In 1992, Jurgi Persoons’ graduate collection from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp was considered rather rebellious in tone. Referring to the extreme aesthetics and aggressive tendencies inherent in society’s beauty standards and ideals, he laid the foundation of what would ultimately become his signature and the red thread throughout his further career as a subversive designer. In hindsight, the elements of bondage used and rusty nails that served as high heels were a harbinger for what was yet to come.
After an apprenticeship at Walter Van Beirendonck—where he worked on the latter’s Wild & Lethal Trash collection—Jurgi Persoons founded his namesake label, FW96-97 being his debut collection. At times verging on extreme and disturbing, Persoons incorporated a sense of subversive rebellion into classic tailoring, articulating his very own take on what could be identified as ‘punk deluxe’ or ‘trash couture’. When examining silhouettes from the designer’s hand, there is an undeniable basis to be found in his outspoken choice of materials and the techniques by which they were transposed to his very own universe. It was the subversiveness of his work that added to the punk or trash element. Whereas he opted for rather classic techniques and materials, it was his styling that made for the raw element. He actively defied any norms or expectations commonly accepted and seized in the hierarchical system that fashion is. For one, this entailed no runways nor editorials. Catwalks were simply irrelevant to what he envisioned. He wanted to do things differently; constantly seeking an alternative to what was considered ‘the done thing’. And so he did. With every new presentation, he exceeded expectations—if there ever were any, as people early on grew aware of his surprising nature.
No matter the actual loose ends found on several of his designs, there were never any figurative loose ends to his design philosophy. Everything was thought through from start to finish, down to even the invitations, ever imbued with this slight ‘off’ feeling. His collections showed a profound love for clashing opposite ends of the spectrum: from pencil skirts paired with distressed knitwear to details such as ruffles and deconstructed lace combined with visible seams and unravelled hems. What in theory seemed off the charts in terms of visual unity, Persoons knew how to spin and deploy in such a manner that it somehow always worked. That which should cause dissonance, Persoons composed into a thing of harmony. A thread of decay running throughout his entire oeuvre. Yet without ever compromising on femininity, although some—epitomizing his work as ‘on the verge of bad taste’—would argue otherwise. But seeing as taste is an inherently subjective notion, it seems beside the point to categorise things into either good or bad. Whether he could pull off some of his fashion statements today, however, is a thorny issue. With review descriptions along the lines of violent and misogynistic, today’s climate could prove quite a slippery slope for a designer like Jurgi Persoons. His idiosyncratic repertoire, depending on how it is interpreted, is inclined to spark controversy. Already back then, but especially today. But to him, the opposite was true. The woman he had in mind was strong, in charge of her life, his clothes taking on the role of poetic armour for the wearer. The soft romanticism inherent in some of his knitwear pieces, fitted with a lace overlay, is telling in this regard.
At all times, a seemingly eerie element is inscribed into the silhouettes. Almost as if affected and overhauled by time. A punk-tainted romance. Time would prove to be both a blessing and a curse for the designer, his work ever instilled with a sense of infinity, and so, the process only commencing once the pieces left the atelier. In a true couture manner, Persoons was driven by an urge to do any finishing touches by hand, approaching his work with an extraordinary attention to detail. Persoons’ design language spoke of his signature: refined yet not polished. However, one element in particular—an asymmetrical and irregular stitching technique commonly referred to as ‘nervous stitching’—bore his name more than anything. In itself, this irregularity found in his stitching can be considered the groundwork for the label’s DNA at large: straying away from the beaten track. Even when means were scarce, he never settled for the straightforward route. Persoons’ avant-garde installations are a prime example of maximal output on a minimal budget. More performances than runway shows, they yielded him international press recognition and attention. But although the nonconventional contexts and street-scouted models all made logical sense to Persoons, at no point was it an evident choice. As it never is when you decide to go off-piste. However, as a designer, Jurgi Persoons dared to think through the concept of aesthetics. Opening himself up to a certain degree of discomfort, where hidden gems were to be found. Unexplored and slightly sinister sources of inspiration that culminate in a sense of confronting beauty. Persoons—as no other—understood Henri Matisse’s famous words, ‘creativity takes courage’. With even the actual roles reversed, he honed in on the voyeuristic element often tied to the world of fetish; as it was not the models who moved about, but rather the attendees to the ‘shows’ which would move to and from, which, in turn, made for the discard of front-row seating.
