Happiness isn't happiness without a violin-playing goat

Six Lee's collection titled Happiness isn't happiness without a violin-playing goat. Image from the Antwerp Fashion Observer.

I've had one of those days today. You know the ones where everything goes wrong from the moment you squint through opening eyes before stumbling out of bed and stubbing your toe on edge, to searching in vain for a matching pair of socks and a clean shirt, to missing your train, spilling coffee on yourself all before ten in the morning. So, to cheer myself up I looked to the talent flowing from the Antwerp Royal Academy. It is the directional student show that everyone looks to for new talent and it took place last weekend whilst I was playing around on a Margate beach. The Hoogeschool Antwerp’s Fashion Department is famed for its creativity and innovation, and has paved the way for some of the most exciting names of today, including Bernhard Willhelm, Haider Ackermann, Stephan Schneider, Bruno Pieters and Kris Van Assche to name but a few, oh, and of course, the Antwerp six! Actual show shots are still a little thin on the ground aside from a few on the Antwerp Fashion Observer but then Susie reminded me about the preview shots over on Dazed Digital and the work of Six Lee in particular.

My grey mood was lifted by Six Lee's percussion infused tailoring and memories of my feeble attempts at bashing the xylophone returned. Lee is a fourth year graduate who wants to make menswear a little more fun and his graduate collection certainly made me smile despite this being a 'head in hands' kind of day. When I heard the title of the collection a few memory bells rang off in the distant corners of my brain but I could not place where or how I knew it....

Of course, my chin scratching only lasted a few seconds as I reached out for my thought crutch (otherwise known as google) which never lets me down. It was of course a memorable quotes from Notting Hill (which I only watched all the way through this year) by Julia Roberts' character in response to Hugh Grant's rambled mutterings and a Chagall painting. Now where is my violin playing goat...maybe I'll find it tomorrow.