Haider Ackermann brown blazer with beaded military detail — fall 2009

Haider Ackermann is a Colombian born designer. He spent his childhood in France, Chad, Algeria and Ethiopia before his family moved to the Netherlands.

Influenced by Yves Saint Laurent, he moved to Belgium to study fashion at the Royal Academy of fine arts in Antwerp.

After interning with John Galliano and working for Bernhard Wilhelm, he launched his own label in 2002. He forgot to unvite buyers, but that didn’t stop Lane Crawford from attending and buying his collection. A few years later he signed with Ann Demeulemeester’s BVBA 32.

Haider’s childhood spent in many places shows in his garments; often a combination of different cultural dresscodes. His creatings are often asymmetrical cut, mixing high and low culture; making refined couture pieces with a streetwear edge.

Haider Ackermann likes portraying the idea of a ‘handsome’ women; combining ultra feminine silhouettes with sharp menswear tailoring.

Ackermann was one of the designers approached to succeed Galliano at Dior, after declining the proposed succession of Martin Margiela, Karl Lagerfeld named him to be his ideal successor at Chanel, and some commentators called him a “new Yves Saint-Laurent”.

He currently split with Ann Demeulemeester’s BVBA 32 to follow his own path.