Bibi van der Velden – Wearable Pieces of Art

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This is me speechless.
Everything about the closing show of Amsterdam International Fashion Week, sponsored by Samsung LadyPhone, was just perfect. Jewellery designer (no: ARTIST) Bibi van der Velden produced an absolutely breathtaking collection. And not only that, the whole concept of the show was amazing: the models, the music but most of all the lighting. As the whole room was slowly filled with smoke, a huge spotlight suddenly lit the room creating this surreal, hologram-like, smoky bundle of light in which the models one by one appeared. The whole setting created a magical, powerful, cinematic image that amazed the audience; I sure heared a lot of ‘oe’ and ‘aah’ in my surroundings!

It is hard to explain the pieces that make this collection, because they can not be pinpointed as ‘necklaces’ or ‘bracelets’. They can better be defined as headpieces, armours and blown up jewellery pieces, or as the designer described them herself: wearable pieces of art.

We saw shoulders decorated by giant ‘shoulders pats’ (did Lady GaGa already see these?) and unbelievable necklaces of glass bubbles. There were silver headpieces resembling the shape of headphones and one model’s head was completely covered by decorative stones, creating a fashionable Damien Hirst-like artwork.

Bibi van der Velden experimented with glass, bronze and stones among other materials to create exclusive, hand-made pieces for this show. Some designs can be described as glamorous, others as futuristic or extravagant: but they were all mind-blowing and innovative for sure!

It was amazing to see how the designer used her experience as a sculptor to create these artpieces. One could also tell that her inspiration comes from travelling around the world: African and Asian influences give an extra twist to the designs. She also seemed to be inspired by knights: traditional armours and headpieces that used to protect the body were now translated into beautiful, futurustic jewellery like an amazing armour-like belt and headpiece resembling the medieval body-protection.

Bibi van der Velden is an absolutely unique designer: the standing ovation she received from the audience after she came out with topmodel Yvke Sturm was so well-deserved!

Like I said: this was pure perfection. A perfect closure to a week filled with the most exciting, innovative and beautiful runway shows. Thanks to all the sponsors, designers, organisation, designers, models, producers, visitors and everybody else this was again a very successful Amsterdam International Fashion Week. Get ready for AIFW Summer 2010!

Merle Deterink and her new Samsung phone

Photos by Aram Goudsmit, except first and last photo by Maria Rudnaya

Written by Lisa Goudsmit

The People & The Party, Part Deux

Photos by Maria Rudnaya

Replay

Replay has been a household name for years already, but they are still improving themselves every season. Tonight they showed their new collection in a packed room: "Seattle sound, grunge style, mixing and matching, comfort and love for details are the key concepts for Fall/Winter 2010-11”.

With their specialty being denim of course, it was clear where the main focus was on. Jeans were shown in many ways: baggy, slim and cargo shapes, but also long jeans, skirts, jackets and very short hotpants. The classic indigo blue is mostly dark, but as always Replay showed some innovative washes and amazing details. Studs are still popular, as the label keeps on rocking their street-smart and cool style.

Denims were combined with plaited skirts and tops and floral patterns for women: feminine but still tough. The cowboy-look was clearly still a source of inspiration, combined with motorcycle elements like leather jacket and studded (thigh) boots. Cardigans with Alaska-style knitwear added to the wintery feel of the outfits.

The menswear collection had the same edgy character as the female version with plaited shirts, motor jackets and army print cardigans. All outfits were strong, powerful and nicely styled, as we expect it to be of this high-standard brand.

The audience seemed to love every bit of it, especially when the last model made her appearance: the well-known Victoria’s Secret face Ana Beatriz Barros. Replay did it a again: a strong, exciting high-quality collection.

Photos by Aram Goudsmit

Written by Lisa Goudsmit

I want a Beick Bike!

Spotted outside the runway venue: Beicks. The new concept from Beick is a combination of ingenious and contemporary design, which allows customers to create their own bike online from a choice of more than 5 million different variations. Everything from handlebars to saddle and from tyres to luggage carriers can be individually picked, always creating a truly unique bike. After choosing your design you can always continue to update your Beick.

