Fashion / ShowWalter Van Beirendonck Menswear A/W11The colourful designer impressed with tailoring, positive messages and ponchos made out of jackets and knitwearShareLink copied ✔️January 22, 2011FashionShowPhotographyMorgan O'DonovanTextDavid HellqvistWalter Van Beirendonck Menswear A/W11 Walter added a strong formal arrow to his sartorial bow on Friday. With much tailoring, shirts and bow ties, the Belgian designer gave us another peek into his creative mind. But there was of course a few details that made this a Walter Van Beirendonck show; worded messages ('Hand on Heart') was displayed, jackets and tops were sliced on the sides creating ponchos when not buttoned up, massive metal rings orbited around the model's heads and there was a general colourfulness. Prints, patterns and colours mismatched, and pink and aqua blue was teamed up with beige and brown. But it was the last few looks of hairy fabric coats and Chanel-esque cropped jackets that impressed the most. Dazed Digital: What was the initial inspiration for the collection?Walter Van Beirendonck: It's all about a new kind of shamanism, so it's about the spiritual world, and I feel we're going towards a new spiritual world. I tried to illustrate it by drawing inspiration from an essay Tim Blanks wrote in AnOther Man, it was about the Maya dates and how our lives are going in new direction and I used certain from it. DD: What words were they?Walter Van Beirendonck: 'Something big is coming' was the first which was referring to the 2012 date. And 'Dream the world to wake' is also an important statement which I tried to incorporate into the collection. DD: Your last collection was all about war, evil and guns, is this a more positive message?Walter Van Beirendonck: Yeah, the previous one had a kind of positive message but this one had a more peaceful message. DD: Also there was a lot more tailoring than you've had of late!Walter Van Beirendonck: I was attracted by the idea of tailoring mainly because I decided to deconstruct it and open it on the sides with buttons, giving it a wider shape DD: Favourite piece?Walter Van Beirendonck: The colourful coats at the end... See all the exclusive coverage from Menswear AW11>> Escape the algorithm! Get The DropEmail address SIGN UP Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday. Privacy policy Thank you. You have been subscribed Privacy policy Expand your creative community and connect with 15,000 creatives from around the world.READ MOREBackstage portraits from Dries Van Noten’s AW26 men’s showJunya Watanabe’s man was The Best Dressed at PFWMasked killers stalked the runway at Comme Des Garçons AW26Yohji Yamamoto AW26 wasn’t pulling any punchesPortraits from inside Willy Chavarria’s blockbuster Paris show Pumafakemink, Skepta and Pa Salieu celebrate PUMA’s iconic Suede at PFWFashion’s biggest brands are taking over the Winter OlympicsIn pictures: Dune meets The Matrix at Rick Owens’ latest menswear showMk.gee was the unlikely inspiration for Jonathan Anderson’s Dior showDior AW26 men’s: The highlights from Jonathan Anderson’s sophomore showTudor Rose: Henry VIII is Martine Rose’s AW26 muse Harry Styles is back: Revisiting the internet-breaking Dazed cover shootEscape the algorithm! Get The DropEmail address SIGN UP Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday. Privacy policy Thank you. You have been subscribed Privacy policy