Despite its relatively small population, Antwerp has had an outsize impact on fashion. The Antwerp Six, a group of students who attended the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in the 1980s, first put the city on the style map. The members — Dirk Bikkembergs, Dirk Van Saene, Marina Yee, Walter Van Beirendonck, Ann Demeulemeester and Dries Van Noten — made a splash when they debuted pieces from their burgeoning lines during London Fashion Week in 1986, and their legacy still reverberates on today’s catwalks.

The Royal Academy’s influence extends far beyond the Antwerp Six, however. Other notable graduates include Martin Margiela, Demna Gvasalia and many other avant-garde designers and tastemakers who continue to shape the fashion industry.

In a place with such a pedigree, I put shopping high on my list of priorities. But having limited time, I wanted the insight of an insider. The Travel Office arranged an exclusive fashion-focused city tour, which took us from the ModeMuseum (MoMu), Antwerp’s fashion museum, to some of the chicest shops in the city.