We love it. We want one. Pink with flowers and glitters. Now.

Merle Deterink of AIFW with her Beick

AIFW Team Loves Sorel

That quality and sustainability doesn’t necessarily mean boring proofs Sorel: the Canadian cool boots are getting more and more populair nowadays. Not only outdoor-lovers, also movie stars like Brad Pitt and Kate Hudson wear their Sorels with great pride! The most populair model, the Caribou, is already a classic but we also love the Joan of Arctic!

Sorel embodies honest and unpretentious footwear, combining style and comfort. Many fashion-victims, like Bastiaan van Schaik and Jetteke van Lexmond, were spotted wearing their Sorels during Amsterdam International Fashion Week. The organisation of AIFW were extremely happy to slip into their Sorels in between shows: high heels are great, but in the typical Dutch icy weather, Sorel definitely saved the day!

AIFW's Merle Deterink (r) and Stéphanie Floor (l) wearing the JOAN OF ARCTIC™ by Sorel

Claudia Sträter

Claudia Sträter is thé brand for confident women: the designs are timeless and elegant and make women feel in control. Because it is designed for active ladies, the clothing is chic but still very comfortable. Even though Claudia Sträter is 100% Dutch design, it has an international allure that would appeal to women around the world.

The show started with models in a lot of black and leather: elegant but cool. The silhouettes throughout the show remained very powerful; the Claudia Sträter-woman is sexy without showing too much skin. Each item is beautifully made with a great eye for detail: high standard as we expect it to be. Basic colour like black, brown and beige are lit up with touches of vibrant red, sea blue and the occasional animal print. The basic designs leave room for individual interpretation and invite women to mix and match. Claudia Sträter is very now, but also very tomorrow: this is timeless fashion at its very best.

Photos by Maria Rudnaya

Written by Lisa Goudsmit

Ado les Scents

I don’t need many words to describe Hyun Yeu’s new collection: it was simply amazing! With his label Ado les Scents he produces mature, sophisticated and innovative menswear with an edge. He described his collection Rain as one “based on having fun on a rainy day. Playful yet chic.” The main item is the coat, that was executed in a variety of shapes and materials.

To me the Korean Yeu truly is one of the biggest innovators in menswear today. He is not afraid to give his designs an androgynous touch and to use materials like wool, denim, velvet ánd fur. Using basic colours like black and grey and combining them with orange and silver details, the designs get a timeless but trendy look. We are already looking forward to his next collection…

Photos by Maria Rudnaya

Written by Lisa Goudsmit

Contemporary Luxury Experience the Eyewear Volume #01

An exciting new event took place during the weekend, just a few steps away from the official AIFW runway venue: Contemporary Luxury Experience the Eyewear Volume #01. In an original setting, some of the world’s most interesting eyewear designers showed their collections. Not Just Vision invited labels like Paul Smith, Badgley Mischka and Linda Farrow to connect to the audience.

Simon Jablon

We talked to Simon Jablon, son of the legendary Linda Farrow and creative director of the company, who told us he only relaunched the brand 6 years ago. “My mother designed throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s and worked together with brands like Sonia Rykiel and Balenciaga. After 3 decades of hard work she quit mid 1980s. It was like 6 years ago that I found this warehouse filled with my mother’s vintage designs and decided to continue her work. I redesigned some models and now we here we are.” And Linda Farrow is definitely here to stay, again. Celebrities like Nicole Richie, Madonna and Pixie Geldof have been spotted wearing Linda Farrow, but their best ambassador is probably Lady Gaga: she seems to absolutely love all the extravagant designs. Currently the Olsen Twins are working together with Linda Farrow as well: they asked the brand to create a special collection for them. The revived eyewear label is also working together with amazing fashion designers like Dries van Noten, Raf Simons, Alexander Wang and Matthew Williamson.

