Jef Montes presents Velero

Jef Montes presented his third collection VELERO  in Amsterdam yesterday. Again, modern high tech fabrics and expressive silhouettes merged into a spectacular collection with a leading role for water and light.
For VELERO Jef Montes got inspired by the construction of sailing boats and the materials they are built with. Montes used fibres as glassfibre, nylon, carbon, silk wool, cotton and viscose. The silhouettes were based on the contours of ships and the way they were draped around the body symbolized the constant fight between nature and machine. The collection was a collaboration between various artists and product designers.  Jef Montes translated the work of artist Simone Albers to graphic colorblocks and into textile developed with  Textile Lab of the Museum for Textiles in Tilburg. At this lab he also developed a material build with four ‘layers’  nylon and cotton that reveals sailinpatterns once the light is projected. Product designer
Lennart Bras developed the material for shoes and the fabric that is used in the first look of the show is an abstract pattern of product designer Eva Bloemsma. The pattern was fixed into the fabric by a chemical process.
The show was followed by an exhibition.

Viktor&Rolf: the best of ready to wear

This morning the house of Viktor&Rolf announced via an exclusive story to WWD that it would stop creating and producing ready to wear after fall/winter 2015.
This is what WWD wrote:

“Viktor & Rolf are to halt ready-to-wear following the fall-winter 2015 season and concentrate on couture, fragrances and licensed businesses. Disclosing the development first to WWD, Dutch designers Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren said the decision was made in concert with majority shareholder OTB Group, the holding of Italian industrialist Renzo Rosso.
Rosso characterized the rtw shutdown as “a strategic decision to position the Viktor & Rolf brand in the highest luxury segment of fashion.”
It echoes last fall’s bombshell when French designer Jean Paul Gaultier said he would shutter rtw after a 38-year career to focus on high fashions and the perfume business it fuels, along with special projects.
A Viktor & Rolf spokeswoman said the designers would present and sell a final fall-winter 2015 women’s wear collection, but skip the runway during Paris Fashion Week, scheduled for March 3 to 11.
Viktor & Rolf ships its rtw collections for men and women to more than 100 specialty stores, and operates a freestanding store on Rue Saint Honoré in Paris, which is to go dark in early 2016.
“We feel a strong need to refocus on our artistic roots. We have always used fashion to communicate, it is our primary means of artistic expression,” Horsting said, lamenting that rtw — with its fast pace, deadlines and fierce competition — “started to feel creatively restricting. By letting go of it, we gain more time and freedom.”
“We are extremely excited to push the boundaries of our vision in new, unexpected territories,” Snoeren concurred.

The designers launched their brand in 1993, started showing couture in Paris in 1998, and began focusing on rtw in 2000. In 2005, they catapulted into the big league with the launch of Flowerbomb, their first women’s fragrance, in collaboration with L’Oréal.
“The decision to focus on haute couture is a strategic decision by the house of Viktor & Rolf to position the brand in the highest luxury segment of fashion,” a L’Oréal spokeswoman said on Tuesday. “We are confident that our strong collaboration with Viktor & Rolf will continue to see the launch of many successful fragrances.”
Viktor & Rolf showed five couture collections between January 1998 and July 2000, including the Atomic Bomb collection, featuring dramatic mushroom cloud-like cushioned necklines. For the Russian Doll show, the designers dressed model Maggie Rizer in 10 layers of clothes, merging fashion with performance art.
The majority of those pieces were sold to museums and institutions.
A men’s wear’s line, Viktor & Rolf Monsier, was introduced in 2003.
Despite this move into the mainstream, Viktor & Rolf maintained their reputation for unconventional catwalk presentations, many featuring live performances by actors and singers, including Tilda Swinton, Rufus Wainwright and Tori Amos.
OTB Spa invested in the brand in 2008, heralding what seemed to be a new stage in its development.

We’ve gathered the most memorable collections for you.

Highlights Paris Fashion Week Menswear FW2015

Since Amsterdam Fashion Week coincided with Paris menswear we had to prioritize. And now that you’ve been reading all about Amsterdam’s latest fashion we’d love to give you an update on some of the Paris Fashion Week highlights. Out of all the menswear shows we’ve filtered some remarkable collections and trends. We left out the regular pin stripe, tweed suit, checks kind of returning trends and focused on what felt new. So here they are, the highlights for fall/winter 2015. Some surprising, others expected, some sophisticated, others just bizarre.

