Tim Coopens: Refined Urban

Born and raised in Belgium, Tim Coppens graduated from the internationally acclaimed Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp in 1998. He has worked with various luxury and sports-performance brands as Adidas and Ralph Lauren before founding his own label. His collections are defined as athletic luxury portrayed with elegance and sophistication. Craftsmanship is blended with innovation. The energy of the city, street culture, as well as a pulse that feels the present and the future are sources of inspiration.

«When your halo slips for good, you’ll have to wear your hood». Tim Coppens quoted lyrics from Madchester figurehead Ian Brown to set the mood for his new collection. It seems a little early in Coppens’ career to be tuning in to such a downbeat sentiment, especially now that he’s attracting major corporate attention (he was a finalist in the first edition of the LVMH Young Fashion Designer Prize), but he wanted the rudeness, the arrogance, the hint of hooliganism that Brown embodied. That was something that really appealed to him when he was a kid back in Belgium, and he felt it was an easy way to communicate what he called the undercurrent of violence in the 40 looks he showed for men and women today.

Since his first season, Tim Coppens has received strong support and praise from both retailers and press. WWD selected him as part of the “10 of Tomorrow” Rising Stars. Barneys New York immediately ordered his first collection and international retailers followed suit, including Dover Street Market, Isetan, Club 21, Harvey Nichols UK, Mr. Porter and Lane Crawford.

Coppens has really built his reputation on a hybrid of sports- and utilitywear, and there was plenty of that here to feed his fans. Key fabrics were mesh and a cotton-nylon blend, cut into shorts, track pants, and parkas. «It’s a collection about movement», said the designer, who himself has just taken up boxing. The silhouette was appropriately athletic, translated in his womenswear into a zipped, abbreviated body consciousness.

In 2012 he received the Ecco Domani Award for “Best New Menswear Designer”. The following year he was awarded the Fashion Group International Rising Star of the Year. Most recently Coppens was a finalist for the Vogue/CFDA Fashion Fund Award, a top 10 finalist for the LVMH Prize and the 2014 winner of the CFDA Swarovski Award for Menswear.