Self Service #63

The colossal, highly visual French fashion tome Self Service celebrated its 30th anniversary not so long ago and its mission remains, in their own words, ‘to encourage and celebrate artistic freedom.’

Guest edited by Pieter Mulier, this special issue for Autumn/Winter 2025 is dedicated to Belgium—a ‘homage to the old and new guard of Belgian creatives in the world of fashion, art and architecture’. Choose from three covers: actor and comedian Benoît Poelvoorde is resplendent in a traditional Gilles de Binche Carnival costume, and models Loli Bahia and Tijs van der Gun show off contemporary Belgian design. Inside, Pieter sits down with Self Service co-founder and editor Ezra Petronio to discuss his personal muses, as well as contemplating the history of Belgian design and the country’s  enduring influence on the fashion industry; the legendary fashion journalist of ‘Style.com’ fame Tim Blanks interviews Dries van Noten in conversation with Julian Klausner, as well as Pieter and Raf Simons, in a conversation spanning nationalism, creative motivation, Catholicism, the Antwerp Six, democratisation and innovation; plus, the usual proliferation of fashion gloss.