Wanderful
Design from Limburg
Over the last 7 years I have been puzzled over the fact why Limburg design is considered no match for, let's say Dutch or contemporary Scandinavian design. The names that flew out of the nest called Limburg are enormous. From Stockmans ahd Monnens in product design all the way to Simons and Margiela in fashion. What is it with this Province and why does no one know.
Design made in Limburg has caused a furore over the last quarter of a century and its influence is fascinating to see. For instance, fashion designer Raf Simons‘ impact on the international fashion world; the world-renowned oeuvre of ceramicist Piet Stockmans; the aesthetic brilliance of Michaël Verheyden; the sublime power of Bram Boo and Casimir in hand-crafted design; or the commercial efficacy of Studio Segers.
As strong as the reputation of Belgian fashion is, the Limburg design scene is equally important. Nowhere else in the country is there so great a concentration of top design.
Even the Antwerp six – the group that really put Belgian fashion on the international map – includes two designers with Limburg roots: Marina Yee and Dirk Bikkembergs. Not only have Limburg’s finest in their field, Raf Simons (current Creative Director at Calvin Klein) and Martin Margiela (Founder at Maison Margiela), grown to be the leading thinkers of their generation, ‘Limburg’ can also be regarded as an international quality label for product design. Companies such as Tribù (outdoor design), Kreon (architectural lighting, Jaga and Vasco (designer radiators) are all top of the bill.
But why is this no common knowledge? Why is it that when we take a Stockholm-based designblogger on tour through Limburg with our LimblogDesignTour in 2015, she is not only mesmerized by the products, designers and companies in this field. The fact that she simply does not know about it freaks her out.
The first step in taking this lack of attention to a next level and finally creating the well-deserved backbone, nationally as well as internationally, a book has been created. The book We are wanderful is a comprehensive reference work relating the search for the secret of Limburg design, and collecting together the most prominent narratives of the past 25 years. This book is a reference work not to be sneezed at, offering the readers a glimpse of the life and work of the greatest designers in the field of design and fashion based on Dieter Rams’ Ten principles for good design.