Catwalk Fashion Show Ilja Couture / Ready to Fish AW2012

Today Dutch designer Ilja Visser followed in the footsteps of Tom Ford and Victoria Beckham and brought intimacy back to the runway. Not only was her brand new Ready to Fish collection narrated look by look, different courses of a Ilja Visser menu were served in between every few looks too.

It was a lovely setting and there was a nice atmosphere. You could not tell Ilja’s whole team (hairdressers, make-up artist, marketing and shop employees to name a few) had been working all day to make sure four different shows were held. Four different shows, four different audiences and four different types of amusement (lunch, drinks, a little boat trip and diner).

The Ready to Fish collection was all inspired by the eighties movie Paris, Texas and brought a mix of masculine details and feminine elegance. There was a lot of asymmetry, which we’ve seen before at Ready to Fish. Also, the bright yellow and pink shades and the raw denim stood out. The clothes felt thick for summer, but thanks to the choice of fabrics (linen, loose knits) were in fact airy.

Straight after the ready to wear collection presentation we were presented with a few very strong Ilja couture looks from the collection named Pluche. The inspiration – politicians and formalities – was not very visible, but the creations (mainly black and beige) were stunning. Business influences like high shoulders and classic cuffs were combined with feminine silhouettes. Ilja used a lot of fake fur and played with the structure of her couture designs.

Both collection were beautifully made and presented in a great way. We had a fun night and can only hope more designers decide to go back to where fashion shows once started; intimate, personal and memorable.

The three pictures above are three looks from the Ilja couture collection.