Ann Demeulemeester RTW Spring 2022

Giovanni Giannoni/WWD

It’s been a major few months for Ann Demeulemeester — the designer and the brand — with the reopening of a historic flagship in Antwerp, Belgium; pride of place in the permanent exhibit of the city’s overhauled MoMu fashion museum, and a new direction for the business, which is now owned by the Italian retailer Claudio Antonioli.

While an in-house team now designs the collection, Demeulemeester remains close to the brand, and its new owner, while her homeware and lighting designs — among other projects — are on display in the Antwerp store.

Her legacy is alive and thriving on the runway, too. Sunday’s show at the Lycée Carnot was full of the oversize and androgynous silhouettes for which the brand is known.

There were also lots of deconstructed elements on show: long black ribbons rippling from white jackets, harness details on long and spare white dresses or detached sleeves pooling around wrists and stopping well short of the shoulder.

The collection was entirely in black and white, with the styles echoing those of fall 2021. It’s clear the team is looking to reinforce the brand’s identity — and its winning silhouettes.

In addition to all the roomy suits and trousers with chunky cuffs that kissed the ground, there were theoretical jackets: waistcoats worn with those detached, abbreviated sleeves.

The design team is certainly onto something: Paris has been blowing hot and cold all week, so why not have a set of sleeves at the ready for when the temperature drops.

Fabrics, including cotton and denim, were heavy and rich, while long, nubby knit dresses and skirts were almost certainly handmade, and should add a cozy feel to the Antwerp shop floor — and to the other flagships that Antonioli is planning to open.