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.

 

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.

 

Shabbies Catwalk Fashion Show MBFWA FW2015

Shabbies is celebrating it’s tenth anniversary this year. Every reason to hold a grand catwalk show (Shabbies second collaboration with the Amsterdam Fashion Week) and name it The Silver Edition. All the brand’s highlights came by on a specially built catwalk. High enough to have all eyes on the shoes, divided into four elements (fire, water, air, earth). Pumps, flats and boots in plastic, leather and, naturally, a special silver edition. Harmony of Elements. There were bags and gloves to match, fur stolas to go. Clothes were subsidiary, just plain white shirt dresses. A logical move, ’cause in the right shoes a girl can conquer the world.

 

Smaranda Almasan Catwalk Fashion Show MBFWA FW2015

Romanian designer Smaranda Almasan expierenced her AFW debut on Sunday evening. A colorful introduction to conclude the forth day of fashion. Besides color looks were all about layering. Different materials in contrasting poppy colors, worn on top of each other created a unique look. A skirt suit, a duo colored dress, a boxy top worn over a turtle neck and a range of thick woolen coats. A short sleeved coat in shades of orange, black, lilac and camel almost had a Mondrian feeling to it. Small dots, cut out symbol and embroideries gave the outfits an extra playful touch. Although it’ll probably be a while before the guys start rocking duo colored skirts and peplum like tops Smaranda’s clothes are meant to be worn by both men and women. Colorful, dynamic, fantastic!

Dennis Diem Catwalk Fashion Show MBFWA FW2015

A little later than scheduled a singer high above the audience started singing to us from high up on half a moon. ‘Trouble in paradise’ were the words of the song as Dennis Diem’s inspiration too had everything to do with paradise. Inspired by the story of Lilith, Adam’s wife even before Eva, Dennis presented us a feminine yet powerful collection. Fifties silhouettes (reminiscent of the perfect housewife) as well as menswear pants with loose legs, high waists and tuxedo jackets in black and white. Circle skits from silk gazar and woolen crêpe. Floor sweeping, body hugging evening gowns with crop tops in black and deep red produced from satin duchesse. Designs made out of green iridescent beetle shields formed the most astonishing pieces of the collection. As small necklaces, embroidered flowers (from nacre), elegant nude colored, towering high shoes and old Hollywood glam hairdos completed the paradise picture. Truly worth the wait.

MBFWA, This was day 3

Day 3 of MBFWA is a fact. We look back to some great shows like Maison the Faux, SchuellerdeWaal and Sis by Spijkers & Spijkers.

Supertrash Catwalk Fashion Show Amsterdam FW2015

Like every season the closer we got to Saturday the more SuperTrash became the talk of the town. Leave it up to Olcay Gulsen to create a fashion buzz. For tonight’s show she opted for a location at which no one had ever held a fashion show before; the newly built, underground cycling tunnel at Amsterdam’s Central Station, which is still to be opened. In stead of inviting thousands of guests, like she did at her previous shows, she invited five hundred. Plus she arranged for the biggest Dutch bloggers to dress up in SuperTrash and attend the show as special front row guests. There were selfie sticks on every seat as well as a batches of honor with everyone’s initials on it. Just a few things to get the fashion buzz going..

The SuperTrash FW designs were all about powerful women, modern pioneers and basically formed an ode to the empowerment of femininity. Outfits, divided into three themes; Style Scout, Wo-Man and Style Revolution, to let every woman be the best version of herself. Like she would be in a white tuxedo, a leather pencil skirt, a floor sweeping printed gown, a lace dress or a colored woolen overcoat. Outfits in black, white, camel and touches of red worked their magic on the sixty meter long red carpet catwalk. The models wearing those looked strong and seductive, while celebrating their femininity. Like Olcay when she appeared sporting the most dazzling suit. A suit well worthy of the ST after party in one of Amsterdam’s coolest hotels, where we were all heading. Time for some drinks and dance moves. After all, this was the evening we’d been looking forward to all week. Be bold, be yourself, be a Modern Pioneer.

SIS by Spijkers en Spijkers Catwalk Fashion Show MBFWA FW2015

MetamorphoSIS was the name of today’s SIS collection. It referred to the title of a Kafka novel in which the main character wakes up one morning as a giant bug. Other stories about bugs too inspired Truus and Riet to takes us on a journey to a world of electronic frames and robot like insects. A far cry from their previous inspirations, women like Josephine Baker, yet definitely an exciting starting point. The show kicked off with several black and white looks in which checks played a main part. Pleated pants, suit jackets, a feminine high slit shirt dress, playful skirts, sporty sweaters and elegant coats. All worn oh so effortlessly by the models, who had the most fascinating hairstyles. Bugs were to be seen in every single look. As shiny XL pendants on the models necklaces, as large prints on their sweaters and bags as well as graphically printed on dresses and skirts. Besides the silhouette, those bugs were the returning factor in the collection. Even when dresses turned yellow, coats came by in green and blouses popped up in blue. Colorwise the designs became more outspoken towards the end. Bright primary colors formed larger than life, computerized bugs on a few typical SIS dresses. A few new Spijkers en Spijkers spectacles to match and we’re ready for the new season!

Tony Cohen Catwalk Fashion Show Amsterdam FW2015

Barbara Langendijk Catwalk Fashion Show MBFWA FW2015

All nine models appeared at once at Barbara Langendijk’s show tonight. They practiced a complete choreography making sure every attendee could see the looks from all angles. Clean comfortable looks created only in shades of red, white, sand and black. Simplistic designs with a high level of exposure (sheer tops, see through skirts, breast revealing dresses). The models looked long, lean and classic, their hair worn back in a stylish bun, lips colored dark. A sand timer formed a fascinating backdrop to the serene show, portraying our limited attention span. It didn’t run out of time though. There were still seconds left for a little wave from Barbara and some guests stepping under the rain of sand. Riches from Rags.

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