Jan Boelo Amsterdam Fashion Week Preview

Going big
After having presented his previous collections in the afternoon Jan Boelo will hold a big evening show in collaboration with phone company Sizz during upcoming Amsterdam Fashion Week. And so Jan is going big with his collection too this season. “We’re creating about forty to fifty looks this time, twice the number of looks we did last year”, says Boelo. “Of course it tougher, but the number of team members working on the collection is doubled too and we’ll get some extra help the coming weeks, so we’ll manage. Since I only want to show the strongest looks we eventually might edit out about five of them during the styling process, but for now we’re just creating enough options.”

In the navy
The theme of Jan’s spring summer collection will be military, inspired by an editorial in French Vogue. “I’m showing all kinds of variations of the uniform. The army and the navy will be big themes in the show. The runway show will be a triumph, after battle. This means besides uniforms I will present garments men and women wear when returning home after war, for example leather long johns. All designs (in shades of sand, army, navy, red, white, blue, silver and gold ) will be slightly destroyed and the models’ hair and make-up too will look a bit off, in line with the theme”, Jan explains.

Seks & wax
The pieces will have a slightly different fit compared to last season, yet there’s no doubt they will still breathe the same amount of sex and rock. Jan: “The military jackets will be extremely tailored, T-shirts will be super tight, yet pants will be slightly looser and there is a focus on the shoulders. You’ll see my signature leather and jersey, plus I’ve used a special wax fabric for some of the coats and jackets. I will even present a sweater knitted out of chains, we are working on right now.”

Shine on
Jan already has a famous clientèle of mainly artists (Caro Emerald, Daily Bread and Ellen ten Damme) who wear his designs on stage. And it seems he inspires them as much as they do him. “The fabrics I use work really well on stage, since they’re often very shiny. It’s the stand out pieces (his metallic pants and baroque jackets from previous collections) that are selling the best. In Paris (where his designs are sold at Le Vestibule) a selection of Jan Boelo jackets was even sold out in four days. Jan: “The great thing is that even abroad mostly musicians and performers, people I’m inspired by, buy my designs.”

Celebs
And oh my do stars love Jan Boelo. Ever since his first fashion show he has had a star studded front row, something he never would have imagined. “I’m only 24 years old and I am actually just starting out. Sometimes I can not even believe some of the famous Dutch artists would actually come to my show.” Looking far ahead with his career is thus something Jan doesn’t do. “It’s hard to plan things, but of course I would love to expand. I would like to sell my clothes in London, Italy, Germany and Scandinavia, but time will tell if that will happen.”

Friday the 13th
For now Jan is finishing up his collection and is excited about the show. “I’m showing on the same day as Bas Kosters and Spijkers en Spijkers, so it will be a great day even though it will be Friday the 13th. I’m looking forward to putting on a great show together with them. ‘Cause I feel making Amsterdam Fashion Week a success is something you do together.”

Jan Boelo will show his Spring Summer 2013 collection on Friday 13 July at 09.00 PM

Karssenberg-Greidanus Amsterdam Fashion Week Preview

First time
Karssenberg-Greidanus will present their work for the second time during Amsterdam Fashion Week. For the very first time designers Sanne Karssenberg and Cleo Greidanus are presenting a summer collection, named CloudScape. Sanne: “Up until now we’ve only been working on winter collections and art projects, so this will be our first spring/summer collection. Now don’t expect it to be all airy and bright, ‘cause the show won’t have that typical summer feeling.”

Rainy summer
No bikini’s or tropical blouses, these designers translated ‘summer’ in their very own way. “We’ll show shirts and dresses that are perfect for summer. Plus, we’ve designed raincoats that are right for our rainy Dutch summers, since we always like to design functional clothes that made for protection.” And it’s not just the weather these coats refer to, the designers used rain as a metaphor too. “Rain stands for the large amount of data we receive every day, which can be kind of an overload. The raincoat can feel as a safe cocoon, but can be kind of suffocating too.”

Hello color?
It’s the first spring/summer collection but it is also the first time the designduo is working with color. Well, color…“Before we always used ‘non-colors’, now we’ve used shades of white, grey, black and red. We used these on lots of jerseys, some transparent plastics, knitwear, glass-like materials that represent water drops.”

Story to tell
Karssenberg-Greidanus have been absent for a while, but decided to show again during Amsterdam Fashion Week, since they felt they had a new story to tell. “For the first time we are launching a more wearable collection, we felt people should see that. We want people to know the story behind the collection and with a catwalk show you can tell that story. It is slightly more stressful though, because we really want the collection to portray the right feeling.”

Pre-show ritual
Sanne: “We’re pretty right on track. Every now and then I get a small anxiety attack, but apart from that the show preparations are going well. We hope we have time for our pre-show ritual on Wednesday. We like to go to the hairdresser together and get a new haircut as a last preparation for the show and a welcome getaway from the design studio where we are spending all our time right now.”

Karssenberg-Greidanus will show their Spring Summer 2013 collection on Thursday 12 July at 08.00 PM

See some the first impressions of the collection below.

Fashionclash 2012: this was Friday

The first day of Fashionclash is a fact. With a surprising openingshow by Theatrical Encounters, FAB and the CLASH-project. Show 1 had some interesting elements and collections, like HAAX by Karel van Laere & Sonja Schoedel, Naona Filipiniana, Geneva Corlett and Sasha Kanevski.

