When Pantone declared a shade of white “Colour of the Year 2026”, speculation swirled that minimalism was back in vogue. In Belgium, it arguably never went away. The design scene in the small but culturally rich country has long been defined by a stripped-back aesthetic. Since the 1980s, the names of Maarten Van Severen, Vincent Van Duysen and Axel Vervoordt have been synonymous with clean lines, muted palettes and a sense of simplicity.
It’s a way of working with atmosphere, not effect
Collectible fair co-founder Liv Vaisberg
“Belgium’s minimalism is really a mindset,” says Liv Vaisberg, co-founder of the Collectible fair, launched in Brussels in 2018. “It is rooted in restraint, proportion and material honesty.” They are qualities at the core of Vervoordt’s earthy “wabi-sabi” interiors and Van Severen’s stainless-steel-framed chairs – and they’re now being woven through the work of a new generation of designers and architects.
It’s an approach that shares a “quiet rigour”, says Vaisberg. “It is very Belgian, and it continues to shape how emerging designers position themselves internationally. What young creatives inherit is not a strict aesthetic but a discipline – a way of working with atmosphere rather than effect.”
