ANN DEMEULEMEESTER is leaving her eponymous label. The designer - who established her brand in 1985 - announced news with a PDF of a handwritten letter this afternoon.

"A new time is coming both for my personal life and the brand Ann Demeulemeester," she wrote, before adding that the brand now has "its own identity and legacy that is able to continue growing without me".

The men's and women's autumn/winter 2013 collections will be shown together on February 27 in Paris. Having studied at Antwerp's Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1981, she is known as one of the Antwerp Six - a group of pioneering designers that also included Dries Van Noten and Dirk Bikkembergs.

She has not confirmed what her next step will be, or her reason for leaving. The brand owner, entrepreneur Anne Chapelle, said that there were no plans to hire a successor at this stage.

"There is a full team ready in the house, trained by Ann over many years. Nothing will change," Chapelle told WWD.

Read more: Ann Demeulemeester Spring/Summer 2014 Ready-To-Wear