Graduation Shows: AMFI Fashion Transit

Tuesday evening The Amsterdam Fashion Institute celebrated the 5^th anniversary of it’s graduation event. They organised a exhibition and a talk show and of course all graduation students were present at the World Fashion Centre to show their collections.

Most of these collections looked solid and well-made. Some people in the audience already said the AMFI students showed the best designs so far.

One thing that struck us was the fact that the students chose either very thin, transparent fabrics of heavy, thick ones. There was not a lot in between.

A few students really stood out with their work. One of them was Samira Algoe. She designed a menswear collection. Geometric fields were visible on her designs, remarkably colored in shades of pink, turquoise, grey and ultra-light yellow. Algoe’s pants and waistcoat were perfectly tailored. And for the fact that she even came up with a quilted coat she earns some extra points.

Another of our AMFI favorites was Roya Hesam. She used ultra-thin, airy, fabrics, which were sometimes partly transparent and other times gave away a lot of the models’ bodies. A pair of beautiful pleated pants and a brown dress with puff sleeves  were perfection. And although the clothes were very revealing, the models looked very elegant and sophisticated in them.

Merel de Jong, who actually kicked off the show, didn’t go for the easy way. She chose to mix metallics with thin fabrics throughout her collection. Therefore her clothes were a mix of stiff and smooth materials. She used white and silver, but also transparent red and copper. Apart from the fact that her clothes looked great, she even managed to design a few matching metallic accessories.

Floor Kolen closed the show. Her designs had lots of eyecatchers. First were the masks, second were the huge polka dots, third: the creative collars and last the stiff bodies Kolen let her models wear. She must have used some iron wire to let the clothes stay in shape. This collection was not the most wearable we’ve seen, but it surely showed creativity.

And last but not least, hats off to:

Daniella Hod, who really made a collection and was creative with shape and material.

Hilde Eijgenraam, for using prints when hardly anybody dared to do that.

Suzanne van Rooij, who came up with nice shapes and paid attention to detail.

The Best Of.. Resort Collections 2011

There’s no doubt you won’t be able to relax in the clothes from this year’s resort collections. All designers came up with comfy clothes which can easily be mixed and matched. It was all about airy fabrics, floor-sweeping designs and lots of accessories to finish the looks. And though showing your tummy is never very classy, this summer walking around in a hight waisted pair of pants and a bandeau top is the style.

Chanel
In May Karl Lagerfeld was the first to show his resort collection for Chanel. He turned the presentation into a big fashion event held in Saint-Tropez. All of his supermodels were there, including Georgia May Jagger en Crystal Renn. They wore flirty designs with colorful stripes (some red, pink, yellow and blue), ruffles, lace and embellishments. With knee boots, hats, large sunglasses and waistbelts Chanel provided everything for the jet-set life.

Diane von Furstenberg
With DVF’s new resort collection you could hit the beach some thirty days in a row and look splendid every time. There were so many good outfits to chill in; no wonder the models couldn’t keep their eyes off themselves in the mirror. DVF’s look were flirty and feminine and were 90 percent printed. Most lovely were her rompers and high-waisted shorts combined with blouses and jackets.

Lanvin
Elbaz’ clothes for Lanvin existed of much more fabric than those of the previous two brands. His models were fully dressed up in their trench coats, skirt suits and column gowns. We felt they could better be having tea with their friends on a nice terrace, instead of strolling around the beach in those luxurious looks. Still, the bathing suits, small sunglasses and swimming caps were supposed to give us a beach-feeling. The Lanvin resort girls looked nice, but the presentation didn’t breathe the relax feeling we love so much about resort collections.

Louis Vuitton
The LV resort collection was no surprise. Like in his Ready to Wear show Marc Jacobs worked the curvy fifties/sixties look. The floral prints, though, were a bit more colorful and seemed more appropriate for summer. Oversize chain necklaces, leather driving gloves, and bold, floppy hats— completed the LV summer feeling.

Marc Jacobs
Jacobs own line was all about (Chanel-like) tweed jackets and pastel colors. Some outfits had lots of fuss like embroideries and flowers, while others were more minimalistic and streamlined.

Michael Kors
His own travelling places were the inspiration of Kors’ resort collection. Therefore not all looks felt like summer. Instead, thick grey capes, long knitted sweaters and fur hats seemed more appropriate for a trip to Russia than a holiday on some tropical resort. Yet there were a few summer dresses and bathing suits too. There must be; Kors was on at least 35 business trips last year. His main resort colors were grey with a splash of peach.

Oscar de la Renta
Beautiful summer dresses and long evening gowns, that was what de la Renta’s resort collection was all about. There was no sign of the present minimalistic trend here. Oscar heavily embellished his designs with beads, ruffles, bows, layers and pleats. His floor sweeping evening gowns are maybe not so handy to pack, but they sure were perfection.

Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney didn’t give a one-way presentation. She let the models and the audience interact and in that way let her collection come to live. She gave us lace shorts, A-line dresses and tulip-shaped skirts and thus it was a all about showing the legs at McCartney.

Yves Saint Laurent
Stefano Pilati gave us some seventies for YSL. High-waisted trousers and sophisticated dresses. He used some black and white and a bit of pink and lilac. His long pants with bandeau top looked very elegant and the models’ classy headbands perfectly matched with that.

Thom Browne Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

The die-hard fashionpack already knew where Thom Browne was capable of. They’ve seen his shows from New York, for the Italian Moncler-label in Milan and his presentation at Firenze a few years ago. Browne’s shows are set up like a military operation, a huge set, models acting as a group on stage and all dressed alike.

