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Title: D'Aubreby-Van Swae
Subtitle: Drie generaties Belgische mode tussen traditie en vernieuwing (ca. 1815-1928)
Author(s): RYS, Lizzy
Journal: Tijdschrift voor Interieurgeschiedenis en Design
Volume: 47    Date: 2025   
Pages: 27-43
DOI: 10.2143/GBI.47.0.3294950

Abstract :
This article sheds light on the history of the Brussels-based fashion house D’Aubreby-Van Swae (c. 1815-1928) and its influence on the Belgian and international fashion worlds. Three generations of designers – Marie Van Swae Gonda, Elisabeth D’Aubreby Van Swae and Fernand D’Aubreby – built the company into a purveyor to the Belgian royal court and a leading name in European fashion. Rather than merely following dominant Parisian trends, the house carved its own path, thus playing a significant role in Belgium’s cultural and political positioning as a fashion centre. Drawing on preserved garments, archival material and visual sources, this study contributes to the wider debate on the autonomy of Belgian fashion history. This analysis not only highlights a forgotten chapter in fashion history, but also gives new impetus to the study of a Belgian fashion identity in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

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