“My process creating this brand-new collection was different. Weirder. I played a Frankensteinian art game with my own mind,” explained Walter Van Beirendonck in his Fall/Winter 2024 show invitation. Titled Banana Wink Boom!, the Belgian designer’s new maximalist collection played with the absurd, his somewhat bizarre sense of humour, boundless creativity, sexuality, politics, and the ‘cadavre exquis’ technique, initially started by the Surrealists – something Belgians know a lot about. Bridging references from David Bowie and alien life to monsters and political statements like ‘I feel love’ and ‘Stop war’, his show was one of the most interesting thus far. Luckily for us, Crush Services led us into the backstage with photographer Iulia Matei to get into the behind-the-scenes. Take a look!
Give it to Walter for keeping the fashion landscape playful, creative, and imaginative. His shows bring joy to the hearts of those of us who fell in love with fashion because it let our imaginations fly. Through fashion, you can transform yourself into whoever you please. This performative aspect is what draws a lot of people in, and the Belgian designer embraces us with a roster of characters that you wouldn’t even dream of after taking four acids. However, Van Beirendonck is capable of bridging the hidden monsters in our childhood’s closets with gimp masks, turn scary snakes into funny scarves, or the imponent military uniform into a cut-out paper doll. Thank you, Walter, for your continuous service to fashion!