Show those muscles (sleeveless)

Ann Demeulemeester, Maison Margiela, Dries van Noten, Raf Simons

(Fl)oral fixation

Comme des Garcons, Dior, McQueen, Dries van Noten

Orange is the new black

Givenchy, Kenzo, Paul Smith

Double up (sweater + turtle neck)

Hermes, Christophe Lemaire, Les Hommes

Look mom, no pants!

Thom Browne, Rick Owens

Ethnic touch

Walter van Beirendonck, Givenchy, Dries van Noten

Woolen jackets

Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, Junya Watanabe

Waistcoats

Dirk Bikkembergs, Maison Margiela, Raf Simons

Small bags (in surprising sizes)

Dirk Bikkembergs, Christophe Lemaire, Louis Vuitton

High waisted

Lanvin, Maison Margiela

Viktor&Rolf Haute Couture Catwalk Show SS2015 Paris

Viktor&Rolf’s Spring/Summer 2015 Haute Couture collection is inspired by the raw energy of Vincent van Gogh’s exuberant depiction of the rural countryside. Flowerprint A-line babydoll dresses paired with straw hats and flipflops form the basis for a collection of increasingly colourful and sculptural looks.

Spring/Summer 2015 Haute Couture is a surreal exploration of print: Flower petals sprout outwards and escape the garments, transforming 2D prints to 3D, and essentially bringing the flat surface to life.

The essence of the countryside is translated into unexpected, sculptural looks that combine abstract graphic volumes with organic elements. Straw hats, put together with a spontaneous touch, form a surreal nod to countryside living. They enhance the bucolic mood of the looks, ultimately merging with the shapes of the garments, creating a new organic unity where hat and dress become one. Sandals made in matching printed fabric complete the summer look.

All fabric is manufactured through an authentic batik inspired “wax-dyeing & block printing” technique by VLISCO in the Netherlands. This ensures an unique high quality print with craquelé indigo lines and intense vibrant colours on both sides of the cloth.

The mood of the collection is set with a musical injection of femininity from the theme of ‘Rosemary’s Baby’, which starts as a lullaby and grows into an eerie and mysterious vibe during the course of the show.

Art collector Han Nefkens, a longstanding collaborator of Viktor&Rolf acquired three pieces of the collection after the show debuted on January 28th on the catwalks of Paris Fashion Week. These three works will be donated to the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Their longstanding collaboration has led to the purchase or commissioning of pieces that are donated or given as a long term loan to the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen as part of the Han Nefkens Fashion on the Edge project.

Jan Taminiau Couture Presentation SS2015 Paris

During an imtimate presentation at the Residence of the Dutch Ambassador in Paris Jan Taminiau told his SS2015 couture story. A collection for which the talented designer shook things up a bit. His three models wore wigs (in red, black and blonde) and therefore looked outspoken. Like characters out a Marvel Comic Strip, Jan Taminiau’s source of inspiration for this collection named Marvelous. More than ever before Jan put the focus of his designs on the hips, waist, breasts, buttocks and shoulders, honouring those parts of the female body women are sometimes afraid to reveal. The dresses seemed to give the models an even better, very powerful posture and a touch of super heroin toughness. A split cape added to that effect. Yet no matter how rigid and tough some of the creations appeared, hours and hours of handwork were put into them. Like the case with some embroidered star and feather shaped applications, glass beads and shiny sequins. Feathers made out of unravelled fabric popped up as well, making a strapless evening gown feel classic and an orange cocktail number look unique. Two pairs of pants and a full on glitter bodysuit made their appearance. Other than that Jan only presented his audience with dresses (both cocktail and evening) as “the shape of a dress is one in which his ideas can be released to the fullest”. A warm color palette of shades like orange, copper, nude, red, yellow and mint green worked lovely with the gold colored setting of the Parisian residence. We’re curious to see which power women will end up wearing these designs. Fact is any woman wearing Jan Taminiau will always look like a superwoman. And who wouldn’t want ‘ Jan’ in a star shape embroidery written on her chest?

