Charlotte de Geyter: The Designer Who Draws Every Bernadette Print

Posted by

Gemma Deeks

September 22, 2026

On September 22, 2026

Brands we love, Fashion

Charlotte de Geyter: The Designer Who Draws Every Bernadette Print

Posted by

Gemma Deeks

September 22, 2026 On September 22, 2026

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Charlotte de Geyter is the creative director of Bernadette Antwerp, the label she founded in 2018 with her mother, and the person who draws every print the house has ever sold. This is a profile built only from what she and the house have said on the record, because there is no Wikipedia article to lean on, and it ends with the pieces that show her hand most clearly.

Training

She studied fashion at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, where the house says she developed the signature it still runs on: bold use of colour, hand-drawn prints and outspoken silhouettes. The Gloss records time with Simone Rocha, a family-run London house, and Charlotte has said watching the Rocha family live the DNA of their brand was formative. After graduating she went to London to work for a fashion house and, in her own words to Liberty London, realised within months that it was not the right path.

The method

The house describes her process as beginning with drawing, on paper and digitally, with the mood of each collection set by the prints and the colour. Her own description to SheerLuxe is more concrete: after moving back to Antwerp she started painting hundreds of botanic drawings. The pair told Liberty London that a season begins with separate research, a shared mood board, then sketches, then Charlotte drawing and painting the prints, then prototypes adapted in fittings. Beyond botany, the house says she draws on the intimate world of womanhood, her own experience and the women around her.

Her mother’s part

Bernadette de Geyter is co-founder and full-time creative consultant. A former buyer, including at Ralph Lauren, she brings what the house calls a seasoned eye to styling, colour and textile selection and an archive of her own clothes that she likes to bring back and modernise. Charlotte told SheerLuxe that each of them designs for a different woman and that this is the house’s biggest strength; she told Liberty London that her mother is cooler than she is. The two have said they sometimes have to ban work talk at family dinners.

What she says about style

Two lines recur. To SheerLuxe: the secret to great style is to find out what suits you. To Coveteur: she likes it when a punk woman wears a pink Bernadette dress. The house she has built follows both, with clothes that are unapologetically feminine and a stated wish that women style them against type.

Five pieces that show her hand

1. Kane Sweater in Mint Hydrangea Intarsia on Camel, $1,280

A single hydrangea head knitted in intarsia across a camel alpaca-blend sweater. The drawing is the garment; nothing else is happening, and nothing else needs to.

2. Dara Shirt in Lingerie Roses Red on Cream, $990

Her Lingerie Roses, red on cream, on a 94 percent silk shirt cut short and close with a classic collar. The print that appears on the socks, the gloves, a scarf and a cardigan this season, in its purest form.

3. Dress Lina in Morning Mist and Mocha, $1,390

A mocha bustier column with a mint bow the size of the bodice. The bow is the drawing here, and the colour pairing is the kind nobody else would try.

4. Wild Rose Brooch in Icy Pink, $740

An 18 cm silk rose embroidered by hand in India, small sculptural roses standing off the bloom with a pearl at each centre. The botanical drawing turned into an object.

5. Dress Dette in Rosebranches Red on Black, $1,610

Rosebranches, red on black, on a strapless midi with a structured bustier and a full skirt. Print and couture construction in one piece, which is the whole thesis.

Key facts

Charlotte de Geyter: creative director and co-founder of Bernadette Antwerp, founded 2018; graduate of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp.
Draws every print by hand, on paper and digitally; the house says the mood of each collection is set by her prints and colour.
Time with Simone Rocha before founding the label (The Gloss); a short spell in London after graduating (Liberty London).
Works with her mother Bernadette de Geyter, co-founder, creative consultant and former Ralph Lauren buyer.
Homeware and ceramics carry the same prints; a hotel Bernadette is the stated long-term ambition (Coveteur, 2024).

“Her artistic process begins with drawing- brought to life both on paper and in digital form. The mood of each collection is shaped through her prints and use of color, often inspired by the quiet, everyday beauty she finds in nature,” the About page says of Charlotte de Geyter.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the designer of Bernadette?

Charlotte de Geyter, a Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp graduate, is the creative director and draws every print. Her mother Bernadette de Geyter is co-founder and creative consultant.

Did Charlotte de Geyter work for Simone Rocha?

The Gloss reports that she did before founding Bernadette, and she has spoken of the Rocha family as an example of living a brand’s DNA. The house’s own About page does not name earlier employers.

Does Charlotte de Geyter draw the prints herself?

Yes. The house says her artistic process begins with drawing, on paper and in digital form, and she told SheerLuxe she painted hundreds of botanic drawings after moving back to Antwerp.

Is Bernadette de Geyter a designer?

She is a co-founder and full-time creative consultant with a buying background, including Ralph Lauren; Coveteur also describes her as a former knitwear designer. Charlotte is the creative director.

Where is the Bernadette studio?

In Antwerp, Belgium. The founders told Liberty London that the city’s creative community and its space and time shape how they work.

More Bernadette guides

Every Bernadette Antwerp page by Coveti’s fashion editor Gemma Deeks: Brands like Bernadette, Who is Bernadette Antwerp?, Is it a luxury brand?, History timeline, Price guide, Where to buy, Sale, Review, Size guide, The prints, Who wears it, Materials and care, New arrivals 2026, How to wear it, Resale, vintage and rental, Dresses, Wedding guest dresses, Skirts, Knitwear, Shirts and tops, Pyjamas and robes, Embroidered pieces, The George dress, Accessories, Brooches, Silk scarves.

Sources and method

Checked on 22 September 2026 by Gemma Deeks, fashion editor at Coveti. Product facts, the compositions, fits, model measurements, heel heights and countries of manufacture, are the brand’s own product-page text; counts, prices and price ranges are Coveti’s live catalogue on that date and move with stock; the house history and the wearers come from the brand’s own pages and the interviews listed below, each read on the date above. Where a claim could not be checked against one of these it was left out, and where the fitting room is giving its own advice the page says so.