Tanguy Ottomer is known as ‘the guide’ of Antwerp, or more often referred to as the ‘beroepsantwerpenaar’ (=Antwerp native by profession). Tanguy is a man with a self-invented job, in a way you can call him a designer, as it is his ambition to design guided tours.
Tanguy is an interesting man who always has a story you didn’t know about Antwerp. He’s a fulltime guide with many fields of interest, and a special interest in 20th century architecture. A guide for historical tours, fashion district tours, and Momu exhibitions, but also a personal shopper, photoshoot location hunter and author. In other words: he’s the walking and talking versatility.
We met up at the cosy Roscam at the Vrijdagsmarkt, Tanguy’s favourite bar as he literally lives above.
ILOVEBELGIUM
ILB – How did you come up with the idea of being a guide?
I chose to be a guide because I love history and old buildings, I ‘m a very nostalgic person. I fall in love easily with cities and I’m especially in love with Antwerp where I was born and raised.
I finished secondary school, and didn’t study anything after that, I ended up doing a little bit of everything. When I went to Berlin for a year, I noticed I missed Antwerp too much. It ‘s in Berlin I discovered that I wanted to make a book about Antwerp and be a guide.
ILB - What are your favourite buildings in Antwerp?
Central station is ‘waaw’ for many tourist, especially now they renovated it and made it bigger. When I meet someone from abroad, I always tell him or her to come by train from Zaventem to Antwerp.
The former Royal Palace at the shopping street Meir is really beautiful. I like it a lot because the Royal Palace has a really big history. Here you can buy chocolates in the shop of the famous chock-o-latier Dominique Persoone, and have a tea at the Café Impérial. Also the Bourla theatre and the Opera are buildings that will never go out of style.
ILB - When did you first begin to feel something for the fashion business?
I always loved fashion and fabrics. But I rolled into it by accident in a way. There was the Museum of Fashion Momu who asked me to be a guide for their exhibitions. And then there was Flanders Fashion Institute and Antwerp city that asked me to become a personal shopper. They launched this idea because it ‘s good for the image of Antwerp to have a personal shopper.
ILB - As a full time guide you must have amazing stories?
Most amazing tour… The thing that immediately pops up in my head is a strange story. When I was starting a tour, all of a sudden a woman got a heart attack. A very hectic moment, but luckily she survived.
What is amazing about this job, is that sometimes I have the privilege to meet up with important people. For example, I was a location hunter for a Mario Testino photoshoot. Walking down with him the streets of Antwerp was really amazing as he is a very inspiring person.
ILB - Do you know the places where the creative scene of Antwerp hangs out?
In this neighbourhood! They come in the Roscam often. You have the Momu here, so you see the designers and the designers ‘to be’.
ILB - And you as ‘beroepsantwerpenaar’, in what places you love to hang out in Antwerp?
For sure the Roscam, it is an easy-going nice place that feels like home. I really like the Renaissance restaurant; it gives me a New York kind of feeling. I like Marcel at the Van Schoonbekeplein, it is a beautiful space and a nice restaurant. Het Pelikaantje in the shadow of the cathedral is one of my favourite bars, it’s really tiny so when you stand at the bar you always start talking to someone. Here you can find the real in-crowd of Antwerp.
ILB - Who are your favourite Antwerp designers?
My favourite designer ‘ever’ is not from Antwerp , Stephan Schneider, he studied at the Academy and still lives here. I love his design: a mix of classic shapes with modern touches. I also like Raf Simons, who is now negation with Dior. A young designer who is really coming up is Cedric Jacquemin, FFI provided a platform for him at the London Fashion Week.
ILOVEBELGIUM
ILB - What is your number 2 favourite city in Belgium?
That would be Brussels, because it’s so real, with the positive and the negative. I love to book a weekend in Brussels.
ILOVEBELGIUM
ILB - Normally we end up asking why you love Belgium, but for you we’re adjusting our last question: Why do you love Antwerp?
Antwerp is a huge city in pocket size version. It’s something what I love about Antwerp and what no other city has. We have everything you find in big cities, and you can just walk from one end to another.
ILOVEBELGIUM
ILB – That is so true! Thank you very much for these interesting insights about the city of Antwerp.
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I LOVE BELGIUM