Ilja Visser Couture Catwalk Show SS2015 Paris

Telling the story of nature’s rotating dynamic TOURNAVOLTA is the name of Ilja Visser’s new couture collection. Inspired by the perfect balance between nature en life it contained the loveliest of green shades, from olive and moss to mint. Made from complex pattern designs had the most graphic materials and voluminous shapes. A mix between heavy and airy fabrics, a match of both casual and elegance styles. Still the show’s vibe was relaxed, the silhouette easy going (hands in the pockets). Yes, these were couture designs, yet those pieces were wearable enough for many occasions, making them accessible to a broader audience. A beautifully made collection a label like Ilja might just need to break through internationally. And for those who wonder, there were still some Gaga worthy pieces (we suggest a mint green dress with orange ribbon) in it.

II by Claes Iversen Catwalk Fashion Show MBFWA FW2015

Amsterdam Fashion Week truly saved one of the best designers till the end. On Monday evening Claes Iversen presented his FW2015/2016 collection as a closure of a week full of fashion on a catwalk decorated by ethnic rugs. The show was a mix between couture and ready to wear (II by Claes Iversen) and therefore included a lot of wearable looks next to some incredible, handcrafted pieces of art.

For his II By Claes Iversen collection Claes was inspired by Islandic saga’s, Nordic myths and fairytales. Influences (visible through patterns and fabrics developed by the designer himself)he mixed with inspiration form Yves Saint Laurents Russian Collection, resulting in a warm color palette and rich materials. Patchwork details could be seen on the eyecatchers of the show. Like the patchwork of a wild fox on a bonded sweatshirt. The most fragile looks decorated by embroidered flowers (which were the opening of the show) referred to elf’s as hairy teddy creations had us thinking of wild beasts.

The couture pieces had the same inspiration as a starting point. Rich materials, warm colors and lots of handcrafted pieces added to the folkloric feeling. Most materials, like lace combined with hand embroidered crystals and beads, were developed by Claes’ atelier. Coats and skirts with a fur feeling were actually made out of satin ribbons and woolen yarn. An absolute showstopper was an ivory colored dress/jacket with a fully embroidered body and structured sleeves made out of those ribbons. A similar look in blue had the same breathtaking effect. Not to mention the floor sweeping folkloric red dress worthy of a Nordic queen. And of course every editor in the room found her dream wedding dress by the time the final, jaw dropping look appeared.

Claes told the most wonderful fairytale. Now we’re all enchanted.

 

Dorhout Mees Catwalk Fashion Show MBFWA FW2015

On the closing night of Amsterdam Fashion Week Esther Dorhout Mees decided to do things differently. Not just a straightforward catwalk show, but the loveliest of settings. The show area all cozied up by hundreds of light bulbs, an orchestra in the back. Stages is the name of her ninth collection, for which Esther got inspired by declined and decayed circuses. Old, ruinous theaters in which applause can be heard as a far away echo against the worn out walls (translated through beautiful colored prints). Decline, velvet, broken concrete, handmade shoes; a collection of contrasts in both shape and form. Two of the many fascinating dresses had sheer tops and dip dyed knitted skirts. Another one had tons of deep blue velvet dots attached to it. Waists were extremely small, sleeves puffy, shoes towering high. The final four looks were made out of a stunning shiny fabric which made it possible to create 3D applications. ‘This moment, contains all moments’ – CS Lewis

Pretty Wild Lingerie Catwalk Fashion Show MBFWA FW2015

 

Our final day of fashion was a mixed one. Besides menswear and womenswear, shoe brand Shabbies and lingerie brand Pretty Wild Things presented their collections. Now lingerie might be less about seasons or trends, Pretty Wild Lingerie had us all on the edge of our seats. Looks were seductive and sensual, naturally. But also surprising, elegant and chic. True pieces of art, revealing the female body in the best possible way. Lots of lace, some glitter, a little lace up, some sheerness. Lingerie simply too beautiful not to show.

 

Evan Menswear Catwalk Fashion Show MBFWA FW2015

Only half way the show we figured it out; five twins walked the Eva catwalk show. The ten male models (with spray on masks and glitter hair) didn’t dress alike though. They wore a variation of looks made out of heavy winter materials (velvet, tweed, wool, fur). Plastic raincoats added some lightness, even displaying one of the models stomach through a sheer part. Dancers wearing masks came up and disappeared again as designer Evana Kuik said a little hi. Little Wild Illusion Machine.

 

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