Dirk Bikkembergs

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The logos of the three Bikkembergs brands (until 2012)

Dirk Bikkembergs (born January 2, 1959 in Cologne ) is a Belgian fashion designer and founder of the Bikkembergs fashion brand .

Bikkembergs has been known since the late 1990s for incorporating elements from the world of football and sports into his fashion, which has been on the market under his name since the late 1980s. As of 2011, Dirk Bikkembergs' former Belgian company was owned by his former shoe licensee, Zeis Excelsa, from Italy. In 2012 the company founder withdrew. A Chinese fashion company from Guangzhou has been the main shareholder in Bikkembergs since mid-2015 .

Career

Bikkembergs retail store in Novosibirsk , 2016

Dirk Bikkembergs was born in Cologne to a Belgian father and a German mother. After graduating from high school, he began studying at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts ( Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten van Antwerpen ) in Antwerp , Belgium, which he graduated in 1982. He and five other Belgian fashion design graduates - Ann Demeulemeester , Dries Van Noten , Dirk van Saene , Walter Van Beirendonck and Marina Yee - came to be known as the Antwerp Six , a group of avant-garde fashion designers who built Antwerp into a prestigious location for fashion design .

After Bikkembergs had worked for some Belgian fashion companies, he began his real career with a shoe collection in collaboration with a Belgian shoe manufacturer, which he presented in 1986 at the British Designer Show in London with the Antwerp Six. The style of the shoes became his trademark. In 1985 Bikkembergs had won the Cantte d'Or (Golden Spinning Wheel) award from the Belgian fashion industry association ITCB, which most of the other members of the Antwerp Six also received. In the Italian textile manufacturer Gibo SpA , Bikkembergs found a partner in the field of fashion, launched a knitwear collection for men in 1987 and presented his first complete men's collection under the name Dirk Bikkembergs at the Paris fashion shows in 1988 . In 1991 he founded the company 22 srl , based in Fossombrone ( province of Pesaro and Urbino ) in Italy , for the production of his clothing lines , which has been running a textile factory ever since. In 1993, the Dirk Bikkembergs women's collection was added to the portfolio . Initially, the Bikkembergs women's models were integrated into the men's fashion shows, then they were shown separately at the women's fashion shows in Paris. In 1996, the sporty second line Bikkembergs was introduced.

By the late 1990s at the latest, Bikkembergs turned away from elegant Parisian avant-garde fashion and towards sportier, more casual fashion. In 1998 he presented his high-priced Dirk Bikkembergs Sport Couture as the main line in Milan ; from then on, his sporty and chic collections for men were presented on the catwalk at the Milan Fashion Weeks. In 2000, a shoe collection was added to the second line, Bikkembergs, in license cooperation with the Italian shoe manufacturer Zeis Excelsa , mainly with sneakers , and a separate jeans collection, Bikkembergs Jeans , was presented.

In 2001 Bikkembergs received permission to host a fashion show in a soccer stadium ( Giuseppe Meazza Stadium ). The Bikkembergs brand now also stood for sports fashion that was specially tailored to football, such as shoes, jerseys, tracksuits and other sportswear. In 2003 (for the 2004 season) the women's collection was shown for the last time in Paris, after which Bikkembergs presented it at the women's fashion shows in Milan and finally only selected women's models in its men's fashion shows at the Milan men's fashion weeks. From 2003 (for the 2004 season) Bikkembergs offered its own sports brand as a successor to the discontinued Bikkembergs jeans line, Bikkembergs Sport . From 2003 to 2005 he was the official designer of clothing for Inter Milan players . In order to be able to use athletes outside of their sporting obligations at his own fashion shows, he acquired the amateur football club FC Fossombrone, which played in a stadium next to his factory buildings, in 2005; the name was changed to FC Bikkembergs Fossombrone . The players, fully equipped with clothing designed by him, test the clothing for him and also present them at his fashion shows. Since the end of the 2000s, Bikkembergs has only been represented with the Dirk Bikkembergs Sport Couture men's collection at the Milan shows, at which, however, individual women's models were also shown.

In 2006, for the purpose of designing, marketing and licensing the brand, the Levitas company was founded, 70% of which belonged to the long-standing Italian shoe licensee of Bikkembergs, Zeis Excelsa from Montegranaro , and 30% to Dirk Bikkembergs himself. In 2007 Bikkembergs had a turnover of around 120 million euros. The underwear line launched at that time alone earned 7 million euros. In 2009 a flagship store was opened in Milan.

In mid-2011, Zeis Excelsa took over a majority stake in the financially troubled Belgian company and managed it from then on through the Levitas subsidiary . The Dutch company International Heroes BV , founded by Bikkembergs and owned by the Bikkembergs fashion brand , was dissolved. In July 2011, Bikkembergs was confronted with tax evasion allegations amounting to 111 million euros, which had been transferred from 22 srl to the Luxembourg trading company von Bikkembergs, International Fashion Factors , which coordinates the global sales of the brand, from Italy to Luxembourg.

To support Dirk Bikkembergs, who initially remained the brand's creative director, Zeis Excelsa hired designers Hamish Morrow in 2012 for men's fashion and Paola Toscano for women's fashion, which was expanded into a complete collection again from winter 2012. In the first men's collection under the South African Morrow, who appeared on the catwalk at the end of the autumn / winter 2012/2013 fashion show , there were more classic, elegant outfits under the name Dirk Bikkembergs Man in a departure from the very sporty Sport Couture line . Dirk Bikkembergs himself retired from the company he founded in 2012.

