At the Modepaleis, I am transported into a rich, ethnic chimera of vivid hues. India, designer Dries Van Noten’s chief source of inspiration, is everywhere from the kalamkari print dresses and rich brocades to the stylish skirts adorned with mirror or zardozi work.

Antwerp, the medieval city usually associated with diamonds and chocolates, is also a fast emerging fashion destination, discovers Karishma Bhansali Mehta

Stepping off the tram that halts in Antwerp’s historic, quaint town centre, the Groen plaats, after paying my respects to the Rubens monument, I stroll into Nationalestraat, the fashion strip that has earned this city the reputation of a cutting edge world fashion capital. This phenomenon has been mainly overlooked by many who have never heard of Antwerp’s ‘big six’ fashion design prodigies, including Dries Van Noten, Anne Demeulemeester and their four contemporaries, who stunned London’s fashion fraternity in the ’80s and triggered off a revolutionary fashion movement in this medieval, small city that we associate with diamonds and chocolates.

As I embark on this fashion adventure, I find myself in rather unfamiliar territory. There are no typically Flemish gabled houses and nothing even slightly reminiscent of the towering Gothic Cathedral three minutes away. Nor does this neighbourhood flaunt the glamour of Milan’s Via Della Spiga or the rich elegance of Paris’ Rue St Honoré. Rather, it exudes an inexplicable, understated charm that is derelict but progressive, traditional but avant-garde, old but new. And it definitely fizzes with fashion.

In her quest to finding her purpose, Karishma Bhansali Mehta, born and raised in Mumbai, graduated with a B.A in economics and history, from SOAS, University of London and went on to New York to pursue career options. Marriage took her to Antwerp, two years ago, where she finally succumbed to her passion for writing and the media.