SIS by Spijkers en Spijkers Frontrow Amsterdam FW2012

It was crowded at the last show of a busy second Amsterdam Fashion Week day. Check out the front row of the SIS by Spijkers en Spijkers fashion show!

AFW FW2012 LAB-Show: Winde Rienstra & Marije de Haan

The last LAB- shows of the day.  It was up to Marije de Haan en Winde Rienstra to close it down this thursday night. And we have to say, a great closure it was. Two totally different collections, but both with some stunning pieces.

Marije de Haan
Contrast seems to be the keyword in the work of this young designer. And it shows in every element, from A to Z. Starting with her sources of inspiration: she explores the world of people that seems to be the most distant from hers: criminals. Already  during her time at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague, where she graduated in june 2010,  she was fascinated by the obscure side of life, searching through police documents. And she did so for this collection.  ‘I don’t know why it fascinates me that much, maybe it’s because it’s a world so different from mine, which makes it very interesting’, she tells.

For this show it was American criminal Black Bart that inspired her. She takes us back to 1877, when he was one of the most famous robbers in America. Black Bart was familiar for the notes he left after every robbery. But is was especially his style of clothes that got her. Because no matter what, he was always dressed properly, wearing a three- piece suit and a bowler hat. But to keep anonymous he always wore something under his bowler that covered his face. And that she translated in some extravagant headpieces, like a blouse worn as a huge scarf covering a models face or a huge collar raised until the eyebrows. We also saw the classic menswear suit, but in a rough way. Like a leather pea coat or a denim blouse.  And you must have noticed there were real man walking down the runway, among which Ferry van der Nat. ‘Yes, I used older men as models, because they have this typical faces which suits so well with the story.’

Winde Rienstra
Graduated for Fashion Design in 2009 at the School of Arts in Utrecht, Winde Rienstra made a huge leap forward in the world of fashion with here strong, architectural shapes. As one of the few designers to promote slow fashion, she ended up as one of the three finalists in the Green Fashion Competition last year. ‘The environment is very important to me and I’ve always been eco- friendly in some ways.’ But she must admit it’s sometimes hard to find some good, eco- friendly fabrics for her designs.’

Today she showed here for the second time with an outstanding collection that made some people even speechless. The collection, based on a painting from Dutch painter J.C. van Schagen, was a perfect combination between strong and soft, feminine elements. Just the way she wanted it to be. ‘To give it that feminine touch is really important to me. I like feminine clothes, I wear only skirts myself too. I never wear trousers. And it’s also really nice to see how the hard and soft elements intensify each other.’ But it was also the strong 3D- effect that made this painting so special to her. ‘The light that falls on the painting determines the shapes and 3D- effects you see. So it changes all the time, which is so interesting.’ She translated that in big, sculptural 3D- pieces and all made from natural fabrics like silk, cardboard and wood. Like a cubist maxi-skirt made from silk or huge cardboard plateau shoes, which made it very difficult for the models to walk. According to the loud applause after the show this is probably not the last we will hear from this young talent.

Elise Kim Catwalk Fashion Show Amsterdam FW2012

Vietnamese designer Elise Kim made her Amsterdam Fashion Week debut on Thursday night. Sponsored by Dutch magazine Grazia she presented her collection Epiphenomenon (part 1 of a trilogy).

The show was all about the moment we start te fall asleep. A surreal abstraction of the moment we loose control of certain securities. It was in the music, the designs, the colors and the styling.

Kim showed white suits, dresses and coats with beautiful fur details on the sleeves and shoulders. Especially the mix of light transparent fabrics  (organza, silk) and the more heavy, winter-y materials (leather and wool) made the designs unique.

On long, slim and feminine designs the color palette ranged from white and nude to black and deep blue. And the added embroidered sequins and self-designed print made the looks extra special.

It was a strong collection and Elise probably made a good impression on many of the Amsterdam Fashion Week visitors.  We can’t wait to see what she has in stores for us the next two collection (also part of the trilogy).