FW99-00 models in plexi boxes at the banks of the River Seine, near the water
SS00 models on columns at Musée d'Art Moderne in Paris
SS01 models standing in softly lit egg shapes at the Jardin des Tuileries
FW01-02 models on slanted mirrors in the underground parking of Centre Pompidou
His collections oozed a narrative undertone, reflecting a compelling vision by a designer who ultimately wanted his work to trigger and convey emotion. The collection titles only testify to his not shying away from causing some turmoil among the fashion elite—think, ‘Re-interpretation of english classic man clothes by a lazy rich girl’ and ‘Resurrection of eighties Ungaro tramps out of their grave’. Backed by a longstanding collaboration with make-up artist Inge Grognard and photographer Ronald Stoops, he rekindled the nonconformist, anti-fashion attitude instigated by the Antwerp Six a decade earlier. Between the three of them, they created a comprehensive world of strong visuals; a seamless fit to the obscurity of the physical collections. And the enigma of Persoons’ design language finds an equal in the shroud of mystery of available footage. Predating the digital era, it proves considerably more convoluted to get a cohesive overview of the designer’s legacy. You have to piece it together one stitch at a time, all the while still accounting for the zeitgeist, which can taint the work’s interpretation.
A couple of years into business, at the beginning of the new millennium, the brand was finally on the upsurge. Specifically, American interest peaked. Unfortunately, the calamities near the end of 2001 threw a spanner in the works. At the time of 9/11, the designer’s latest collection was en route to New York. But once arrived, I wasn’t allowed off the plane, seeing the then circumstances. After all the administrative burden, the collection eventually found its way back to the European continent and was shown in Paris as an alternative. However, with safety concerns of travelling by plane lingering after recent events, most American clients opted out. This lost momentum would mark the beginning of the end. In 2003, after a seven-year career, the label was at last discontinued, as the designer’s vision proved unsustainable in the long run. The vast majority of Jurgi Persoons’ oeuvre was acquired by MoMu Antwerp, where it has been part of the in-house collection ever since. Imbued with experience, he went on to teach. Initially associated with the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague as a fashion design teacher, he eventually became Head of the Fashion and Textile department in 2013. In those years, he also guest lectured at The Art Institute of Chicago and Universität der Künste in Berlin. But this was only after his yearlong withdrawal from the world of fashion. In between closing the label and later teaching stints, he worked in his partner’s printing workshop. A very deliberate choice, as what he sought was a sense of calm, something the job’s 9-5 structure could offer him. He allowed himself to tune in to the recluse existence he had lived during his time as a designer, reflecting on the stubbornness in him that might have cost him his label, unwilling to make any compromises.
A capsule collection with DUST magazine in 2017 announced Persoons’ return to the fashion scene. Not having shared any public design for nearly 15 years, this collaborative project marked the end of a hiatus—although to Persoons it had never felt like a definitively closed chapter. Still, the designer was extremely cautious to steer away from any sentiment of nostalgia. He is not one to linger in or on the past. It is the present and the future which shape his mindset and being, a sense of curiosity. One thing he did hold onto, however, was his unconventional take on presentations. This time, no models standing in eggs or lying flat on mirrors; in fact, actual models were nowhere to be seen. Instead, the clothes were shown on blown-up sex dolls, Persoon’s way to tie in to the fetishist language throughout the years associated with his work. Ever intrigued by the ambiguity of high heels, Persoons, in particular, cherished a deep, affectionate fetish for stilettos. His intrigue mainly stemmed from the field of tension at play: the vigor that emanates from them, while entailing an innate imbalance and consequently weakness once it goes wrong. Or, how something as natural as posture could be steered to—quite literally—unprecedented heights, body and posture suddenly no longer as natural as they were at first. For his SS97 collection titled ‘Anorectic young girl alone in her grandmother's Benidorm residence’, a pair of pumps was reinterpreted as stilettos to which the name of stiletto hardly applied. With the bare front sole touching the earth and the heel propped up by a tin high heel held in place with an elegant black ankle strap, the model’s feet were grounded yet curved. Ultimately, a balancing act between nature and nurture.
The exuberance in Persoons’ work was and is not to be searched for nor found in loud colours or eye-catching embellishments. His voice was far more subtle and slumbering yet still very present. The decorative elements added served as subversive vectors, striking a near-perfect balance between technical virtuosity and trash culture. In light of the blurring boundaries between high and low culture in recent years, his take on fashion back then can be seen as utterly visionary. He shifted perspectives when, unfortunately, the world was not yet ready for it.
In January of 2023, there was some uproar concerning Persoons’ persona due to a case of copycat behaviour, in his favour, that is. The designer came forward with a statement on his social media saying that Haider Ackermann’s guest collection for Jean Paul Gaultier featured a jacket that was suspiciously similar to one of his FW99-00 designs. Having seen it happen multiple times before—honored but still plagiarized—he refused to stay quiet this time around. The resemblance was undeniable; however, neither his contemporary Ackermann nor Jean Paul Gaultier made a public statement on the matter.
