Queering Masculinities in Antwerp Fashion: Menswear, Bodies and Sexuality

Drawing new lines between the creative practices of influential Antwerp designers from the 1980s to the 2020s, this vibrant study dissects how menswear, male bodies, and male sexuality have been radically queered through the lens of a crucial epicentre of avant-garde fashion. Retracing and updating historical narratives of the Antwerp fashion scene, Queering Masculinities in Antwerp Fashion expands the focus from the ‘Antwerp Six’ to a new generation of radical designers. From Walter Van Beirendonck and Dirk Bikkembergs to Raf Simons, Bernhard Willhelm, and Glenn Martens, these designers variously use disruptive fashion practices to move beyond gender binaries, affirm non-normative bodies, and embody queer sexual politics through coded and explicit sexual references. Through archival material from Belgian and international fashion museums – from fashion show and campaign photographs to invitations and look-books – and interviews with key figures from the scene, Antwerp emerges as a major, vibrant context for questioning and queering masculinities through vanguardist fashion practice. Integrating rich case studies with key theoretical perspectives, Nicola Brajato offers a conceptual framework for engaging critically with cultural shifts in masculinities, men’s fashion, and identity.