Mattijs van Bergen Show Photomuseum Rotterdam

Dutch designer Mattijs van Bergen presented his first collection after a difficult time with financial problems. He seems ready for a new chapter and has decided only to design collections on demand. And one of the projects is this new collection ZWART in collaboration with the Dutch Photomuseum in Rotterdam. The designer got inspired by the black and white photos he found in the archives of the museum of Ed van der Elsken, Aart Klein and Cas Oorthuys. He designed a collection of 16 pieces in black and white and used photo-prints of the artists in an abstract and sometimes recognizable way. The result is a strong, elegant and light collection.
It is the first time the Dutch Photomuseum has an exhibition about photography mixed with fashion. And it turned out very well.
Photo to Fashion
Until january 10th 2016
Nederlands Fotomuseum
Gebouw Las Palmas, Wilhelminakade 332 Rotterdam

Mattijs Fashion Week Amsterdam FW2014

The first edition of the official Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek Amsterdam kicked off with Mattijs van Bergen presenting his fall/winter 2014 collection ‘Complementair’. Dutch (pregnant) actrice and longtime muse of Mattijs Jolanda van Berg opened the show by singing an a capella version of Starry, starry night by Don Mclean. Then from a gorgeous colored backdrop – inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s use of color – Mattijs’ models (with heavy, bright colored make-up on) slowly appeared, trees and falling leaves completed the setting. In collaboration with the Van Gogh museum Mattijs came up with a somewhat romantic, bright colored collection throughout which digital prints of Van Gogh’s work could be seen. On an extravagant, long evening gown or used, literally, as a kaleidoscopic all over print. The Dutch paintings could be seen more abstractly in just the use of colors (from his first dark works till the more explosively colored pieces of art). In between all the art references Mattijs’ signature could be seen, like in pleated skirts and jackets, duo colored pieces with graphic parts, metallic details and butterfly jewelry. New were the knitwear items combined with comfy pleated day-wear pants, which both appeared refreshing and seemed to be perfect commercial assets to Mattijs’ autumn ’14 collection.

 

 

Mattijs van Bergen Catwalk Fashion Show Womenswear SS2014

For his ss2014-collection Mattijs van Bergen tried to find a more simple silhouette and a new clear design. It is his answer to the spirit of today, which asks for more buy levitra online creative freedom and optimism. Japanese silhouettes and the clear style of Bauhaus inspired him. Origami, kimono-styles and graphic prints define the silhouette of his collection. The result is a collection in soft, romantic colors that remind of cherry-blossom or more harsh colors in rich materials.
Sometimes fabrics clash as do prints and colors. All in all this was an interesting collection of Mattijs which showed his sensible eye and love for fabric and form.

Mercedes Benz Dutch Fashion Award 2012 for Mattijs van Bergen

The winner of the Mercedes Benz Dutch Fashion Award 2012 is… Mattijs van Bergen!! He also won the International Fashion Incubator Awards 2012. Double luck for the designer who wants to use the money to improve his sales abroad.

The other Dutch Fashion Awards went to:

Fair Luxury Award – Elsien Gringhuis
Dutch Touch Paris Award – Anne de Grijff
Dutch Incubator Award –  Hyun Yeu
Dutch Style Icon (male) – Carlo Wijnands (programm director for Amsterdam Fashion Week)
Dutch Style Icon (female) – Liesbeth in ‘t Hout (dean at Amsterdam Fashion Institute)

DFA Nominee 2012: Mattijs van Bergen

Just a month ago Mattijs visited the beautiful city of Istanbul to present his latest collection. Tomorrow night he will show that same collection, named Proserpina, in The Hague. A new collection made out of ´old´fabrics and objects. But just before we enjoy his show in De Grote Kerk let´s fresh up our memory on Mattijs for a bit.

Fashion label
Mattijs, womenswear. Founded in 2008.

Signature
Colorful, feminine, with lots of pleats.

Short bio
After Mattijs van Bergen graduated at Artez he did an extra master at the Central Saint Martin College in London. In 2006 he won the Modern Femininity award. He was also nominated for the Harrods Award. Mattijs has showed his work during Amsterdam Fashion Week and has even presented his collections in London, Aruba and Istanbul. Mattijs designs his own accessories and has worked together with United Nude on different shoe designs, the most recent being The Harem shoe.

Collection
Friday night Mattijs will present his spring/summer 2013 collection named Proserpina. Mattijs: “The collection is about the changes we as people go through. Growth in life, the change of seasons. Proserpina, the goddess of the seasons and growth, was the starting point of this collection. It´s about girls wanting to become women and women who want to stay young. I always look for that dualism in my work.”

Clothes
When he began designing his collection Mattijs asked himself ´What is all that new actually worth?´. “I then decided to start creating clothes made out of fabrics and objects I have been collecting for a while. That patchwork of fabrics and ideas has made this collection the most personal I´ve made”, Mattijs explains.

Plans
Like all four other designers nominated for this year´s DFA´s Mattijs already has a bigger plan in case he´s lucky enough to win the big Dutch Fashion Award. Mattijs: “If I should win it would be an acknowledgment by the Dutch fashion industry for five years of hard work and building a name for myself. It would create international opportunities. I would use the money to improve my sales abroad. The price would help me participating in trade shows and together with an agent in Paris I should be able to give my sales that extra push it needs.”

Website
www.mattijsvanbergen.com

See some of Mattijs´ work below

 

 

 

 

 

 

Backstage at Mattijs fw2010

Yesterday Mattijs presented his fall/winter collection for 2010. Right before his show we photographed some cool backstage moments…

Mattijs Amsterdam Fashion Week fw2010

Tonight we saw what Mattijs was all about. His fashion show contained some qualitative, wearable fashion items.

Just as in his latest collection he presented a lot of pleated designs, like a black and a red pleated dress combined with golden belts and bracelets. Other eye-catching details were ruffles and frayed ends with long threads hanging at the bottom of some dresses.

We saw a fur balloon-shaped skirt and tops with puffy sleeves. The models wore snake leather shoes.
Mattijs used crazy color combinations like turquoise with pink. And again we saw a lot of metallic and shiny fabrics.

Mattijs van Bergen Prelude Catwalk Fashion Show SS09