Besides the designs, the choice of material is also very special: titanium, 24 carat gold and mammoth tusk (!). Jablon explains:: “The melting of the polar ice caps has exposed quite a lot of mammoth tusk, enough that some of it has found its way to market. We are among a few labels around the world that are allowed to use this material, and we only produced a small number of frames form it.” It certainly adds another value to this brand that is highly original and innovative.

Photos by Maria Rudnaya

Written by Lisa Goudsmit

La Dress by Simone

Sunday morning started with CLUB BRILLIANT presents Breakfast at Amsterdam. The gathered crowd was treated to crossaints and coffee, a nice way to recover from Saturday night and to start this very last day at Amsterdam International Fashion Week. The showing designer, who was kept a secret till the last moment, was La Dress by Simone.Introducing the collection was a mixture of short clips: the Golden Globes show of last year, clips from the legendary movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s with Audrey Hepburn, pieces of old 1940s Hollywood films and parts of Top Gun and Mission Impossible with Tom Cruise to name a few. At first sight the clips didn’t seem to have so much in coming a part from the fact that they were all reflecting the typical Hollywood glamour, all in a specific zeitgeist.

As the show started, sweet French chansons were played and a group of models, all wearing cute pastel-coloured dresses, entered laughing and giggling. The dresses were typical for La Dress: elegant, sophisticated and feminine. I loved the entire atmosphere and entourage, tres joli et Français! This first subcollection is called “a Box of Candy” and we love it (almost) as much as chocolate!

The second line shown was ‘My Little T-Shirt Dress –MLTD’: “set your inner rock-chic free”. Young and glamorous with an edge, this subcollection will appeal to all fun-loving girls out there.

Part 3 of the collection was named ‘She’s a Busy Lady’; obviously inspired by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Dresses designed to make every woman, at every occasion, feel confident and feminine. We loved the classic cuts, the nice fabrics and the entire effortless-chic look.

The last subcollection, ‘A Night to Remember’, included the most glamorous pieces. Cute cocktail dresses, party outfits and evening gowns were all perfectly executed. My favourite was a long black off-the-shoulders dress with a bow to highlight the waist: classic and elegant with a twist, everything we expect from la Dress.

The fact that the subcollections shown were so very different was in line with the concept of La Dress: Simone believes that “every woman carries a multiplicity of women within themselves.” I wish I could dress al my personalities in La Dress, every day...

The show ended with a deserved standing ovation....

All photos by Maria Rudnaya

Written by Lisa Goudsmit

Fancy Guy, Fancy Name, Fancy Dresses

The closure of today, Saturday the 30^th, was looked at with great expectations. The designer, Michael Barnaart van Bergen, is one of the biggest promises for the Dutch fashion scene. Even though he only recently graduated from the Amsterdam Fashion Institute, he is already becoming a favourite of magazines, journalists and fashion lovers. His style is clear: feminine, elegant and chic. His specialty? Dresses, dresses, dresses!

For this show, ‘Beau Monde Presents C’est Brilliant Les Icônes featuring Michael Bernaart van Bergen’, the designer seems to have gotten inspiration from a few different angles. The show started with 1950s style cute dresses, but with an almost futuristic twists. The models, wearing classic A-line dresses in colours like beige, off-white, grey and black looked refined but cool with their striking sunglasses. After that the classic dress was shown in many different ways: from a long satin purple gown to a short bright pink version and from a Bretagne-striped shirtdress to a neon-coloured party dress. The designer played a lot with shapes, patterns, materials and colours but never forgot his own style.

Michael Barnaart van Bergen seems to have it all, being a charming personality himself and having the gift to make every woman look and feel special. He has already designed gowns for a number of Dutch stars for the red carpet and my guess is that we will be able to enjoy his designs for many more years to come. Michael Barnaart van Bergen: remember his name!

