King Kong Kooks

Walter Van Beirendonck's Spring/Summer 1989 Comic Book

Cover of King Kong Kooks

Walter Van Beirendonck, for those not already aware, is a Belgian fashion designer who was apart of the iconic “Antwerp Six” coming out of Antwerp’s Royal Fine Arts Academy. Other members of the the group include Ann Demeulemeester, Marina Yee, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Van Saene, and Dirk Bikkembirgs who all went on to have their own fashion labels as well. The group first gained notoriety in 1986 when they packed up into and van headed for London to show their clothing at the British Designer Show. The fashion folklore goes that many of the press at the event didn’t know how to pronounce their names so they were just referred to as “Antwerp Six”. The first day of the event, the group gained little to no attention so for the second day they decided to create eye catching and provocative flyers to get people's attention. The flyers worked for the second day, with a number of stores and boutiques being interested including Barney’s who ended up buying from every one of them. The success of the group stemmed from the creativity and uniqueness of each designer rather than any commercial strategy or investment. In 1988 the designers showed collections at London Fashion Week and gathered attention from many fashion magazines including i-D and Arena.

The King Kong Kooks comic book was produced as a promotion for Walter Van Beirendonck’s Spring/Summer 1989 collection and was only given to friends and family, never officially sold. The comic features art by Jan Bosschaert, text by Marc Legendre, production by Drukkerji Joz. Imschoot, and Beirendonck’s designs throughout. The story is based on his dog Sado, who is captured by special agents attempting to put an end to his outlandish fashion designs. The Warrior, the Snake, and the Rock embody Walter Van Beirendonck, wearing his designs head to toe, flying through the city to save Sado! No spoilers here but paid subscribers can read the entire comic below!