This was Amsterdam Fashion Week FW2012

Fashion is vaporized. All cameras are packed. Make up dissolved. The stage disappeared. This 16th edition of Amsterdam Fashion Week attracted almost 20.000 people. Visitors enjoyed the vibe and nice shows, to name some highlights: the openingnight with Bas Kosters and Sjaak Hullekes, the Lab-shows, Sage & Ivy-show, SIS by Spijkers & Spijkers, Jan Boelo and the Cast Iron-show. A special thanks to the organization of Amsterdam Fashionweek who made it all work out smoothly.

We’re on our way already to the next fashionweeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris.

So we’ll meet again.

 

 

Impressions of Amsterdam Fashion Week FW2012 Day 4

This was the fourth day of Amsterdam Fashion Week FW2012. An afternoon and evening filled with the Firestarters Talkshow, interesting shows of Custo, Tony Cohen and Gestuz. But the talk of the day was the Supertrash-show in the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam. Olcay Gulsen transformed the venue in a golden Las Vegas-space, where sailorgirls guarded the frontrow. She also launched her own perfume, Supertrash Phenomenal.

Gestuz Catwalk Fashion Show Amsterdam FW2012

Minimal meets French rock ‘n roll’, according to designer Arina Woron and CEO  Sanne Nielsen that’s the way to describe the fall collection of Danish label Gestuz best. The collection called ‘through rocks and waves’ shows nature around the Danish costal scenery in it’s most rough but elegant way.  The inspiration for the theme came from the work of Kirsten Klein, a Danish photographer who makes pictures of nature. ‘We wanted to show raw nature, old and destroyed. As a starting point we took little pieces of different photo’s from Kirsten and put them together to make it one.’ The actual result you see in the print dresses and shirts.

And not only the prints reflect the theme perfectly, it’s also the use of fabrics like lace, wool, silk and leather, which made some interesting combinations.  Like a cotton lace maxi-dress combined with a leather jacket, biker trousers with a casual denim blouse or a sequin dress. ‘We really played with soft and rough elements and combined them in one look. Like the sequin dress which looks really soft and feminine, but the sequins are made of actual metal which gives it that rough edge.’ And if you want to give a dress some sharpness, just wear some biker boots underneath it.

Also the colors came straight out of nature, like olive green, black, gray and dusty red. ‘We use a lot of dark colors, so the red is to soften it up a bit and add some color to the collection’.

The Danish label shows what the Scandinavians designers are best in: making wearable clothes, simple, clean and elegant but always with a personal touch. And in this case,  the rock ‘n roll worked really well.

by Eva Dusch

Tony Cohen Catwalk Fashion Show Amsterdam FW2012

Tony Cohen’s new collection had some international allure today. Not only did the production of the show feel like some Paris fashion week show (Rick Owens?), even the designs seemed to aim more at an international market (Haider Ackermann?)

Tony’s designs were asymmetric, duocolored and formed a surprising mix of different textures. Nylon, wool, silk and fur came together in several looks.

Pointed vests and draped cardigans were tight together by leather waistbands and wintery scarves were tossed around the models’ bodies.

Some of dresses will look better on a more curvy woman, the silk pants on the other hand will look unflattering on any woman who’s larger than a size XS.

The deep colored looks (deep green, aubergine and plum) were styled off by dark ankle boots and leather & fur Laimbock gloves; simple, but strong.

It was a pleasant show to watch and we’re sure we’ll see some of these designs on Tony Cohen’s famous clientele (who sat front row this evening) very soon.

Backstage at Tony Cohen AFW FW2012

Backstage models were dressed in beautiful clothes for the Tony Cohen fashion show. Make-up looked elegant but also tough and punky and matched perfectly with the jewel-tones of the dresses.

Custo Barcelona Catwalk Fashion Show Amsterdam FW2012

Spanish label Custo Barcelona is back. After a few years of absence the womens label, from the two brothers Custo and David Dalmau, is trying to capture the European market with their bold prints and colors.

It’s absolutely clear, these two brothers are global orientated and like to travel. They get inspired by all the different countries they visit, the diverse cultures they get to know and the colorful and innovative prints they see along the way. And it showed in the whole collection. The Custo Barcelona women likes to go for a long journey and explore the world, but always in style. This time the label seem to be mostly inspired by the old, native Americans, like the Indians and cowboys. But they gave it a modern, luxurious twist, which results in a lot of mixed looks. We saw some faux fur mixed with woolen vests, camel hats, fringe and sequin dresses, rough leather jackets,  a geometric shirt (like a cape) with a printed picture of nature and tweed knee- high boots with patent leather moccasins details.

Between the splash of color, their trademark, and animal prints there were also some toned- down, desert colors like sand, dark brown and military green.

Although some pieces made you want to pack your backs and go travel yourself, most looks seem too much of everything. Too much different prints, layers, shiny fabrics, small details and bright colors used in one look. Less is more definitely doesn’t count for this collection.

by Eva Dusch

It’s all in the Family: Alexia van Engelen of Sage & Ivy

This edition of Amsterdam Fashion Week we focus at designers and their biggest supporters: their family. Where would they be without their mom, dad, brother(s), sister(s)and or grandma’s? They help finishing their designs, they drive the car, they cheer them up and cry emotional tears. The next family we would like to present is Alexia van Engelen, owner and designer of Sage & Ivy, and her lovely and proud parents Gudrun and Evert, brother Evert-jr and her partner Willem.

Impressions of Amsterdam Fashion Week FW2012 Day 3

It was a big day at the Amsterdam Fashion Week yesterday. Although she was supposed to arrive late in the afternoon, everybody was obsessed with princess Máxima’s visit at The Green Fashion Competition. They almost forgot there was much more to see. We saw interesting shows of Jacob Kok and Marloes Blaas, and Alexia van Engelen choose a wonderful, atmospheric venue to present her Sage & Ivy-collection.

The Cast-Iron-show was a spectacle that closed the third day of Amsterdam Fashion Week.

Backstage at Sage & Ivy FW2012

Sage & Ivy picked a wonderful location to present her fall winter collection, the atelier of Anouk Beerents – where she restores antique mirrors. Take a look backstage.

It’s all in the Family: Marloes Blaas

This edition of Amsterdam Fashion Week we focus at designers and their biggest supporters: their family. Where would they be without their mom, dad, brother(s), sister(s)and or grandma’s? They help finishing their designs, they drive the car, they cheer them up and cry emotional tears. The next family we would like to present is Marloes Blaas and her lovely and proud parents Annemiek and Hans, brother Wouter and sister Karlijn, who actually walked in her show.

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