Jean-Paul Knott - from Yves Saint Laurent to Brussels
In this episode of "Our Designers," we dive into the fascinating story of top Belgian designer Jean-Paul Knott of Brussels.
Photography: Sigfrid Eggers
Season 1 - Episode 3: Jean-Paul Knott
Belgian designer Jean-Paul Knott is a man who never allowed himself to be led by trends. Instead of following the frenzy of fashion, he chose to create his own pace, his own language and his own rhythm. In this episode of "Our Designers," he talks candidly about his trajectory, from his childhood in Congo to his years at Yves Saint Laurent, and about his conscious decision to establish his brand in Brussels, far away from the pressures of Paris.
His passion for fashion arose in an unexpected way. In Congo, where there were no stores, his mother made clothes herself. As a child, Jean-Paul knew exactly what he wanted to wear: he chose fabrics, thought about shapes, and asked his mother to make clothes the way he envisioned them. "That's where everything started," he says. "Fashion was not a luxury, but a way of life."
The Learning School: 13 Years at Yves Saint Laurent
After studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York, Knott landed an internship at Yves Saint Laurent in Paris, a dream come true. What began with copying monsieur Saint Laurent's sketches ("because I was cheaper than a copier," he jokes) grew into a thirteen-year collaboration that would shape his entire vision. "I learned respect for fabric, respect for people, and that you achieve nothing alone," he says of it. "Those three lessons I carry with me to this day."
Why Brussels?
At 33, Knott decided to leave the familiar path. Paris had shaped him, but also limited him. He chose to return to Belgium, building his own label in Brussels. Not because it was easier, but because he felt he could create more freely there. "Belgium gives designers more breathing room," he says. "We are close to Paris, but we are not constantly seduced or suffocated by the trends. Here you can build something that is really yours."
Fashion is Applied Art
In Brussels, he found the balance between tradition and innovation. The city gave him access to craft, proximity to production, and - more importantly - a certain tranquility. It was there that his vision of fashion as "Art Appliqué," applied art, was born. For Knott, clothes are only valuable when they can be worn. "What's the point of clothes that people can't wear?" he asks rhetorically. "Fashion has to keep moving. It only lives on the body."
"The question is, is fashion art, or is fashion 'art appliqué'?"
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His collections are built around the idea of "Collection to collect " - a wardrobe that grows, season after season. No fleeting trends, but timeless pieces that customers can keep adding to. "I try to make the same clothes over and over again," he says. "Or rather, the best version of them." His designs are characterized by simplicity, elegance and durability. Many silhouettes start from geometric shapes, such as squares or the kimono, a principle that is at once aesthetic and efficient. "Never waste fabric," he learned at YSL - a lesson that today has taken on an ecological connotation, but even then was a matter of respect.
The "KNOTT" Philosophy
Knott designs for real life, for people fulfilling multiple roles in a day. His clothes move with you, change with you, adapt. "You take the kids to school, have a meeting with your banker, lunch, and then another evening appointment," he says. "The clothes have to handle all that. They should not limit you, but follow you."
KNOTT so MAD
In 2025, Jean-Paul Knott will celebrate his 25-year career with an exhibition at MAD Brussels. Not a classic retrospective, but an invitation to 25 people with whom he has worked over the years to exhibit together. "I didn't want a solo show," he says. "Fashion is not a monologue, it's dialogue. Clothes you don't make for people, but with people."
And perhaps that is the core of his oeuvre: timeless fashion that does not shout, but speaks. Fashion that lives by touch, by collaboration, by generosity. In a world that runs on speed and consumption, Jean-Paul Knott reminds us that true style does not perish, it grows, with time and with the people who wear it.
Jean-Paul Knott - Our Designers
