FROM BELGIUM TO MARRAKECH WITH A SEWING MACHINE: LAURENCE LEENAERT’S STORY

The Belgian designer tells us about her multi-disciplinary project between art and design: a lifestyle brand born from a trip to the desert

Working from a Medina in Marrakech wouldn’t seem to be the best strategy to achieve international recognition. However, if we look at LRNCE, the modern accessories and textile line by Laurence Leenaert, it will be clear why it is actually so successful. Her unique modern taste comes from tradition and is influenced by Picasso-inspired art.

Laurence came a long way, from studying at KASK in Gent, Belgium, and working as an intern at fashion brand Bless in Berlin. Since then, she decided to have her own brand and to work on her own bag line. Her design developed quickly, from focusing on lines and grids to embracing more abstract, almost human-like shapes that today decorate textiles, rugs, ceramics, kimonos, sandals and everything else she sells in her studio-showroom and in stores around the world, from Paris to New York City, Sweden and Switzerland.