Walter Van Beirendonck

Walter Van Beirendonck is a Flemish fashion designer.

Walter Van Beirendonck was born in Brecht, Belgium in 1957. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1980.

While still studying, he was designing during the period 1977-1980 for Oke Sportswear. He spent the next few years after graduation doing free-lance sketching for Belgian fashion magazines.

In 1985, in London, a group of 6 fashion designers from Antwerp collectively presented their collections. They were known as The Antwerp Six. They included Anne Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Martin Margiela, Josephus Thimister, Dirk Bikkembergs, and Walter Van Beirendonck.

They have all gone on to be celebrated designers.

While designing for his own label, he also designed sportswear for the Rhinosaurus Rex line for Italian designer Gianfranco Ferre, till 1992.

In 1995 Van Beirendonck changed the name of his label to "Wild and Lethal Trash".

The fashion world still remembers the models falling off the stage during his most spectacular show in 1995 at the Lido in Paris.

In 1998 Walter designed the shirts for the bicycle race Tour of Belgium.

Walter also designs for rock groups, including U-2's world tour. He is known for his cyberpunk, pop art clothing and witty art catwalk shows.

For 12 years, from 1984 to 1996, Walter was also a teacher at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp.

Walter is one of the first designers to utilize CDs and the Internet to show his designs and presents his hot collections. He is fascinated by computers and utilizes this medium profoundly.

In 1999, he was awarded the honorary title of "Cultural Ambassador of Flanders". In 2001, he was the curator for the exhibition Mode 2001 Landed-Geland in Antwerp.