Behind the scenes with Her Royal Highness Princess Delphine of Saxe-Coburg, Princess of Belgium

“The theme of my Village takeover is ‘Love Imperfection’ because I feel it’s a very important message to get across. A few years ago, I put a piece that had ‘FUCK PERFECTION’ written all over it in my museum show in Brussels. There would be a lot of school trips and I received so many messages from really young kids saying how it was their favourite piece and how good it made them feel. I thought that was amazing. It really made me think about how important it is to actively inspire people to embrace and love their so-called ‘imperfections’.”

“Our imperfections make us real and unique. Not just in terms of looks, but in all possible aspects of life. If your family isn’t perfect, for example, embrace that. I find that to be a very important message for young people – and older ones too.”

“For my collaboration with Maasmechelen Village, I created a brand-new pattern with hearts. I’ve been working with the love theme for quite a few years already, but this is the very first time I’m using hearts in an art piece. Those used to be reserved for my children only.”

“The love theme became important to me as I got to mid-life and saw people get more and more bitter. Of course, you get more and more disappointed as you get older, but I really wanted to keep loving life and stay positive. Just painting the word ‘love’ all over a canvas made me feel so much better. Reminding yourself to love life daily doesn’t make life perfect, but it does help to appreciate what you have and to keep going. Everyone goes through hard times, but the sun does reappear at one point. For me, spreading the love with my work is like telling people ‘never give up’. And I hope it inspires them.”

“I am very excited to be collaborating with Maasmechelen Village. The Village is a destination where people come to shop and enjoy the finer things in life. This offers a unique platform to spread our message and to introduce Belgian art and fashion to a larger audience in exciting new ways.”

“As an artist, I think it’s interesting to put our message right at the heart of a location where people may come to shop for things that make them look or feel more perfect. I really want to tell them: please enjoy buying the clothes that make you happy and enjoy wearing them – but remember that you don’t need them to be better, or worthy, or perfect. Make it about you, and not about your image. I think it’s very important to reflect on that, and Maasmechelen Village is the perfect location to do so.”

“Since a few years, I’ve been creating my own line of clothing and I’ve been really enjoying it. Fashion is something I’ve always been extremely interested in, since I was a tiny child. For me, fashion is a way to create an identity – which, like art, makes it the perfect platform to get a message across.”

“I have been in the art world for over 35 years now and I know how hard it is to get started. That is why I feel so strongly about supporting up-and-coming designers. For The Creative Spot, the pop-up boutique in Maasmechelen Village, I’ve curated a selection of 10 designers that fit my outlook on fashion and life in general.”

“We’ve selected designers that do things a little differently and out of the box. Even if what they create is very wearable, there is always this special touch that has managed to grab my attention. I feel like we’ve curated a mix of different designers, brands and styles that are very different from each other but that all feel very relevant to me, and I’m excited to see them all in one place.”