Fashion education is a luxury item – the new fees in Antwerp prove it
While the fashion press raves about the new Antwerp Six exhibition at MoMu, the city itself is experiencing a shift in fashion education funding.
By India Birgitta Jarvis
When Dirk Bikkembergs, Ann Demeulemeester, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Van Saene and Marina Yee arrived at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, the city had no international reputation for fashion. But such was their talent and the strength of their education that, soon after, the name of an industrial port city became a byword for avant-garde style. So, it’s a bit tragic, then, that as thoughts return to this story via MoMu’s much-lauded museum show, the present becomes yet more challenging for the next generation of designers studying, or hoping to, in Antwerp.
Back in November of last year, Flemish universities discussed ways to mitigate the impact of a decreasing subsidy given by the government to higher education institutions. One suggestion tabled was increasing tuition fees by €150 per student from the 2026-2027 academic year. Instead, universities in the Flanders region of Belgium will place the financial burden almost entirely on international students from countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA), who in some cases will see their tuition fees triple in cost over the course of study.
At the Royal Academy, nearly 20% of students come from outside the EEA. In the fashion programme, the proportion rises to around 30%. These students who are already enrolled will see their tuition go from €8,000 (£6,942) to €13,500 (£11,714) in September, and for new students or those who have taken a gap year, it goes up to €25,000 (£21,695). International students who have not been in continuous study – for reasons which could be as broad as health, family, financial, or otherwise – will bear the biggest brunt of this new policy. According to Aubry, a first-year BA student at the Royal Academy originally from the United States, this was communicated to students via email before their first examination period this January. “We were not informed of this even being a possibility during the application period, or during early enrolment,” Aubry says.