Photos by Aram Goudsmit, except last photo by Maria Rudnaya

Written by Lisa Goudsmit

The People & The Party

Saturday the 30th of January, an impression: front & backstage

All photos by Maria Rudnaya

EnD: This Is Only The Beginning…

Now this is interesting way to start a fashion show: EnD introduced their new collection with a short movie in film noir-style, starring Dutch actor Sebastiaan Labrie. The clip was a great way to set the mood for the runway show that was obviously inspired by the 1940s and 50s. As the first model entered, holding a cigarette and with a confident smile on her face, it already became very clear: you don’t mess with an EnD-woman. But as Labrie says in the video: “I’m crazy about you baby...”

As the show continued a wide range of designs walked by, all having an amazing, feminine, sexy look. Whether they were wearing extra long trousers or mini mini-skirts, transparent tops or covers-it-all blouses: all models seem to be getting this magical, powerful appearance thanks to their outfits. As if their designs were saying: “Don’t mess with me, my feminine power will destroy you.” And if the clothes weren’t saying that, the shoes definitely were. The whole collection was a pleasant surprise: smooth silhouettes were combined with broad shoulders and silky fabrics were decorated with details like bows and prominent golden zippers.

EnD consists of the two designers Eva van Overbeeke (29) and Delia Drel (30)- both of them graduated in 2003 at the Academy of Art in Utrecht. Even though EnD is already showing at AIFW since January 2007, they are still relatively young in the fashion world. But their collection had the quality and elegance of a label that’s been designing for decades already: the entire show was refined, classy and sophisticated.

All photos by Aram Goudsmit

Written by Lisa Goudsmit

Front Row at OntFront

3,2,1 ready for take off… A model fires a shot and the show is on. Luckily nobody got hurt: this special opening was only a representation of the inspiration for this collection – the Lambhorgini.

Shift Gear is the new collection by OntFront: an Amsterdam based menswear label. Founders and designers Liza Koifman and Tomas Overtoom translated the shape of the famous car into masculine clothing with an innovative use of patterns. The designs are streamlined, cool, classy, edgy and timeless at the same time: just like Lambhorgini. In Dutch actor Tygo Gernandt, who opened the show as a special model, the design duo seems to have found their ideal ‘OntFront-man’: casual-chic, classy but street-smart at the same time. The K-Swiss shoes match the outfits surprisingly well.

We were already introduced to OntFront at the Cutting Edge area at modefabriek, but this show proofed to us once again that the Liza Koifman and Tomas Overtoom have a promising career ahead of them.

A girl with a black and white flag closes the show: a well thought out execution of an original

concept, from start to finish...

All photos by Aram Goudsmit

Written by Lisa Goudsmit

Dutch Fashion meets Dutch Design

Saturday the 30^th started with a nice mixture of fashion, cocktails and music at the flagship store of Azzurro Due in the heart of the Amsterdam shopping centre: the P.C. Hooftstraat.

Joline Jolink has been a well-known name in the Dutch fashion scene for a few years already, so I was quite surprised she wasn’t showing at AIFW this time. But after meeting her it became very clear to me that this is one smart, focussed designer. Instead of having all the stress of organizing a show, she decided to give her 100% attention to the products of this collection. She wants to create beautiful, unique items that women can actually wear and feel comfortable in. And she sure succeeded in doing that!

Her new Spring 2010 collection was inspired by Maria Sybilla Merion, an 18^th century artist intrigued by butterflies. The drawings Merion made of these elegant creatures were translated by Jolink into ladylike, chic yet comfortable designs that women can wear with great pride and confident. Joline Jolink was also fascinated by Merion herself: an independent hard-working woman ahead of her time. She imagined her wearing these comfortable clothes but still looking sophisticated and classy. The colours in this collection range from sky blue and white to beige and taupe: all with a subtle grey mist over them. The designer explains that the inside of a butterfly inspired her to use these colours: “A butterfly has all these amazing bright colours form the outside, but one the inside these colours all fade into greyish tones.” The main material she used was of course silk, but also linen and cotton can be found in this absolutely amazing collection. I can only appreciate and respect the thrive of Jolink to make the best collection possible every season. Her designs and quality are on a level that is hardly ever seen in the fashion scene in Holland.

