A Belgian designer who has made her home in Cleveland, Anne has steadily assembled an eclectic assortment of cleanly designed clothing. Her eponymously named boutique is like taking a whirlwind trip to NYC, Montreal, LA, Brussels and back. With styles ranging from minimalism to vintage opulence, her head turning designs make distinctions from the general Gap-wearing population, setting Cleveland's barometer for good taste. Tisha Nemeth sat down with her at her Euro-styled boutique in Little Italy, where they discussed culture, international fashion, and inspiration in a Franglais interview. Meet this engaging designer and entrepreneur at her trunk show featuring Cleveland designers and jewelry Fri 11/26 noon-6PM and Sat 11/27 noon-5PM at the School House art collective in Little Italy. Fashion will be served accordingly.

Anne motions for me to sit down in the sun and comfortably asks what my drink preferences are...in French.

Anne van Hauwaert: Tu préfères un café?

Cool Cleveland: Ok, mais ma Français est insupportable… (Ok, but my French is unbearable)

Anne van Hauwaert: (Laughs) and my English is sometimes not good…

So we will go back and forth until we get it right, d’accord? What visually draws you to designing and how did you get introduced to it?
In Belgium I began in weaving; I took class in Brussels at a Monastery Abby - La Cambre -and I have always loved design, even as a young girl. I learned about it in school first, and had experience in Belgium when I worked in stores there. And I fell in love with vintage...

How did your inspiration evolve?
What does it mean when you say the word “evolve”…

Umm, maintenant, le inspiration d’ une idée, est-ce capable arrivée du change?
Oh, the inspiration is from life and every day; and it does for me also come from the Antwerp School in Belgium, which influences my designs and how I look at them. And the big designers: Flemish contemporary designers, all from Antwerpen.

How did you get from Brussels to Cleveland and adapt to life here?
My husband’s company was transferring him and he had a choice to move to Cleveland, Pittsburgh or Detroit. We picked Cleveland because we had been told it was nice and because of the art. My husband investigated what I could do with art and he discovered CIA [Cleveland Institute of Art] for me. At the time I could not speak English and had no permit for work; that was in the '80s.

How did the change affect you?
The stress of learning a new language and new career – English is hard. I took an ELS class at Case for three months; it wasn’t enough. But I learn from every day life; a few times I buy things from grocery stores and get the wrong thing because I didn’t really know how to say it, or people misunderstand me [because of the accent].

Are Clevelanders making an effort to speak French when they're communicating with you? How's the state of French speaking here?
Some people do. They are are happy to speak it here; a lot of my clients learned French at school and never practice, because unless you are with French speaking people, you never practice it.

Making the effort to speak in another language is a courtesy to others who don’t speak English...and language is very unifying - it teaches us more about communication, as it goes beyond the boundaries of our own understanding of words and how we express them.
It is unifying and I enjoy it...When I am with my husband we always speak French when we are together; if I cannot find a correct word in English, I ask him.

When did you begin your business?
My designer beginnings in Cleveland began when I could not find clothes I liked, and I started making them for myself. People saw my designs and wanted them, small stores like Ohio Signature in Shaker Square [now closed]. After a while I decided to open a boutique in Little Italy; this was 17 years ago.

Why Little Italy?
I started very small, there was no way I could open in Beachwood or a place like that; and I liked the art and ambience of Little Italy - I am an artist myself – that is why I liked it. I also like Little Italy because it is a niche that is hard to find, people need to seek it out.

How did you get found by your customers?
Mouth to mouth…how do you say?

That’s it, almost – it’s word of mouth...
I also do shows and am involved in all the artwalks, which bring people from all around; they come in by accident. They tell each other, their friends and family, or they hear from others, and then they come in.

What is the most frustrating aspect of designing?
In Cleveland I can rarely find what I am looking for when I need materials for designing. The right accoutrements: fabric, buttons, zippers, special effects, fur trimming; there is no way to find it here. I have to go to NYC to find all the special things.

Where in NYC? The Garment District?
Yes, and also on 7th Avenue – there you can find everything you would want. But I am happy having my boutique here; I did remodeling and moved all my sewing stations home to have more space here, and my customers love the added space to move around. All of my time goes into the boutique, and I have a seamstress who helps me. I start new pieces and work early every morning on designs, then open the store later in the morning for business.

Which educational processes were key in your designing and ideas for your boutique?
After my training in Brussels, when I moved to Cleveland I took two years at CIA in fiber. When I opened my store, I wanted to have fashion from local designers and artists as well as national and international designers. I carry scarves from Brussels and jewelry from France. I also carry some jewelry pieces by Gai Russo who is local. And my passion...I have a vintage corner [in the boutique], with Pucci and [French designer Christian] LaCroix, [British designer Thierry] Muglar, Gaultier, Adolfo...

[Italian designer] Pucci is not easy to find, and you’re naming off a string of designers hanging on your racks which reads like a listing in Vogue. Who are the customers buying these items?
Very young 30-somethings; people who are into art and expressing it themselves in a personal way.

What is your personal design style?
More of a European feel, avant-garde, I love vintage too – the fabric inspires me. I like '50s fun hand bags, tweed suits paired with something unexpected, like a silk beaded skirt and sexy boots. I like to always blend vintage with contemporary. I am not one who will wear very feminine lace: frou-frou and all ribbons. I prefer clean, arty pieces with an interesting cut, with fabric that is not too boudoir...

N'est ce pas Fragonard [18th century French court portraitist] style going on, then...
No, the clothes here you can put on and it's ready for your life, working and living. I design what I like, I make pieces I would love to wear: pieces for business that can be matched with jeans or a shirt to fit life every day.

Where do you go to refresh your creativity? Do you get it from Cleveland or do you need to travel?
Yes, I go to Belgium twice a year, and the cinema also inspires my creativitiy.

What is the current fashion climate here?
It is casual in Cleveland, always casual; I feel it is bad. But for me, I like to dress up just a little bit when I go out. I see people all the time in sneakers, shorts - why not instead put on something that is different for change?

Why is it becoming more difficult to find true-to-life sizes? I have a tough time getting accuracy with fitting and I don’t like shopping because of it. Why does a smaller size, like a 4, sometimes fit like a size 6 or 8? It never used to be this hard finding clothing sizes that are truly representational of the body frame. Is it that way in Europe, too?
Well, in Italy, sizes do run smaller. But in Germany and the Netherlands a small size will run larger, as it does in the U.S. because women now are becoming larger.

Do you collaborate with any artists or people in the designing world back in Brussels?
Yes, the scarves and the hat you picked out are made by a good friend of mine back home; I carry their pieces and my clients like them very much...

Being able to support your friends by featuring their work is definitely cool; comment parlez vous “cool” in French?
There are ways to say cool, but it does not translate! C’est super.

Interview and image by Tisha Nemeth

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