressing”.

At The Style Examiner, we concur that Martens’s inaugural collection is an extremely promising one. What on an initial view come across as seemingly slouchy clothes are, on closer inspection, garments created out of very proficient and elegant pattern cutting and multi-layering of luxurious fabrics in a process that seeks inspiration in architecture to reinterpret traditional proportions. We have no doubt that Glenn Martens will most certainly become a womenswear label to watch.

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