The other label showing their collection at Azzurro Due was And Beyond, by Jolanda van den Broek and Brigitte Hendrix. After showing their new collection FW 2010/2011 yesterday at AIFW, they were now celebrating the fact that their SS 2010 collection will be sold from today at Azzurro Due. This Spring/Summer collection was inspired by flags and the zeitgeist: we see a print resembling the burning of the Danish flag and dresses with the famous American stars and stripes in a new version. Even though this may sound very in-your-face and a little bit too much for the average woman, it actually is a very pretty, sophisticated and still wearable collection. The designers did a great job translating this strong concept into beautiful innovative fashion. I especially loved the starry black and white dress: a star is born!

And stars they will be, Jolanda van den Broek and Brigitte Hendrix, I have no doubts about that. According to themselves they are now growing up: “This collections marks our way to the Dutch market. Before we were only being sold through special projects, but we are very pleased to have some more points of sale now.” When asked about their vision, the designers say they want to design feminine clothes with an edge: “To us, fashion is an expression of a certain time. We want to translate the zeitgeist into unique clothing without making too much of a political statement. To us fashion is more that a piece of cloth that can be thrown away after one season- it has to intrigue and evoke emotions.” Amen to that.

All photos by Aram Goudsmit

Written by Lisa Goudsmit

And Beyond

There are not many words which can describe And Beyond's phenomenal presentation at fashion week, "Waanzinnig" nevertheless is one of them. It's a Dutch word that can loosely be translated as ridiculously, crazily amazing.

Jolanda van den Broek and Brigitte Hendrix collaborate as 'And Beyond'. Their first seasonal collection is called 'smoke' after the smoke that lingers when fireworks that lit the sky have died out and illustrates the duo's search to find a more permanent position in the perishable fashion industry.

This concept also structured And Beyond's presentation, and instead of a 4-minute catwalk, Jolanda and Brigitte chose to present their designs in a series of glass columns, which were rhythmically filled with smoke and light. This created a stunning atmosphere in the pitch black hall where their presentation was held. A log burner filled your nostrils with woody smoke and cinammon-orange gluhwein continued the wintery-experience, warming visitors from the inside, out.

And Beyond's collection consisted of unique black, emerald, blue and grey prints in succulent silks and beautiful velour.

Brigitte: "This is our first seasonal collection, and although we're conforming to the rhythm of the fashion industry, we want to create our own place within this, our presentation is an example of such."

And Beyond surpass your senses, surpass expectations and surpass the current perceptions of fashion, all the way, And Beyond..

WRITTEN BY HOLLY SYRETT

PHOTOGRAPHY CORNÉ RIJNEVELD

Claes Iversen

Claes Iversen is the Fashion Week golden child. Each season he presents completely stunning women's wear with a personal message. This time he portrayed his progression into 'professional maturity', in contrast to his yearning to withhold his inner-child. This was clearly visualized within his collection by prim burgundy wovens which deconstructed to reveal nude crisp organza's and sparkly flower-appliques.

Odd dashes of simple navy velvet, made my mouth water; the simplest of dresses executed immaculately are the most divine!

Claes's tasteful colour palette was peachy in nudes, apricots, plums and the mentioned navy's. In typical Claes-style his show-piece was a prodigy in itself; a blushing white bride completely constructed out of price-tags.. Is this Claes maturely acknowledging the value of his work?

WRITTEN BY HOLLY SYRETT

PHOTOGRAPHY CORNÉ RIJNEVELD

LEW

Kim Leemans and Merel Wicker are design-duo LEW, who house a former gay-bar in Amsterdam city centre. This was also the stage for their collection presentation this Fashion Week.

From the outside it was slightly unsettling, a dodgy broken-down building. The stairwell wasn't much better with creaking floorboards and flaking walls. LEW's level was a few flights up and also featured the flaky walls and grunge, but in comparison to the entrance, was somehow an idyllic setting where the beautiful clothing seemed to affect its environment -almost like watching your favourite band play in a garage.