Summertrend 2012 (men): Let your feet breathe

Lots of men will never get used to it and some women can’t stand the sight of it but the fact remains that sandals for men are a definite summer trend. And now that the temperature is rising those sunny sandals are popping up everywhere. And don’t think there’s no room for creativity with the men’s sandal; on the catwalk as well as on the streets we spotted lots of different designs. Like the red and beige ones, worn with socks at Louis Vuitton. Or the zigzag printed ones at Missoni. And let’s not forget the purple pair at Dsquared. The only two basic parts of a men’s sandal are: leather and straps, the rest is up to the designer’s imagination. Wear them with shorts, trousers or a wrap dress (like the guy in our streetstyle pics) and just (let your feet) breathe!

Summertrend (men) 2012: Prints Charming

There are still men who are afraid to wear something in pink as they don’t want to look ‘too feminine’. Those men should stop reading, since this is not the trend for them. This trend, which focuses on printed pants, is for the fashion minded guys who dare to experiment with their style. Men who dare to mix ethnic prints with a checks (Etro), men who would wear a tank top with pastel shaded trousers (Givenchy) and men who, without a doubt, tie a printed scarf around their necks to match their pants (Prada, Kenzo).

This season these lads have lots to choose from. Florals (Gaultier, Moschino, Prada), scarf prints (D&G) or just beautiful color combinations (Bottega Veneta, Emporio Armani). And even the good old checks and stripes belong to this printed pant trend. Combined with other printed items or styled off more simply with uni-colored items; decide just how wild you want to bring it and make sure to have fun with it!

Summertrend(men): Roll ´em up

It´s not just the ladies who are showing off their legs this summer. Men will have to face it too (well.., just a bit) since rolled up / 7/8 pants are a trend for guys. It´s a perfect trend for those hot summer days, ´cause you don´t have to wear shorts and you can still keep it fresh. At Acne, Frankie Morello, Armani and Pringle of Scotland the designers all let some air into their menswear outfits. They showed off 7/8 pleated pants, worn either with brogues or with sandals for the ultimate freshness.

In the streets too there were lotts of male ankles at sight. Some men wore their rolled up pants with suit jackets, other with waistcoats or even  just T-shirts for the perfect casual look on a hot summer day.

It´s clear that with this trend there are innumerable options. Business men, family guys and college lads are all rolling up their legs for the sake of fashion (and ehmm… summer temperatures).

Summertrend 2012: the wet look

Alexander Wang, Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schouler, Thierry Mugler, Giambattista Valli, Chanel,  Prabal Gurung, Yves Saint Laurent. All these designers had the same thing in mind when it came to the hair trend for this season: soaking-wet hair.  It’s one of the biggest hair trends  on the radar for this summer.

For a few seasons it was all about natural hair en easy looks, but for this summer the designers changed course and seemed to be inspired by this grungy-look. The wetter the hair, the better. Make it as shiny and greasy as you can and comb your hair in the front all backwards. You can wear it loose and a bit messy and casual (Proenza Schouler and Marc Jacobs) or really tight and in a chic sidepart (Chanel).

You have to have some guts to wear your hair like this. But if you do, you might do some shopping now, because this looks requires loads of hair gel.

(Eva Dusch)

Summertrend 2012: Get low!

Shoe heels have been increasing in length enormously for the past few years and ‘the higher the better’ might even have been your personal heel motto, but it’s time for a change. As comfort is becoming more important in fashion again shoe heels have dropped a few inches. We spotted lower (kitten) heels at several big shows this season. Louis Vuitton, Ninna Ricci, Tory Burch and Hermes all opted for a slightly subtler heel in their spring/summer collections. Now don’t think by losing height those shoes have become any less attractive. They’re still sexy, but just better wearable. In these shoes you might actually last throughout your night out and you can leave your back-up ballerina’s at home. So shopping for lower heels it is! And while you’re at it: try finding shoes with a pointy toe, cause pointy is the new rounded (again).

Summertrend 2012: Bangles & Bracelets

As the seasons change and every once in a while we go from skinny to flared jeans and from round to pointed shoes, we also change from subtle bracelets to chunky bangles. And this summer, so it seems, it’s all about chunky jewelry.

We saw the eye-catching necklaces at Marni and the larger than life earrings at Blumarine and now it’s time to cover your wrists with big bangles. Choose for multiple ones like Bottega Veneta, Hermes and Carolina Herrera. Also, opt for color (we spotted orange, red and green ones) and maybe add a touch of gold (like we saw at Balmain) to bring it all together.

Whether they’re made out of leather, wool, metallic or wood; whatever suits your look the best is just fine. They don’t even need to be rounded; Gianfranco Ferré proved a square bangle can be just as much fun. Also, Giambattista Valli showed a few animal inspired examples that were even more creative.

Whatever bracelet you pick, there’s only one rule: don’t hold back! The brighter, the bolder, the better.

Summertrend 2012: Bare Belly

It was a definite no-go for several years, but the bare belly is back! Designers have taken last season’s cut-out-trend a little further and have created all kinds of belly-revealing fashion pieces. The bare part varies from upper stomach (Blumarine, Prada, Emilio Pucci, Dolce & Gabbana) to lower belly (Roberto Cavalli, Acne, Gaultier, Missoni), from modest to slightly tacky.

The how-to-wear part is actually quite easy. Mix your cropped top with long pants (Roberto Cavalli), shorts (D&G), pencil skirts (Prada) or maxi skirts (Emilio Pucci); everything is possible.

And though the bare belly isn’t quite the office look, there surely is no harm in showing of your abs at a fancy cocktail party. On the contrary! Finally you can show off that hidden six pack of yours. Or ehh.. at least you have a good reason to start working on that.

If you’re not so sure about this trend yet, just opt for last season’s cut-out trend, which is still very chic as well.

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