In 2012 there were 32 partner-operated Bikkembergs boutiques worldwide, e.g. in Milan, Verona, Nice, Cannes and Barcelona, ​​as well as shops-in-shops, the majority of which had only opened in 2011. Zeis Excelsa planned to open further Bikkembergs stores and enter the perfume business (realized in 2016). In 2015 there were 80 boutiques in 40 countries. The company grants licenses to other manufacturers for the underwear (licensee: Albisetti SpA), eyewear (Allison SpA) and children's clothing (Mariella Burani SpA) divisions. The company's annual turnover in 2011 was EUR 139 million.

In 2013 a license agreement was signed with the Italian fashion manufacturer SINV, which at the beginning of 2015 also took a financial stake in Bikkembergs with a 16% stake. Zeis Excelsa held 60% of the company shares at that time. Within two years, 80 Bikkembergs stores were opened in 40 countries. The main sales area of ​​the brand extended to Russia, Germany, France, China and the Middle East. In 2014 the annual turnover was 80 million euros. In mid-2015, the Chinese fashion company Guangzhou Canudilo Fashion & Accessories bought a 51% stake in Levitas , owner of the Bikkembergs brand, for almost 41 million euros , and has since been expanding in China and North America. The remaining 49% are equally owned by Zeis Exzelsa and SINV.

In mid-2016, the Briton and former Versace designer Lee Wood was appointed Creative Director at Bikkembergs. The men's perfume Dirk was launched under license in mid-2016 by the Italian fragrance producer Perfume Holding from Parma . At that time there were 65 Bikkembergs stores worldwide, including boutiques, shops-in-shops and outlets .

Collections

The main focus of the Bikkembergs brand in the 2000s was on men's fashion, although Bikkembergs women's fashion was still available. The collections were divided into three labels:

  • Dirk Bikkembergs Sport Couture : high-priced designer collection in a sporty style for men
  • Bikkembergs : fashionable sportswear collection and main line for women and men, with the subcategories: Bikkembergs Footwear (shoes), Bikkembergs Eyewear (glasses, since 2005), Bikkembergs Underwear (underwear, since 2007), Bikkembergs Accessories (accessories) and Bikkembergs Kids (children's fashion, since 2008)
  • Bikkembergs Sport : sporty leisure wear for women and men

With the takeover of the company by Zeis Excelsa, the breakdown was changed from 2012:

  • Dirk Bikkembergs (Sports Couture) Man : high-priced designer collection with clothing, shoes and accessories for men
  • Dirk Bikkembergs (Sports Couture) Woman : high-priced designer collection with clothing, shoes and accessories for women (from autumn / winter 2012/2013)
  • Bikkembergs Man : sporty leisure wear, shoes, glasses and accessories for men
  • Bikkembergs Woman : Accessories such as bags and gloves for women
  • Bikkembergs Kids : Children's collections for boys and girls

Since 2016 the portfolio has been divided as follows:

  • Dirk Bikkembergs : high-priced designer collection with clothing and shoes for men for the catwalk at Milan Fashion Week
  • Bikkembergs : sporty leisure fashion, underwear, shoes, glasses, leather goods, perfume and accessories for men in the upper middle price segment
  • Bikkembergs : sporty leisure fashion, shoes and bags for women in the upper middle price segment
  • Bikkembergs : children's collections for boys and girls

Awards and nominations (selection)

  • 1985: Winner of the “Goldenes Spinnrads” ( Canette d'Or / Gouden Spoel ) young talent award from the Institut du textile et de la confection belge (ITCB)
  • 2000: Winner of the Moet & Chandon “Esprit du Siecle”
  • 2001: fashion show at the San Siro stadium in Milan in June
  • 2003/2004 - 2004/2005: Official designer for FC Internazionale 1908 (Milan)
  • 2004: Winner of the la Kore Oscar della Moda as the best fashion designer from abroad
  • 2005: Guest of Honor at the Barcelona Fashion Week with an exhibition in the Camp Nou Stadium
  • 2005: Acquisition of the soccer team FC Bikkembergs Fossombrone and creation of the Bikkembergs Sport equipment for the soccer team
  • 2007: Winner of the Men's Health Award for Best Leisure Brand (Bikkembergs) and Businessman of the Year 2007

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Suits for Devils, Boys And Men of Mystery , nytimes.com, Jan. 20, 1998.
  2. ^ Sex and the Modern Male: Buttoned-Up and Touchable , nytimes.com, January 15, 1998.
  3. ↑ Spotlight: Dirk Bikkembergs , nytimes.com, February 4, 2008.
  4. ↑ ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: Dirk Bikkembergs: Zeis Excelsa takes over ), textilwirtschaft.de, May 5, 2011.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.textilwirtschaft.de
  5. ↑ Zeis joins Bikkembergs ( Memento from May 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), fabeau.de, May 4, 2011.
  6. ↑ Bikkembergs: 111 milioni di frode fantasma , giornalettismo.com, July 8, 2011.
  7. ↑ Italian group Sinv acquires stake in Dirk Bikkembergs fashionnetwork.com, January 22, 2015.
  8. ↑ Chinese buyers at Bikkembergs schuhmarkt-news.de June 12, 2015.
  9. ↑ Lee Wood tapped as creative director for Dirk Bikkembergs fashionunited.uk, June 8, 2016.
  10. ↑ DIRK BIKKEMBERGS TO DEBUT ITS FIRST FRAGRANCE mr-mag.com, June 7, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME Bikkembergs, Dirk
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Belgian fashion designer
DATE OF BIRTH 2nd January 1959
PLACE OF BIRTH Cologne