Serax & N. Vrouyr

Bob Verhelst completed his fashion education at the Royal Academy in Antwerp in 1979, where he studied with leading fashion icons such as Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, and Martin Margiela. After graduating, he continued to specialize in theatre costumes at the Warsaw Academy in Poland under the leadership of Jozef Szjana. He continued his education at the private school Ente Morale in Rome, where he completed his studies in fashion and theatre costumes.

As a freelancer, Verhelst has worked with theatres at an international level, including the Raamtheater (Antwerp), Burg- und Akademie Theater (Vienna), and Teater Wielki (Warsaw). He also developed shop windows for flagship stores or worked out product launches for fashion and beauty brands such as Hermès, Viktor & Rolf, and L'Oréal. Between 1990 and 1998, he was closely involved with Maison Martin Margiela in Paris and taught at the fashion department of the Royal Academy of The Hague.

As a curator and scenographer, he has designed numerous exhibitions for museums, both nationally and internationally, after having set up an outstanding exhibition for the opening of the MoMu in Antwerp in 2002. The scenography for the acclaimed Margiela/Hermès exhibition in 2017 in Antwerp, Paris, and Stockholm was also of his making. From 2010 to 2023, he served as art director for the leading concept store Graanmarkt 13 in Antwerp. As of 2024, he is focusing on the launch of his own interior collection in close collaboration with Vrouyr (carpets) and Serax (objects and furniture).