LEW's collection was a continuation of their Spring/Summer '10 designs with a comparable pattern derived from BlueBoy's (the gaybar's) mouldy walls. The colours nevertheless were more vibrant, reminiscent to a painting that Merel made herself.

Merel: "We never really perceive a collection to be finished, and instead continuously evolve our work."

In addition to their designs, the duo presented geometric accessories that contrasted perfectly with their psychedelic prints and shoe designer Lieke de Koning presented her graduation collection.

WRITTEN BY HOLLY SYRETT

PHOTOGRAPHY CORNÉ RIJNEVELD

Collection Arnhem

Collectie Arnhem is a label by the Artez fashion department. Each season third-year students deliver a collection from the drawing board, to production and sales. One of the 23 students to design this year's collection is Anne Bosman. He explained that the school has partnered with specialized textiles manufacturer Vlisco for this collection.

Vlisco is a Dutch company that is located in Helmond and surprisingly produces unique wax-textiles for the Western-African market. Through special printing techniques, where wax is applied to stop dyes seeping through the fabric, Vlisco enables double-sided printing, necessary in West-African dress.

Collectie Arnhem provided an unusual combination of African prints (and music) with lady-like, almost housewife-inspired designs in 'proper' beiges, navy and emeralds.

Anne: "With our collection we aim to raise a new kind of 'correctness'. One of my colleagues told us about his grandmother, who would for example only wear a blue jacket with a blue blouse on blue pants. We wanted to take that version of 'correctness' into this era, it is correctness 2010."

Anne also explained that there are many rules and norms within West-African dressing that allowed the students' concept to further snowball. "Whereas for example West-Africans always use six yards of material for upperwear, we created comparable 'regulations' for the lengths of sleeve and skirt hems".

Whether it is in-depth in concept or creative in execution, Collectie Arnhem has triumphed again.

WRITTEN BY HOLLY SYRETT

PHOTOGRAPHY CORNÉ RIJNEVELD

Non by Kim

Kim Bakker is a Dutch men's wear designer and a fashion design lecturer at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute. Kim searches to break the boundaries within men's wear in her collections, and soes so by using exciting materials and playing with the traditional 'roles' that certain clothing garments / styles play.

Her autumn/winter collection '10/'11 was inspired by Norwegian south-pole explorer, Roald Amundsen who ventured through the Antarctic in 1911.

As frost-bitten models frontiered the runway with icy-eyes and sturdy (Vagabond) boots, it became clear that they could also survive the freezing polar climates.

Kim's collection combined beautiful thick knits with layers of jersey and waxed cotton. The latter of which produced almost cardboard-looking materials fitted into casual-cool men's jackets.

Kim: "I continually aim to redesign men's clothing and always search for new wearable garments, such as woollen 'house-pants', which I derived from woollen upperwear."

WRITTEN BY HOLLY SYRETT
PHOTOGRAPHY CORNÉ RIJNEVELD

Fortis Bank Fasterclass

(pictured above is Merle Deterink, the director at AIFW)

It's the fourth season that Fortis Bank Nederland is the main sponsor at Amsterdam International Fashion Week, and the third time that it's holding its Fashion Fasterclass. The Fashion Fasterclass is an educational program for young fashion talents that brings creativity and a commercial mindset together.

Astrid de Craen, the senior press officer at Fortis explained that 15 talented fashion designers participate with the program. Astrid: "Topics discussed are meant to help the designers understand the business aspects within fashion. Examples of such are financing and intellectual property."

Designers who have participated in the Fashion Fasterclass are: Malousebastiaan, Antoine Peters, Mada van Gaans, Mattijs van Bergen, Glue Jeans, Ignoor, Intoxica, Ontfront, Merel Boers, Herenvankoster, Jessica Joyce, Non by Kim, Omar Munie Clothing and Massuniq.

WRITTEN BY HOLLY SYRETT

PHOTOGRAPHY CORNÉ RIJNEVELD