Karen Van Godtsenhoven & Jozefien Van Beek: 'Dirty Looks' [Talk]

To celebrate the launch of Dirty Looks: Desire and Decay in Fashion, curator Karen Van Godtsenhoven will be joined in conversation by journalist Jozefien Van Beek to discuss the rich and varied ways fashion has harnessed the playful, radical, and regenerative potentials of dirt and waste.

Various forms of dirt – organic as well as man-made – have emerged as vital sources of material innovation and artistic expression in a fashion landscape increasingly shaped by waste, climate emergency, and labour injustice.

Friday 21 November 
19:30 

Korte Vlierstraat 5
2000 Antwerpen
Belgium

About Dirty Looks: Desire and Decay in Fashion

Dirty Looks offers a timely lens through which to examine fashion’s role in a world shaped by ecological crisis, cultural reckoning, and shifting aesthetic values. It invites readers to reconsider the narratives that define what we wear – and why.

This richly illustrated anthology features new essays by influential voices in contemporary fashion, including Caroline Evans, Akiko Fukai, Lou Stoppard, and Sara Arnold. Their writing spans decolonial critique, feminist resistance, fashion’s environmental cost, and the tension between bodily intimacy and public display. Alongside these texts, an extensive photographic portfolio by Ellen Sampson captures iconic garments that embody the project’s themes in sharp, forensic detail. Featured designers include Vivienne Westwood, Hussein Chalayan, Comme des Garçons, Issey Miyake, Alexander McQueen, Maison Margiela, and many more.

Can't make it? Order a copy of Dirty Looks here.