Kaat Tilley

Kaat Tilley (20 September 1959 – 22 June 2012) was a Belgian Flemish fashion designer. Her work was characterized by dreamy and fairy-like designs with soft and flowing lines. Tilley grew up in Kapelle-op-den-Bos and was crazy about fairy tales as a child. The inaccessibility, strength, beauty and fragility of the fairy tale figure Snow White became her trademark. Tilley would regularly refer to this in her later visual work. Tilley was known for her romantic to fairy tale clothing, but she also designed jewellery collections, lighting, furniture, interior fabrics, uniforms and costumes for films and musicals.

Early life and education Born in Mechelen and raised in Kapelle-op-den-Bos, Tilley studied visual arts and painting at Sint-Lucas Brussels. Afterwards she followed the Fashion and Theatre Costume course at the Antwerp Fashion Academy. In 1983 she graduated Cum Laude with the collection "Mahler and Venice". She was a Laureate of the Golden Play and of the International Linen Competition 'Fil d’Or'.

Career In 1989, Tilley was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer which she overcame. Earlier that same year, she also opened a shop in the King's Gallery in Brussels. In 1993, she designed the costumes for the film Antoine. Her children's line Frederiek was launched in 1995. This children's collection is named after her father, as the collection was launched shortly after her father's death. This children's collection was also sold in Galeries Lafayette in Paris. In addition, she had her first show at the Parisian prêt-à-porter week in 1997. In addition, she also created a Fashion room for the Royal Windsor hotel, characterized by a chalky white color. From 2007 onwards, Tilley organized exhibitions/experiences on her domain, a former water mill, in Asbeek (Asse). During these events, her creations were exhibited, but prototypes and paintings of hers were also sold. In 2009, the central theme of this exhibition/experience was Albino. While the exhibitions of the previous two years were mainly retrospective, in 2009 she showed exclusively new creations.

After the bankruptcy of her shops in Brussels and Antwerp in 2009, a relaunch was started after two years. Under the name Salon de Rencontre Belle Boudoir, a complete experience world/experience was created. Tilley wanted to offer party and bridal wear, jewelry, the children's collection, lighting and furniture at an exclusive room level. In the salons, a permanent collection was for sale, with new creations added every month that were organized thematically. The clothing was handmade and could be made to measure. Her funeral took place on 28 June in an intimate setting at her estate in Asbeek. Before her death, she still had several ongoing projects. For example, she designed the uniforms for the cabin crew of Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium and there was the collection for the clothing chain JBC. In addition, she was still working on the costume design for the musical Peter Pan. The designs were further completed by her daughters Rebekka and Epiphany.

In September 2012, the two daughters organised a sale of collection and archive items as a farewell.

In 2017, Rebekka and Epiphany decided to put the fashion brand on hold to go their own way. In connection with this, their mother's domain in Asbeek was also sold.