Dagmar Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

Today Swedish label Dagmar showed for the first time during Amsterdam Fashion Week. Dagmar was founded in 2005 by three Swedish sisters: Kristina, Karin and Sofia. They all had their experience in fashion and decided to start a young, high end fashion brand.

Dagmar’ clothes usually are inspired by the Art Deco period of the twenties/thirties. Moving images, architecture, art, music and dance often are an inspiration for the collections too.

The Dagmar summer collection of today was trendy and wearable and showed diverse styles. The handmade knitwear was one of the strongest aspects of the collection, it came by in a mix of gold, black, grey and yellow. Another thing the Swedish sisters proved to be very good at were the masculine perfectly tailored jackets with shoulder pads. Especially the jacket of a beige colored suit looked stunning!

Dagmar’s pants were loose and were very elastic. And though elastic fabrics usually aren’t very appropriate to leave the house in, Dagmar showed some great examples in which you can do that.

A few tops with lots of texture were less impressive, yet the printed dresses at the end made up for that. The last look was not the strongest of the show; a thick white top combined with an airy pink skirt.

Overall Dagmar showed some great style and definitely has potential in the Netherlands. The sister’s muse, grandmother Dagmar, can be proud of her three granddaughters.

Front Row MC by Monique Collignon Catwalk Fashion Show

The front row of MC by Monique Collignon was very…ehh..remarkable.. There were all kinds of celebs we didn’t see yet at other fashion shows. A plastic surgeon and one of his most famous clients, a tv host and a writer. Check it out!

Hunkemöller Catwalk Fashion Show FW2011

Like Monique Collignon Hunkemöller is not the typical Amsterdam Fashion Week show, but there’s nothing bad to say about the lingerie an sich. The new collection ‘Women in bloom’ had some good pieces in it. The models looked lovely and walked the runway very elegantly, winking and smiling at the audience on the way.

The collection for next winter formed a good mix of romance, temptation and fantasy. Of course we know Hunkemöller makes great lingerie, but the brand never takes itself too seriously. Therefore the items of the show had playful accents.

The first few looks were soft, romantic; lots of nudes, dreamy shades and flowers. Lace little sleeves, satin bows and richly styled backs completed the looks. After that the models wore some Art Work pieces with more color (wintery green) and materials like satin, lace and veil. The Shapewear collection was made out of state of the art fabrics and high tech designs. It had soft pink and black shades. The Glamour serie had feminine shapes and high waisted pants. The show was ended by a model wearing a body with strass beads and the solid contours of a skirt. Not really fashion, but sure fun to watch!

MC by Monique Collignon Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

Though Monique Collignon is not really the kind of designer you’d expect at the Amsterdam Fashion Week. She was there to show her new collection of the line MC by Monique Collignon.

There was a whole different fashion crowd then we’re used to at AIFW-shows. Mostly people with money and hardly any journalists attended the show. They had a great time.

The new line was classy with a fun twist. A black jumpsuit, a turquoise top and a white pair of pants all had silver embellishments. And there were dresses with ruffles, lace and golden belts.

Shades of black, beige and white alternated each other in the show and towards the end Collignon also added a few animal prints one some airy summer tops and dresses. A black leather lady’s suit appeared almost Gothic, while a gray/silver one with a white belt worn over it, looked stunning.

Not everything breathed as much fashion as it was supposed to. Yet there were some good pieces. It was also nice that, for a change, the models walked the runway in a confident smooth way, instead of stumbling towards the end.

And most important: the clothes will definitely appeal to the Collignon woman. There’s no doubt she won’t be able to find a good work-/party outfit in this collection.

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.

Fashion Focus: all about Alexander Wang

 

 

 

Name of the brand: Alexander Wang

Name(s ) of the designer(s):  Alexander Wang

About the designer(s):  Alexander Wang (1984) was born and raised in San Francisco. He moved to New York City at the age of eighteen to try his hand at designing clothes. He studied one year at Parsos and did an internship at Teen Vogue. Then he decided to quit school and launched his first collection. It was immediately very well received. Everyone loved his perfectly crafted cashmere sweaters.

Start of the brand: 2007

First collection: spring 2007

The Wang woman: has a streetchic style and likes to mix and match

Wang women: Rachel Bilson, Mischa Barton, Lindsay Lohan, Erin Wasson, Megan Fox, Mary-Kate Olsen, Nicole Richie and Gwyneth Paltrow

The clothes are: edgy, masculine, well taillored, casual, cool, sexy vs androgyny, French chic and rock grunge. They are always finished with a slouchy rolled-out-of-bed edge.

Type of clothes: Alexander Wang makes a full range of ready to wear pieces, from distressed boyfriend jeans and shrunken vests to, of course, covetable cozy cardigans. The inspiration comes from the street and thus the clothes have a downtown feeling.

Signature: model-off-duty style

Collaborations: Alexander Wang for Keds (Fall 2008), Alexander Wang for Uniqlo, capsule collection (May 2008).

Quotes:

• ‘There are pros and cons to starting so young. In the beginning, people said, ‘I’ve never heard of this person, he’s what, 21?’. There are stereotypes, but the greatest satisfaction has been proving them wrong.’
• I didn’t have any investors. My mum and I, my sister-in-law and my brother, we’re the four partners”
• It’s all those quirky people you just bump into that inspire me the most.’
• “When I started out, I wanted to pick one familiar item that evoked luxury—cashmere was perfect. But moving forward, I want to make it more of a lifestyle brand. I kind of want to be the new Theory.”

