Iris van Herpen Catwalk Couture Show Paris FW2018

In a world facing depleted natural resources, Iris van Herpen’s fascinating biomimicry world looks increasingly relevant. As the movement for lab-grown materials continues to gather momentum, van Herpen this season explored synthetic biology and the intertwining relationships between the organic and the inorganic, biology and technology. The designer even had a term for it: “Syntopia.”
As a prelude, she handed the floor to like-minded Amsterdam-based artist duo Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta of Studio Drift to create a kinetic sculpture. Suspended above the runway — and based on the concept of a glass bird — the installation was composed of rows of glass bars suspended by invisible wires that made them move like wings. It made for some novel runway entertainment, but the show really took flight with van Herpen’s creations based on interpretations of a feather’s architecture.
The designer used chronophotography, a technique from the Victorian era that captures movement in several frames, to guide the draping of a garment, breaking the process down to emulate the layering of a bird’s feather on sculpted dresses with undulating hems.
Other looks had an ethereal underwater feel, seen in rippling dresses with a classical allure, and luminous cape gowns in sheer silk organza, their liquid-coated pleats echoing the lines of the kinetic installation.
The Syntopia theme also played out in a series of gray coats and dresses in laser-cut wool fused with sections of intertwined digitally designed and traditional weaves, fringes of leather tassels swinging from the hems.

Claes Iversen Couture Fashion Show SS2018

Please enjoy the pictures for now, our review will follow later.

Karim Adduchi Couture Fashion Show Amsterdam

Moroccan designer Karim Adduchi presented his new collection “She Has 99 Names” in de Duif in Amsterdam. In addition to Karim himself as an immigrant, he works with his collections together with Syrian, Russian and Eritrean laborers and artists, who recently found their home in Amsterdam. He specifically aimed at workers whose work you do not often encounter on the catwalk.
In “She Has 99 Names” Karim has given an oath to the women he had around when he lived in Imzouren as a child; the Berber village where he was born too. Adduchi shows these women in their distinctive complexity: beautiful and confused, happy and sad, furious and fragile.
Adduchi dives in the rich heritage of Morocco prior to each collection. He designs woolen fabrics, hand-woven by local laborers.
Even though Adduchi is not a political artist, he tries to map social problems with his art. Immigrants and refugees invite him to work with him in his collections. At first, these people were all unknown, but their shared passion for craftsmanship and design brought them together.

Claes Iversen Couture SS17 Catwalk Show: TPS Recap

See our team in action in the making-of the Claes Iversen Couture SS17 show. The first show at our new location in Amsterdam.

Iris van Herpen Haute Couture FW2016 Backstage

It was an unforgettable and magical show/presentation yesterday at Iris van Herpen in the l’Oratoire du Louvre, an 18th-century Protestant church. The Dutch designer stood her models on concrete plinths as Japanese musician Kazuya Nagaya brushed his golden Zen bowls, producing pings and drones that reverberated through the space. That magical vibe was also created by the use of thin fabrics and special textiles used fro frothy and ethereal dresses in the palest colors, the simplest a long sheath resembling morning dew on wet skin. We took a close look backstage at the show.

ILJA by Ilja Visser Couture Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2016

Ever since last season Ilja Visser is ‘one of the big guys’. Meaning on Wednesday the 27th of January the Dutch designer was officially part of the Paris Haute Couture Week for the second time. She chose Palais Vivienne as the show location for the presentation of her SS16 couture collection ‘ASSIMILA’. Quite the classical, baroque backdrop to Ilja’s modern, clean, yet sculptural creations, which, as she explained, were an ode to contemporary femininity. A theme Ilja further elaborated on with crafted, soft shapes, textures and colors (whites, nudes as well as touches of orange and green) that carried a modern attitude. Designs looked impeccable, unique, refreshing and desirable. With an ability to please both the couture shopping rich ladies as well as some popstar stylists (Beyoncé dresser attended the show). Asymmetric strapless dresses, structured jackets, boxy tops and slip dresses and cropped tops; this was couture with a definite cool factor ready to be picked up by Hollywood’s/The fashion world’s latest it-girls. Now the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture might be a dinosaur institute that sure didn’t stop Ilja from giving her scheduled show an extra fashion forward touch. She arranged special light effects to create vivid colors on some of the models. Fresh faced models with a personality, who exceeded in their diversity, representing Ilja’s ‘urban cool’ and ‘new pretty’ beauty norm. Modern talented women, professionals, mothers, spouses and friends Ilja wants to be unapologetic while chasing their dreams. Like she is doing herself, and quite successfully so.

Jan Taminiau Haute Couture Fashion Show FW2015 Amsterdam

While the fashion-circus moved from Milan to Paris last monday, Jan Taminiau decided to present his new haute couturecollection in Amsterdam in an intimate setting. Artist Trudy Derksen opened her atelier to guests and clients and it proved to be a great setting for Taminiau’s dresses and pantsuits. It was all elegant and feminine and made for those women of the world, who divide their time between work and social events. Especially the evening-dresses were impressive, esspecially the ones with embroideries and handpainted flowers.

Viktor & Rolf Haute Couture SS 2015

The expressive landscapes of Vincent van Gogh provided the visual cues for giant 3D flowers and enormous straw hats in Dutch fashion house Viktor & Rolf’s Spring Summer 2015 haute-couture collection. Team Peter Stigter went back- and frontstage to capture the moments before and during the fashion show.

Ilja Visser Couture Catwalk Show SS2015 Paris

Telling the story of nature’s rotating dynamic TOURNAVOLTA is the name of Ilja Visser’s new couture collection. Inspired by the perfect balance between nature en life it contained the loveliest of green shades, from olive and moss to mint. Made from complex pattern designs had the most graphic materials and voluminous shapes. A mix between heavy and airy fabrics, a match of both casual and elegance styles. Still the show’s vibe was relaxed, the silhouette easy going (hands in the pockets). Yes, these were couture designs, yet those pieces were wearable enough for many occasions, making them accessible to a broader audience. A beautifully made collection a label like Ilja might just need to break through internationally. And for those who wonder, there were still some Gaga worthy pieces (we suggest a mint green dress with orange ribbon) in it.

Iris van Herpen Couture Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2012

Hybrid Holism is the title of Iris van Herpens last collection, It’s divers and complex in terms of form, structure and material. With this collection Van Herpen introduces a new technique called  ‘Mammoth Stereo Lithograph’. Its 3D printing process is build part by part in a layer of polymer. The polymer gets hard when in contact with a laserbeam, the result is a layered and complex form.  For this 3D print Iris van Herpen collaborated with Materialise and architect Julia Koerner. Innovation always plays a major part in Van Herpens work.
In this collections she used Swarovski crystals, lace made of silicone, copper,  Ecco leer and acrylic transparent skin. Colors like black. dark red and dark blue are mixed with metallic purple and transparent amber.

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