Dirk Van Saene is a fashion designer, artist and instructor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp.

Van Saene began selling his designs in his own Antwerp shop, Beauties and Heroes, in 1981. Two years after opening the shop, Van Saene won the gold medal at Belgium's prestigious Gouden Spoel contest. Four years later, he presented his collection in London as a member of the "Antwerp Six", along with Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Bikkembergs, Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten and Marina Yee. (http://www.ablogcuratedby.com/dirkvansaene/a-class-1981/)

Van Saene has enjoyed wide recognition, and is cited as a formative inspiration to a generation of younger designers including Veronique Branquinho and Bemard Wilhelm, Professors of Fashion at Vienna's Angewandte für Bildende Kunst. He maintains a small company and scale of production, distributed through a limited selection of shops worldwide.

In Ceramics, a 2009 collection of porcelain, wood and glass sculpture, Van Saene collaborated with craftsmen to produce a collection of one-off, handmade objects inspired by his collection of wooden masks from Mali.

Van Saene lives and works in Antwerp. In addition to designing collections under his name, he maintains the shop Walter, together with Walter van Beirendonck.