Ceci n'est pas une t-shirt

One of the few locations which my team failed to reach during the Antwerp Fashion Hunt was Hospital. Thankfully, we swung by the concept store on Sunday afternoon to have a nosey around the huge space. The luxury boutique is housed in the former horse stables of Antwerp's race course (which sadly no longer exists) and stocks both Belgian and international designer brands, including the likes of Viktor & Rolf, Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen, Paul Smith, Paul & Joe and Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair but also boasts of a terrific wine cellar and restaurant. However, as good as the other offerings were I entered the store with the sole aim of indulging in some much needed retail therapy...I headed straight to the Viktor & Rolf Monsieur rail...

A look inside the Hospital

From afar, Viktor & Rolf Monsieur served up a surprisingly reserved affair for Aw09. At first glance it lacked the colour, the humour and interesting themes of previous offerings. However, upon closer examination inside Hospital, it was clear that the design duo had created something special. The design duo had borrowed some of my favorite motifs used by René Magritte and created a collection which can be mixed and matched with ease whilst never failing to raise a wry smile...if I had been wearing a bowler hat it would have been tipped.

Looks from Viktor & Rolf Monsieur AW09

Magritte wanted to make people think about what he called "the mystery without which the world would not exist," by showing familiar objects in dreamlike and even surroundings. He believed that all objects are rationally related to each other and certainly explored the relationships between objects in his paintings. The objects painted by Magritte suggest an inherent meaning independent from the viewers' previous experiences, opinions and ideas and as a result, the objects become 'concrete universals.' Similarly, in Viktor & Rolf's collection, a black suit which from my initial squint at the look book appeared to be a simple, textured houndstooth had in fact used smoking pipe pattern and the rest of the designs were packed full of surprises. Bowler hat prints covered dress shirts, bow ties were padded and the herringbone pattern of a mackintosh coat was actually a printed-on nylon...nothing was quite what it initially appeared.

My purchase from Hospital...a cute Viktor & Rolf Monsieur t shirt.

My favourite piece was the T-shirt depicting a pipe-smoking man, with his face obscured by a large green apple. When I saw it hanging on the rails of Hospital I just had to have it! Here I am back home in grey London modelling the new purchase on my balcony half asleep. I'm not too good in the early morning! Annoyingly I have lots of pieces I'd like to show you guys but these super short Autumn days are really limiting my opportunity to shoot them. More of these personal shots to come and I promise I'll look (a little) less dishevelled in the next batch...

New tshirt worn with Carolyn Massey for Topman Lens scarf coat, hanging mittens by Carolyn Massey (you never know how cold it is going to turn), grey double pleated trousers from COS and patent shoes by Swear.