You've Got A. Friend in A.F. Vandevorst's New Line

According to Oscar Wilde, "true friends stab you in the front" -- a motto that Belgian label A.F. Vandevorst apparently discovered when they solicited the opinions of their pals to help them design their new diffusion line, A.Friend. The label's husband-and-wife designers An Vandevorst and Filip Arickx said they created the line after many of their friends had told them they couldn't afford their sulk-and-fur-favoring ready-to-wear line, which led to them creating the less expensive collection. Below, Vandevorst and Arickx chatted with PAPERMAG about the story behind A.Friend and the "heated" discussions that shaped it.

How did you come up with the idea for this line?
Some of our friends told us they like our clothes, but they can not always afford them. We started to think about a solution and came up with an idea to make a new line in jersey in addition to the existing one. Making the line in jersey made the garments 30 to 40 percent less expensive.


How have your friends reacted to the line? Were they able to offer input during the actual design process?
We invited them during the fittings. It was real fun: the comments were honest and the discussions amongst them often very heated. By the end of the day we were exhausted but satisfied.

What sort of needs did they have for their clothes that this line meets?
We designed a collection and invited our friends to discuss the styles, the fabrics, the proportions, the necklines etc....The result was a rather androgynous look. Comfortable and with a touch of femininity. It's a complete wardrobe with pants, jackets, coats, shirts and dresses.

Any favorite items from the A.Friend line?
All of them, because they all refer to different friends.

A.Friend debuts Dec.17 at the line's first pop-up shop in Antwerp and will head to the states in time for fall '10.

Photo by Ronald Stoops