First there was the ‘Antwerp Six’, a term referring to a group of influential fashion designers who graduated from Antwerp's Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Van Saene, Dirk Bikkembergs and Marina Yee), and now there is Gallery2020: a brand new professional fashion trade show due to take place from February 6-7 at Antwerp Expo, an exhibition centre covering 10,000 m2 .

For more information on Gallery 2020, click here

Organised by Fairs Consult (a subsidiary of the Artexis Group that runs 20 shows in Belgium), Gallery 2020 “is not designed to be the biggest fair, but the most inspiring one”. 200 brands have already confirmed their participation, of which 70% consist of fashion labels (Alberta Ferretti, Cacharel, Custo Barcelona, Lou de Beauregard, Just Cavalli, etc) and 30% lifestyle labels (Replay, Levi’s, Converse, Feiyue, etc). But the fair will not be just about clothing: music, arts and technology will come together to create an environment where fashion and culture overlap.

2000 manufacturers are expected to attend the show. Once there, they will walk through rows of identical stands, similar to those of American fair Capsule, so that “brands are not distinguished by the size and look of their stands, but by their creative collections”.

Other special features will include stands dedicated to young talents, debates, workshops and seminars.