By

KESSEL, Belgium — Six years ago, when Ann Demeulemeester walked away from the fashion label she founded in 1985 — a house known for an ethereal, monochromatic aesthetic embodied by nymph-like models with penetrating stares and dark brows — speculation ensued.

What would she do next? Could the label, which she had so carefully cultivated to be the visual incarnation of a Patti Smith lyric, really go on without her?

It is not unusual for designers to step away from fashion — some burn too bright, crashing out broke or exhausted — but Ms. Demeulemeester’s case was unusual. She left something that was still succeeding — handing creative control to Sébastien Meunier — seemingly for no pressing reason other than urge.

It turns out, though, that she was not done with designing. She was simply looking for a new language. “I wanted to leave myself time to try another kind of life,” she said. “I wanted to be vulnerable again. To be starting out, finding something difficult.”