Marina Yee, the Belgian designer who was half of the “Antwerp Six,” the group of college students from Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts who redefined Belgian vogue in the Nineteen Eighties, died on Saturday at the age of 67, in line with MoMu Fashion Museum Antwerp.
Following her research, throughout which era she met the different members of the “Six,” together with Walter Van Beirendonck, Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Van Saene and Dirk Bikkembergs — all recognized for his or her avant-garde designs — Yee reduce her tooth at Belgian labels together with Gruno & Chardin and Bassetti. She then constructed her personal label, Marie, between 1986 and 1990.
Yee, who was described by Vogue as the most “elusive” member of the “Antwerp Six,” then withdrew from the vogue scene for a number of years and taught at arts colleges together with Saint-Luc in Tournai, Belgium, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK) in Ghent, Belgium and the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in The Hague, Netherlands.
She ultimately returned to the trade in 2018 with a group of 5 designs below the label M.Y. Collection, which had been launched at Laila, a classic boutique in Tokyo. Yee then formally launched the line, rooted in upcycling, in 2022 by way of a sequence of international retail partnerships with the likes of Dover Street Market.
In 2022, Yee participated in a uncommon group interview alongside 4 different members of the “Antwerp Six,” answering questions from present college students at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. When requested about her definition of magnificence, she stated, “Beauty is not just finding something beautiful, nice, tasty or exciting. To me, it is about consciously experiencing something that feels good and loving … It is to watch and really see, to live and feel intensely.”
Learn extra:
In Rare Reunion, “Antwerp Six” Answer Students’ Questions
Five members of the ‘Antwerp Six’ — Walter Van Beirendonck, Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester, Dirk Van Saene and Marina Yee — focus on the pressures of being a designer, how the trade has modified and staying true to your self, courtesy of Knack Weekend.