Several looks from Ann Demeulemeester’s Spring 2009 collection looked as though they could be hidden amongst the plates found in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Catalogue of Textiles from Burying-Grounds in Egypt: Volume 1. Graeco-Roman Period, published by their Department of Textiles in 1920. Though medallions, roundels and star shaped emblems have been a constant motif throughout the history of textiles, Demeulemeester managed to modernize the antiquated insignias with block printing, jet black beading and a macabre Neo-Egyptian point of view.
PLATE XXVIII • November 1920 • Catalogue of Textiles from Burying-Grounds in Egypt : Volume 1. Graeco-Roman Period by A.F. Kendrick • Published by the Victoria and Albert Museum | Department of Textiles , London
Taken from a very apropos interview in 10 Magazine from 2011, the mistress of modernism thanks her ancestors and acknowledges the circular cycles of creativity:
“DO YOU HAVE A MENTOR? A MUSE? WHO / WHAT ARE THEY?
“Great individuals – or ancestors – who send me energy through their work. If I see or hear or feel great work of somebody it gives me the energy to try to create something good to – in my field… it makes me wanting to give to… it’s a circle of energy that creates a circle of communication in which related souls find each other… the best reward for my work.” • From The Volt “Ann Demeulemeester: Portrait Of The Designer”
Beaded Embroidery Detail of a Blouse • Spring / Summer 2009 Collection • Ann Demeulemeester
Beaded Drape Blouse • Spring / Summer 2009 Collection • Ann Demeulemeester
PLATE IV • November 1920 • Catalogue of Textiles from Burying-Grounds in Egypt : Volume 1. Graeco-Roman Period by A.F. Kendrick • Published by the Victoria and Albert Museum | Department of Textiles , London
PLATE XI • November 1920 • Catalogue of Textiles from Burying-Grounds in Egypt : Volume 1. Graeco-Roman Period by A.F. Kendrick • Published by the Victoria and Albert Museum | Department of Textiles , London
Block Print Detail of a Blouse • Spring / Summer 2009 Collection • Ann Demeulemeester
Block Printed Drape Blouse • Spring / Summer 2009 Collection • Ann Demeulemeester
PLATE III • November 1920 • Catalogue of Textiles from Burying-Grounds in Egypt : Volume 1. Graeco-Roman Period by A.F. Kendrick • Published by the Victoria and Albert Museum | Department of Textiles , London
PLATE XXII • November 1920 • Catalogue of Textiles from Burying-Grounds in Egypt : Volume 1. Graeco-Roman Period by A.F. Kendrick • Published by the Victoria and Albert Museum | Department of Textiles , London
PLATE XXVII • November 1920 • Catalogue of Textiles from Burying-Grounds in Egypt : Volume 1. Graeco-Roman Period by A.F. Kendrick • Published by the Victoria and Albert Museum | Department of Textiles , London
Title Page • November 1920 • Catalogue of Textiles from Burying-Grounds in Egypt : Volume 1. Graeco-Roman Period by A.F. Kendrick • Published by the Victoria and Albert Museum | Department of Textiles , London
Portrait of Ann Demeulemeester • Willy Vanderperre
