“Every woman has some sort of Wonder Woman inside her”

Part of empowering women is validating their interests, and WNDR WMN definitely did that. Not only did they do a great job in ensuring that every asset in the female interest scope was covered, they also made sure that there was a platform to discuss topics in the PR and blogging industry.

The evening’s success was in the hands of the Marie Claire journalists, event bureau Stalker (from the Leave Us At Dawn parties), and production agency Nono C. We had a talk with Tine Stoop from Marie Claire just before WNDR WMN opened.

This is Antwerp : How did the idea start to organise WNDR WMN?

Tine Stoop : Wolfram (Ghesquière) from Stalker and Chanel (Selleslach) from Nono C. came to us with the idea to do an event for International Women’s Day on 8 March. Since it was too short notice, we decided to postpone the event. We immediately jumped on the idea because it fit entirely in Marie-Claire’s vision. The purpose of this evening is to celebrate women and their strength, specifically women who dare to follow their dreams. That’s one side of the story. On the other side, this event is a way of meeting our readers.

: Why did you pick Antwerp and the Bourla to host WNDR WMN at?

Tine : Antwerp is the ideal place to host an event like this at because it is such an inspiring city with a lot of creative and young entrepreneurs. It is also Belgium’s fashion capital, so for a women’s magazine such as Marie-Claire it was quite obvious to plan the event here. Plus the city has a lot of influence on the rest of Flanders. Wolfram helped us get Bourla, which is an amazing venue.

: Which designers stand out for you from the offer here?

Tine : I am not too familiar with them all, but I do think makes stunning lingerie and is also one to watch because she makes sportswear with sustainable materials. The goal of WNDR WMN is for the visitors to discover small brands that are worth knowing.

: How would you describe a Wonder Woman? Is every woman one?

Tine : We do think so. Every woman has some sort of Wonder Woman inside her. Every woman is able to find the strength from within, even though she is not always aware of it. Women just strong.

: How does this idea reflect in the event’s activities?

Tine : We asked a number of young, female entrepreneurs to showcase their fashion collections. Visitors can buy items and talk with the designers about starting your own business. We want to get a lot of interactivity and solidarity between all the present women. As women, we are all there to support and encourage each other and learn from each other’s experiences.

There will also be a makeup workshop and a panel discussion with one of the designers, a fashion photographer, a PR-representative, and other women who are active or want to be active in the fashion and beauty industry. They will talk about what happens in the backrooms of fashion, but also about starting a business. The idea is to get a lively discussion in which everyone is allowed to participate. They can all share tips, tricks and experiences in order to learn from one another.

What women talk about

We from TIA were lucky enough to be part of the audience during this panel to listen to the thoughts of Laura Buydaert from Media Mania, Charlotte Everaert from Alice Roxy, fashion photographer Dena Huys, Ruth Van Soom from the online magazine ENFNTS TERRIBLES, and fashion blogger Sarah Dimani.

We discussed the classic female body image that is unfortunately still portrayed in today’s mainstream fashion media and how bloggers can help change this image. How women are very empowered in today’s society but that there is still so much that can be done and also how the online fashion industry may be the only that is still left in a few years.

All these BOSS ladies had a strong opinion and it was very interesting to hear how they think the fashion and PR industry will evolve over the years. We are also excited to see a follow-up to this first edition of WNDR WMN at which women get even more inspired to grab their goals.