Press release SS21 - English

10 years of Nathalie Vleeschouwer and the future looks bright…

A sustainable fashion collection in which creativity and personality are more than ever preserved thanks to in-house print design

 

Infectious optimism

A fresh colour palette, styles that lend themselves to many occasions and fabrics that feel so good they make you happy every time you put them on. The spring/summer 2021 collection exudes optimism, a sentiment that photographer Lynn Laureys was also able to capture in the collection’s campaign images. The southern feel brings back hopeful dreams of summer holidays in southern climes, something we can all relate to after the past year.

 

Mother-daughter duo designed all the prints

The collection was created and designed in the spring of 2020, which was completely dominated by the coronavirus, which soon turned into a full-blown pandemic. The first lockdown was unexpected, dealing a severe blow to Nathalie Vleeschouwer. All her appointments with Italian print studios and manufacturers had to be cancelled. But it did free up time in the busy schedules of the designer and her daughter Felix, a digital and graphical designer who also works in the family business. This combination of circumstances enabled the mother-daughter duo to design every single print themselves, for the very first time since the collection's launch . Nathalie came up with the ideas and Felix developed them into actual prints. This is a real milestone that symbolically coincides with the collection's 10th anniversary, setting the tone for the future.

On the one hand, there are the recognisable floral and botanical prints with which the collection has made a name for itself from the outset. On the other, more subtle graphic prints are also emerging. The latter radiate timeless elegance and stem from the desire to create a more sustainable wardrobe, with pieces that you won't be replacing in a hurry.

 

Another step towards sustainable fashion

In her choice of fabrics, the Antwerp-based designer tries to integrate more sustainable fabrics in her collection with each season. Besides the ecological aspect of the fabrics, comfort is also very important. The fabrics need to feel good against the skin, be durable so that you can enjoy them for a long time and be easy to care for. She designs for women with busy lives who don't have time to go to the dry cleaner’s every week.

EcoVero-branded viscose is now a mainstay of the collection. This is an accredited quality label for viscose from renewable sources that is manufactured in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Tencel has now found its way into the summer collection as well. Tencel is the brand name for lyocell fibre, which comes from eucalyptus trees. The closed-loop production process is less polluting compared with other natural materials, such as cotton, and requires far less water. Moreover, Tencel is also very strong , soft and skin-friendly. That was all it took to convince Nathalie Vleeschouwer! The collection features fine, floaty Tencel fabrics as well as durable Tencel denim.

Nathalie Vleeschouwer continues to be committed to local production. Although the collection has since expanded and sales are much higher than they were when the women's collection was first launched 10 years ago, Nathalie Vleeschouwer still manages to keep about 50% of production in Belgium. For the remainder of her production, she works with reliable, mainly European partners with whom she builds long-term relationships based on sustainable cooperation and mutual trust.

 

Casual denim capsule collection

The spring/summer 2021 collection also includes a capsule collection. The capsule collection offers a very accessible, affordable, young look. Casual wear for every day, in 3 crisp colours: sky blue, misty green and shell. The oversized garments are very comfortable to wear.

Key items include the denim trousers and loose shorts combined with an oversized sweater or T-shirt. The denim items are all made of Tencel, a far more sustainable alternative to traditional denim. The T-shirts and sweaters are made of stretch cotton.

All these items also bear the collection's distinctive figurative hand logo in subtle embroidery, in acknowledgement of the collection’s Antwerp roots and the creative process that precedes every collection.

All the items in the capsule collection also blend very nicely with the other items and prints from the spring/summer 2021 collection.

 

 

About Nathalie Vleeschouwer

Nathalie Vleeschouwer gives every woman of character a subtle elegance that will enable her to enjoy life actively and confidently.  

The Belgian designer launched her collection in 2011, but the roots of her fashion house go back as far as 1990. Inspiration is derived from all corners of the globe, and distilled by Nathalie and her team at their headquarters in Antwerp. Because the soul of the collection is inextricably bound to the designer herself, it has an authentic character and is continually evolving, just like Nathalie’s creative ideas.

Discover Nathalie Vleeschouwer in the four Belgian brand stores in Antwerp, Ghent, Brussels, Knokke and Lier and in 150 multi-brand boutiques, from Amsterdam to Tokyo.

Online shop: www.nathalievleeschouwer.be