Marie Adam-Leenaerdt

Marie Adam-Leenaerdt is a Belgian fashion designer born and raised in Brussels. She graduated from La Cambre Mode(s) in 2020 after developing a complete final wardrobe that included clothing, shoes and accessories. Entry-level roles at Givenchy and Balenciaga introduced her to the organisation and pace of large luxury studios; at Balenciaga she designed ready-to-wear across menswear and womenswear during a six-month period in Paris.

Adam-Leenaerdt returned to Brussels and established her namesake label in 2022, presenting its first collection on the official Paris Fashion Week calendar in February 2023. The independent structure gave her control over the full silhouette and allowed apparel, footwear and bags to develop as one system. Her numbered collections have since examined ordinary objects, wardrobe archetypes and the practical conditions of dressing through modular construction and altered proportion.

She was selected as a finalist for both the 2024 LVMH Prize and the 2024 ANDAM Fashion Awards, and received the Brussels Transmission Prize in 2025. In July 2026 she won the ANDAM Grand Prize, receiving financial support and a year of mentorship from Alexandre Mattiussi. She continues to live and operate the label in Brussels while presenting its collections in Paris.

Adam-Leenaerdt begins with direct observation rather than a fixed decorative theme. She studies clothing archetypes and overlooked objects, then works through draping, physical manipulation and digitally distorted reference images to extract a new construction. A table covering, garden chair, skirt hanger or jewellery display can provide the logic for a garment without remaining a literal motif.

Multi-functionality is central to her method. Reversible surfaces, alternate fastening routes, hidden zips and detachable layers allow one piece to shift between garment categories or change its relation to the body. Dense wool, tailoring cloth, jersey, leather and precise pattern cutting give these transformations enough structure to remain practical rather than theatrical exercises.

Her silhouettes combine the authority of menswear with a deliberately unstable femininity: shoulders are extended, coats are elongated, skirts multiply or migrate, and familiar basics acquire displaced proportions. Footwear and bags are designed with equal attention because she treats the dressed figure as a complete composition. Across the work, longevity is pursued through adaptability, material quality and the wearer's ability to determine how a piece functions.