Awards: he won the CDFA Fashion Fund, which was 20.000 USD.

Extra:
Wang’s favorite outfit is skinny jeans, T-shirt and a backpack
He has a simple belief that has taken him very far: ‘I’m in New York City – I can do anything I put my heart to.’
He got an internship at Marc Jacobs
He always keeps in mind an advice Marc Jacobs gave to him: ‘Give them something that’s going to take time to sink in. By the time they get it, change it again – you’ve got to keep them guessing!’
He showed his first collection to an editor at Teen Vogue. She loved it
He was already cutting frocks at the age of fifteen
He named one of his shoe designs after Dutch Model Mirte Maas
(The pictures you see are of the fall/winter 2010/2011 collection)

Streetstyle vs. Catwalk fashion

Each fashion season we all get very much inspired by the collections presented on the catwalk. After New York, London, Milan and Paris we have new creative ideas and we have picked up the trends we will probably be wearing a season later. So there’s no doubt fashion designers create trends or at least a certain style.

Yet it’s also true that a big part of  fashion starts on the street. What people wear in their daily lives is a starting point for fashion too. Whether it’s your grandma walking her dog in a floral printed skirt, your father in one of his suits or your neighbour is a pair of old school jeans. Every kind of streetwear can be the beginning of a fashion trend.

During the fashion weeks our team always spots the most fashionable people outside the fashion shows. They wear clothes not everyone dares to wear. Their streetstyle is often bright-colored, crazy-shaped and remarkably printed. Not to mention their shoes and accessories.

To show you that streetwear can be an inspiration for fashion designers we selected six outfits that were seen in the streets as well as on the runway.

The fashion we’re gonna see this summer is very lady-like and romantic. Pastel shades and ruffles therefore are unmissable in your summer wardrobe. In need of inspiration? The Valentino show has some great ruffle examples.

Victoria Beckham was one of the first who started wearing bleached denim again last year. And it proves she was right about this denim trend.

Milla Jovovich ones again showed the popularity of the navy trend. Anna dello Russo worked a splendid (Balmain) jacket with silver embellishments (as seen at Anna Sui). And one of the girls we spotted on the street, showed she had guts with a pair of checked pants (which might just be inspired by the Watanabe show that was full of the black and white checked print).

And by the way… Did you know that olive green (Celine) can look this great?

Streetstyle vs. Catwalk fashion

Each fashion season we all get very much inspired by the collections presented on the catwalk. After New York, London, Milan and Paris we have new creative ideas and we have picked up the trends we will probably be wearing a season later. So there’s no doubt fashion designers create trends or at least a certain style.

Yet it’s also true that a big part of  fashion starts on the street. What people wear in their daily lives is a starting point for fashion too. Whether it’s your grandma walking her dog in a floral printed skirt, your father in one of his suits or your neighbour is a pair of old school jeans. Every kind of streetwear can be the beginning of a fashion trend.

During the fashion weeks our team always spots the most fashionable people outside the fashion shows. They wear clothes not everyone dares to wear. Their streetstyle is often bright-colored, crazy-shaped and remarkably printed. Not to mention their shoes and accessories.

To show you that streetwear can be an inspiration for fashion designers we selected six outfits that were seen in the streets as well as on the runway.

The leopard print (Paul Smith) has been a huge hit for many seasons. No wonder we still saw it on the runway and on the street. Yet the fact that snake prints are taking over was already visible in the streetstyle as well. A snake-printed coat (seen at Pucci) seems to be the new must-have of the season.

Another popular trend: ruffles. You can chose for the plain ones, but as we saw at Valentino big floral details can be very cool too. And as Balmain showed: you can never go wrong with a pair of skinny pants and a tight, shoulder accentuated jacket.

spring is in the air #9

Time for some bare legs, beautiful shoes and an African touch. Dries van Noten mixed French elegance with tribal influences. Great for spring!

Streetstyle vs. Catwalk fashion

Each fashion season we all get very much inspired by the collections presented on the catwalk. After New York, London, Milan and Paris we have new creative ideas and we have picked up the trends we will probably be wearing a season later. So there’s no doubt fashion designers create trends or at least a certain style.

Yet it’s also true that a big part of  fashion starts on the street. What people wear in their daily lives is a starting point for fashion too. Whether it’s your grandma walking her dog in a floral printed skirt, your father in one of his suits or your neighbour is a pair of old school jeans. Every kind of streetwear can be the beginning of a fashion trend.

During the fashion weeks our team always spots the most fashionable people outside the fashion shows. They wear clothes not everyone dares to wear. Their streetstyle is often bright-colored, crazy-shaped and remarkably printed. Not to mention their shoes and accessories.

To show you that streetwear can be an inspiration for fashion designers we selected six outfits that were seen in the streets as well as on the runway.

The navy theme was a big inspiration for catwalk fashion and streetstyle. Next to the blue and white we could spot a lot of red and white stripes. Anna Sui used the Tartan check in one of her outfits; a comparable blue check could be seen on the streets. For the summer of 2010 Iceberg and Jeremy Scott were inspired by Mickey Mouse (mostly his ears). One of the fashionista’s we spotted also proved to be a fan of the Disney character. And if you are planning to buy any fur these season, it seems hairy blue is the style you should be going for….

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