 

Backstage at AFW FW2012 Individuals

Take a look backstage at the Individuals-show which was dark and grungy. The students of the Amsterdam Fashion Institute got inspired by today’s world crisis, with protest-movements like Occupy. Functionality and survival are the main factor in this collection. The styling, accessoiries and hair/make-up tell it all.

Elise Kim Front Row Catwalk Fashion Show FW2012

Curious who were sitting front row at Elise Kim’s show? Check out our front row pics!

 

Individuals Front Row Amsterdam FW2012

Even though Individuals presented their new collection in the afternoon, the room was fully packed. Check out who were there to support the young and talented designers.

It’s All in the Family: Sjaak Hullekes

This edition of Amsterdam Fashion Week we focus at designers and their biggest supporters: their family. Where would they be without their mom, dad, brother(s), sister(s)and or grandma’s? They help finishing their designs, they drive the car, they cheer them up and cry emotional tears. The second family we would like to present is Sjaak Hullekes & partner Sebastiaan Kramer and their large group of family-members. Meet Sjaaks relatives brother Bram & Freek, sisters Floor & Evelien, father Maarten and mother Mirjam; Sebastian’s family are big supporters as well, especially his brothers Benjamin, Jonathan and Gideon. Plus many others 😉

Goodiebag!? Elise Kim Catwalk Fashion Show Amsterdam FW2012

At the Elise Kim fashion show, sponsored by Grazia, we received a VIP goodiebag.

It contained:

Elizabeth Arden – Eight Hour cream (30 ml)

Lavazza coffee sample

Redken – Rough paste

Twiet Magazine

A Paperblanks diary

Spam

Belvedere Vodka folder

Swarovski bag with pen, bracelet, folder and flyer

Estimated Value: 25

Value: 7

 

AFW FW2012 LAB-Show: Furansu & Nieuw Jurk

During the third LAB- show it was time for fashion labels Nieuw Jurk and Furansu to show their collections.

Nieuw Jurk
It’s not easy these days, especially during this financial crisis, to work in the cultural area. But we have to make the best of it and support it the best we can, must designer Esther Meijer has thought. The designer graduated in 2004 from ArtEZ in Arnhem and showing here for the first time, is not pessimistic at all these times although she’s also struggling sometimes starting her new label. ‘I’m an optimistic person and although the difficulties these days, with this collection I want to show in a humorous way that you can make it work.’

Her current collection is named Krisis. To finance the collection she came up with the idea to use crowdfunding. And with success. The label raised half of their money via their website and half by subsidies. Although the sober name of this collection,  she showed very colorful pieces. All unisex, her trademark, and multi- functional.  ‘You can wear all these clothes in many ways. With some you can zip off the sleeves, others are reversible. And it’s for both men and women, very androgyn. Just like myself.’  She used different fierce hues and fabrics, like the body-con lycra dresses with some cut outs or patches on places that accentuate the shapes of the body. And not just patches, if you take a good look, you see these round patches form the eyes of a smiley face, happy or sad. It’s up to you what you make of it.

Furansu
Also showing for the first time at the Amsterdam Fashion Week is knitwear label Furansu. The two young Chinese designers behind the label, Annie Ching and Kay Lai, have known each other for years but have been working together since 2010. Both studied fashion across the world, he in the US and she in the Netherlands, but two years ago they, both graduated by the time,  decided to join forces. And it worked out really well. Their label is known for their well executed, timeless knitwear but always with a contemporary edge. ‘I like knitwear so much because I like to work with a lot of different fabrics and textures. They way it looks and feels is very characteristic’, Annie says.

Today they showed a collection based on German dancer Pina Bausch, tells Annie. ‘I saw a picture of her and got a lot of inspiration. In her way of dancing and expressing you see a lot of interesting contradictions and the one that got me the most was the one between strong and feminine. And these things we also used in our current collection.’ It resulted in some heavy knitwear but with soft, feminine elements. Like the long, knitted dress with the transparent sleeves. Or a dark blue jumper revised with a plastic topcoat in the front. ‘We like to use different twists in our clothes.’

Ado Les Scents Front Row Catwalk Fashion Show Amsterdam FW2012

Are you curious who were present at the Ado Les Scents show? Check out our front row pics!

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