Who is Ann Demeuleester?

A pair of Ann Demeuleester boots, size 8.5, has found me. Black, premium leather, subtle roundness. A thick strap with some hardware wraps around your ankle, so you are free to STOMP AROUND LIKE A BABY ELEPHANT. They are very urban, but like everything Ann Demeuleester designs, they are highly intellectual; there's a story behind them. They are vaguely familiar to the type of boots humans have worn for centuries for, like, labor. Which makes them all the better to play in, my dear.

So who is Ann Demeuleester?, my friend asks me. Because while she has a substantial cult following, and while she is compared to designers such as LANVIN, GIVENCHY AND DRIES VAN NOTEN, she is not exactly well-known. She is, well, Belgian.

Best leave it to the pics. Here is Fall/Winter 2009:






Why she has a host of loyals is clear; her design is an eternal return, charged with the energy of sacred places. And if we could travel through time, wouldn't it be a dream to do so in gothic black and white, all hides and poet blouses and ELABORATE STRAPPING! I am certainly influenced by her design, and this collection in particular, in the way I'm styling my finds online.

Also check out the men's slideshow, an all-black show which ends with 5 elderly men wearing her designs in stark whites--symbolizing that as we age we get closer to the angels. See, intellectual.



This guy actually exists, via The Sartorialist: