Jan Taminiau Haute Couture Backstage

The Jan Taminiau Haute Couture-show was a much talked about show yesterday. The glow in the dark-effect fabrics, the shoes, the masks. Backstage the tension was high, but everybody was concentrated and all those hands and people made it to a wonderful collection and show.

Check who was sitting frontrow here

Amsterdam Fashion Week Atmosphere Day 1

The atmosphere of Amsterdam Fashion Week day 1. Opening Soiree and Jan Taminiau Demi Couture/Haute Couture shows.

The atmosphere of Amsterdam Fashion Week day 1. Opening Soiree and Jan Taminiau Demi Couture/Haute Couture shows.

Video by Niels @ Team Peter Stigter

Front Row Jan Taminiau Demi Couture

Expectations were high at the opening-soiree of the Amsterdam International Fashion Week.  Everybody was looking forward to the two shows of Jan Taminiau, Demi Couture and Haute Couture. We spotted Cecile Narinx of ELLE, Richard Kraijchek and Daphne Deckers and even James Veenhoff was shining in his tuxedo. Front row we pictured Hilmar Mulder of Grazia, Stacey Rookhuizen dressed in Jan Taminiau, models Dewi Driegen and Lonneke Engel and thank God Bastiaan van Schaik survived his scooter-accident.

Jan Taminiau Demi Couture Catwalk Fashion Show FW2011 AIFW

Tonight was Jan Taminiau‘s night. Everyone who is something in the Dutch fashion world was present to watch his very first Demi Couture collection (demi = half in French). A collection that more wearable and is less expensive, because to make one outfit only one appointment (instead of four or five) is needed. A great way to reach more customers, so we say: smart move!

Though the designs were a little less delicate then we’re used to from Jan, they were all still made with a very personal approach. Every single one of Jan’s Demi Couture outfits had a very specific look, yet the outfits can be mixed and matched with each other too.

In the typical Jan Taminiau shades (beige, light pink, gold, silver, light green) dresses, pants, jackets and skirts followed each other on the runway. All with Jan’s signature straight shoulders and accentuated waist and all very wearable indeed!

The collection felt classic, romantic and a little less dramatic than Jan’s haute couture collections. Perfect for a summer wedding, a premiere a cocktail or a fabulous rooftop party!

Jan Taminiau Backstage Pre Show

Last minute preparations backstage at Jan Taminau. The designer kicks of tonight with two shows, Haute Couture and Demi Couture.

Hair & beauty look glamourous, the shoes are the talk of the town and the collection is stunning.

Backstage-snapshot at Jan Taminiau

AIFW Impression Day 1

The 14th edition of Amsterdam International Fashion Week is a fact. Today all crews gathered and put their gear and stuff at different locations. We already spotted Joost van Bellen from Star Studded Studios who’s responsible for almost every soundtrack we will hear during the shows, we saw the video-team of Frequin-productions  and Team Peter Stigter also took their places. Tonight’s the night of Jan Taminiau, who will show two collections: haute couture and demi-couture. We’ll keep you posted!

First some pictures round and about the AIFW-venue.

Team Peter Stigter is ready for 14th edition of AIFW

Amsterdam International Fashion Week Preview: Jan Taminiau FW2011

For upcoming Amsterdam International Fashion Week designer Jan Taminiau has the honor of showing during the opening soiree. And while two designers usually show during this evening, Jan is doing it alone, presenting two different collections.

Jan sure has been busy the last couple of weeks designing not only for his brand new Haute Couture collection, but also for his Demi couture collection. Yet for Jan having to coordinate two different collections at once, is not bad at all. ‘It just feels like I can now ‘play’ more, cause I now get the make twice the amount of designs. It’s like synchrone dancing, since I’m making the same progress with both collections’, he said.

Demi Couture – Seperates

Jan will open the Amsterdam Fashion Week with his Demi Couture collection, a slightly less pricey collection, for which he focused more on his customer.  ‘The Demi Couture collection is not very different from the Haute Couture collection. Yet if a costumer would want an item from the Demi Couture collection they would only need one appointment with us, compared to five appointments for a design of our Haute Couture collection’, Jan explains.

The Demi Couture collection is, like the Haute Couture collection, not based on a certain season. Jan: ‘My customers travel to the sun when it’s winter and go skiing in the summer, so I never really work with seasons.’

Jan used the word ‘demi’ (this means ‘half’ in French) as a joke in his collection too. He would not tell us exactly what he did, but we guess certain designs will seem like they’re just one half of an item.

Jan: ‘The collection will be feminine, sexy and tough and you’ll see soft tones like gold, beige, off white, soft green and light pink’

Haute Couture – Irradiance

Jan’s Haute Couture collection is called irradiance (it’s about inner glow) and is inspired by hiding and being visible. ‘It’s based on a certain feeling you might have right before you enter a stage; you want to go on stage, but you’re also afraid and want to hide. You want to take that moment, yet you are hesitating. I always compare it to the moment you, as a child, have to give a presentation in front of the whole class; you have to do it, but you’d rather disappear. It’s about that vulnerable, yet positive balance’, Jan explained.

Jan: ‘I loved making this collection, cause there were no rules or restrictions, since this Haute Couture collection doesn’t necessarily have to be about clothes or wearablity.’

All materials for the collection were woven in the Textielmuseum in Tilburg and a lot of the details of the clothes were made by hand. The silhouette, as well as the colors of the collection are typical for Jan Taminiau: ‘You’ll see a lot of grey, silver, black and white and the music of the show will be moody.’

Amsterdam International Fashion Week Preview: Tony Cohen FW2011

Tony Cohen usually presents his new collection during New York Fashion Week, yet this year he decided to give a fashion show in Amsterdam. ‘One of the new owners of the Amsterdam International Fashion Week is a friend of mine, that’s the main reason I will be present. I also think it will be great for my friends and family to finally attend one of my shows’, Tony told us.

His new collection was inspired by the couture of the sixties. ‘Especially some of my new jackets were inspired by that period. Yet we also looked at Gugenheim for all the different materials and textures. You’ll definitely see those textures in the collection too, as well as very fluent shapes.’

While Tony usually works a lot with asymmetry in his collections, that’s not the case right now. ‘The silhouette is very clean and straight this time, therefore the collection feels more classic than usual, yet it still has a very modern twist.’

Tony used a lot of ‘muted tones’ for fall, like black, grey, taupe, red, deep purple, gold and copper. His fabrics range from wool to silk, lammy, leather, Japanese polyester and handmade fabrics. The music for Tony’s show will be a mix of music by Thom Yorke, Massive Attack and God is an Astronaut.

‘We still have to do a lot of work. Many designs of the 30 looks have handmade details like embroideries and handmade pleats, so they take some time. If I had to describe the collection in one word I would therefore call it detailed’, Tony says.

With one week left till the fashion show and still a lot of activities abroad Tony already predicts he’ll be working the night before the show: ‘We only start putting everything together next Saturday, so it will be hectic, but fun.’

Photography: Jeannette Huisman@Team Peter Stigter

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