So the set of of his first menswearshow in Paris was not surprising, but still overwhelming. The location was a large conference room at the official headquarters of the French Communist Party in Paris, designed by Oscar Niemeyer. The audience had to sit behinds the desks where party-members used to sit an debate about the cold war. As an American in Paris, the choice for the venue was – well – daring. Also because Browne kept pointing at historical ‘fights’ between the USA and USSR. For example the army of astronauts which opened the show by marching into the room. The models were hidden in the space-suits, and they all stepped out  at the same time dressed identically.

Their dress-code was boyish, and typical Thom Browne: a tight jacket with shorts, socks and brogues. They came in checks, blue, black, khaki, stripes or decorated with little bows, some had a flash of sequins. Eye-catching were the knee-high socks, the gold-frosted lips and the gold-colored mirroring sunglasses. Browne made himself clear.

Streetfashion Paris Menswear SS2011 Day 4

What are you wearing during the coming fashionweeks? Your Givenchy-slippers, your latest Comme des Garcons-bermuda or that vintage Prada? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: menswear fashionweek in Paris.

Lanvin Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

No matter what the Lanvin man is doing – working, hiking, travelling, dating – you name it – he looks stylish and chic. But very low profile. “It’s active clothing in a sartorial environment, but not sportswear,” said Ossendrijver in an interview. “Everything is in movement – almost aerodynamic.”

The show started with slim fitted, tailored jackets with visible seams. The fabrics looked light and modern in one way but also used and almost antique the other way. Like the jackets in a reworked and remixed tapestry-print. There were lots of knitted stuff, very thin, sometimes sheer – like biker shorts, tank tops and leggings. New were the sneaker/sandal hybrids.

It was the mix of rich fabrics and sport-references that made this collection very contemporary and wearable The accessories just added the right dose of artsy stuff as did some colors like blue, yellow and red.

Paul Smith Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

Even for fashionista’s it’s a hot day today. So at Paul Smith the fashion crowd waiting for the show got handed out free magnums! A nice gesture and a perfect way to set the mood right for the show.

A graphic planetarium print formed the background of the catwalk show. Long haired models came on stage as the show started. Their clothing style resembled that of a rock star. Their wardrobe existed of pants with small legs and shirts with busy cosmos prints. Their shirts were loose and were combined with suit jackets or leather jackets. Some of the endings of the shirt’s collars could be tied into a bow.

Unlike we’re used to at Paul Smith the prints didn’t have bright colors. In stead they were a mix of pastels and other faded shades. The tight pants had tiny stars on them. The items without prints were all beige, denim blue, red, black or deep blue.

The styling of the show looked great and was a perfect way for Paul Smith to show off some stuff from his other lines: accessories and shoes. He did a great job, cause the round hats, necklaces, sunglasses, leather bags, backpacks and ankle-boots worked very well together.

Hermès Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

The Hermès show was as quiet and luxurious as the label can be. It just simply doesn’t need to scream fashion. It whispers. But when you listen carefully it tells you all everything you should know about next season’s way of dressing: the white suits, the lightweight fabrics, the shorts, the honey-colors,  the sandals, the summer-leather and suede and an accent in an intense color. The modern touch was added by ‘hybrid’ clothing: a shirt with a blouson back or diagonal zip-closure.

Jackets were unlined, scarves were knotted around the neck and the pleated trousers looks casual but dressed. Tobacco brown and emerald-green spiced up the mineral-base palette.

Streetfashion Paris Menswear SS2011 Day 3

Which sunglasses are you wearing during the coming fashionweeks? Summer has finally arrived in Paris. So get out your vintage  Ray Ban, your latest Prada or even  your goggles!? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. We met Karl Lagerfeld at the streets of Paris outside Dior yesterday. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: menswear fashionweek in Paris.

Raf Simons Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

Get ready! Flared pants are back in fashion!

At least that’s what Raf Simons told us today at his show, with which he celebrated fifteenyears of fashion. Yet unlike the hippie flared models we’ve seen in fashion before, today’s flared pants were rather sophisticated. Combined with sleeveless blouses, waistcoats and ties they didn’t look so bad after all.  Simons shorts on the contrary were too tight and almost looked like leggings.

A clean white trenchcoat looked very stylish, as did the white blouses that followed. The many white looks were there for a reason; the collection was all about gender, sex, and sterility. So we saw many white, clinical looks and only a few collars.

‘Symbolic, emotional, extreme’, was how Simons described his collection. He emphasized the zippers of the outfits; they were highlighted through their colors: green, pink and orange and had bit zip pulls. A lot of them were placed on the back of the tops.

Apart from the wide legged trousers Raf Simons is your to-go-to man when it comes to perfectly tailored suits as well. A bunch of waisted black and navy suits formed a great ending of the show.

Now let’s wait and see how long it will take before the flared pants trend is picked up by the people.

 

Goodiebag!? Launch ELLE Beach magazine

Today Elle magazine launched an extra summer edition of the magazine, named Elle Beach. To celebrate this special edition Elle organised a big boat parade through the canals of Amsterdam. It ended up being one big party with loud music, lots of food and drinks, a disco bingo and the best weather possible. And on top of all that we received a great goodiebag at the end of the day…

Useful

A brand new edition of Elle Beach magazine

World Cup tights (produced by Elle magazine)

Lancaster – Hydrating Body Lotion – 125 ml

Elle Beach bikini

Lollys laundry – tassel scarf

Estimated Value: €80,-

Rating: 8

Next Page »