About us

I'm Monique, mother of Chiara and Ilan, and for more than 35 years the woman behind Shangrila Fashion.

Fashion isn't where I started. After a short career as a secretary, I became a sales representative for costume jewellery and accessories. After the children were born, I became seriously ill and had to take cortisone for a whole year. The result was hard to miss: thirty extra kilos. So I went looking for clothes in which my new self felt beautiful, and I found the brand Nook. It was such a hit that other brands soon followed. That was the beginning of my life in fashion.

Opening my own shop was the obvious next step: I wanted to help people feel beautiful, in person. Shangrila Fashion opened on the Keyserlei in Antwerp and then moved a few more times within the city: Lombardenstraat, Vlaamse Kaai, Nationalestraat, Volkstraat. There was a burnout, a break, and a fresh start, because I missed the customers, the chats and the beaming faces far too much.

Today we've come home to Geel. From Molseweg 125 we run the webshop and I welcome customers by appointment in the showroom. In between, I also sell stock and collection pieces: showroom samples that leave at a discount. What hasn't changed: timeless fashion from special international labels, from small to very very big, chosen with the eye of someone who knows what it feels like to find nothing that fits.

Alongside the clothes there's my other passion: painting. You'll find my work here on the site under Art, and it can be viewed by appointment.

Drop by after giving me a heads-up, order online, or send me a message. I'm happy to help.

'I am grateful and happy that I can help so many others feel beautiful, despite all of society's prejudices.'

Monique

How it all started again: