Linda Valkeman Amsterdam Fashion Week fw2010

The winter collection of Linda Valkeman had some handmade materials mixed with futuristic shapes. We saw patchwork clothes with frayed ends and large visible seams. The models walked the runway in a slow pace wearing clog-like shoes. Linda Valkeman used diverse colors like faded blue and green.

Linda Valkeman (25) is a graduate of School of Arts in Utrecht and followed the master-program at the Fashion Institute Arnhem. At her website she tells more about herself in a short, telegram-like way. She is a night-reveller, a huge fan of Maison Margiela, born blond, lives in structured chaos, is inventive, fashionated by timelessness and searching for a clash. And she likes  vintage, the 20-ties, new york, simplicity and deadlines. Well, enough things a good designer needs to get somewhere.

Amsterdam Fashion Week: openingssoiree 2010

Yesterday the Amsterdam International Fashion Week started off with the openingssoiree. In between the fashion shows of Jan Taminiau and Mattijs we spotted some interesting people. Although the bites were lacking everyone was having a blast.

Backstage at Jan Taminiau fw2010

Yesterday Jan Taminiau gave a great show. Just before the show we went backstage. Here are some backstage impressions.

Mattijs Amsterdam Fashion Week fw2010

Tonight we saw what Mattijs was all about. His fashion show contained some qualitative, wearable fashion items.

Just as in his latest collection he presented a lot of pleated designs, like a black and a red pleated dress combined with golden belts and bracelets. Other eye-catching details were ruffles and frayed ends with long threads hanging at the bottom of some dresses.

We saw a fur balloon-shaped skirt and tops with puffy sleeves. The models wore snake leather shoes.
Mattijs used crazy color combinations like turquoise with pink. And again we saw a lot of metallic and shiny fabrics.

Jan Taminiau Amsterdam Fashion Week fw2010

Jan Taminiau’s day couldn’t be better.  In the afternoon he heard Vogue Italia was interested in his collection and in the evening he gave a spectacular fashion show.

The fall/winter collection he presented was shiny and sparkly and the clothes had some amazing shapes and silhouettes.

He used gold, light blue, pink and nudes for his designs. His creations had ruffles, sequins and fans. They had a lot of volume and the shoulders were accentuated in many different ways.

The models wore matching headbands/scarfs and walked in super high shoes (without heels). They showed some crazy poses at the end of the runway.

The last two dresses of Jan Taminiau’s show both had big veils. His show ended with his muse wearing an ivory colored wedding dress.

The reactions from the audience were very positive and now we’ve seen the whole show we really understand why Vogue is so interested. Congrats on a great show Jan!

Armani Privé Haute Couture Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

It was obvious that Giorgio Armani’s haute couturecollection was all about the moon. It was in the colors – from midnight blue to moon-white – in the buttons and closures, in the rounded silhouette, in the curvy cutting and in the embroideries made to look like craters of the moon. For evening there were sparkling silver beading at dresses, pale metallic pinks and greens and many shiny sequins.

Surely there are some designs we will see again during the Oscar Awards. Especially the long, figure-narrowing dresses in black with white or cream.

Christian Dior Haute Couture Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

Elegant amazones walked the small runway at the first floor of the Christian Dior store in Paris. Kylie Minogue was sitting front row, as was Dita von Teese and Tavi, the 13 year old fashionblogger from Chicago.

John Galliano took a picture of couturier Charles James as his inspiration for the ss2010 haute couture-collection. And it was a sensory overload as usual. This time Galliano’s researchtrip went to the Metropolitan Museum where the gowns of Charles James caught his eye. There he saw a  picture of the designer – who influenced Monsieur Dior to come up with the New Look – with an image of women riding sidesaddle in the backround. The result is a collection full of riding skirts with nip-waisted jackets, frothy cocktail dresses and satin ballgowns. Colors went from black, white an red to purple, orange, green and pastelshades.

The refined elegance, the strong women and the longer skirts and accent at the waist will influence a whole new silhouette for the coming seasons.

Come back of Thimister

Josephus Thimister (47), from Dutch origins and an promising talent of the Belgian school in the late nineties –  made a come back last sunday with a self financed haute couture collection.

Bloodshed and militairia were the two themes he wove into his haute couturecollection for fall 2010. Thimister took his inspiration from a photograph of Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, Emperor Nicholas II’s murdered 13-year-old son, who was routinely dressed in uniform as a boy. The result was a collection men’s and womenswear mixing romanticism (in red, white, army-green) with a raw-edged minimalism: tank tops and jodhpurs splattered with fake-blood, officer’s jackets, narrow dresses, army cats and jumpsuits. Thimister told style.com he’d used resonances from World War I because “what happened then was the start of modernism: war, sorrow, destruction we’re still dealing with now. And the lack of creativity and spirituality”.

Do you want to know more about Thimister? Read this interview at style.com: www.style.com/stylefile/2009/12/josephus-thimister-has-nothing-to-lose/

Preview Jan Taminiau Couture

Yesterday Jan Taminiau presented his couturecollection in Paris. Tomorrow he will officially open the Amsterdam International Fashionweek with his collection Duality. These are the thoughts of the designer regarding his collection:

“‘Duality’ is based on thoughts of a duel and of duality. A duel between different cultural traditions, heritage and innovation. It is a noble duel, almost dancelike as in fencing. With a duality of seduction, unveiling and hiding.

The dresses are comprised of a duel between two different forms and a duel between different worlds. The antique Chinese fabric is used for the most dominant, sculptural form and is placed in contrast with a more classical silhouette. The dialogue also takes places between the almost organic substance of the heavily embroidered fabric with paillettes and the sensitivity of the antique hand woven fabric.

The sculptural forms can be interpreted as a shield -or protection- for battle, but at the same time they offer intimacy, play their role in a game of concealing and seduction.”

Streetfashion Paris fw2010

What are you wearing during the Menswear Fashionweek? Your Burberry-boots, your latest D&G-vest or that vintage YSL? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashion-weeks we refresh our streetwear-category regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: Paris.

Pictures: Muriel Schouten

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