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

 

 

 

 

 

 

DFA Nominee 2012: Hyun Yeu

Last year designer Hyun Yeu received the Dutch Fashion Incubator award during the DFA´s, which gave him the opportunity to sell his design in Dutch department store De Bijenkorf. This year he is nominated again and determined to win in order to expand his team and pursue an international career in fashion. Time to freshen up everyone´s memory and give a small impression of what we can expect coming Friday in The Hague.

Fashion label
Ado Les Scents, menswear. Founded in 2009.

Signature
High quality menswear with innovative shapes en fabrics.

Short bio
After graduating at the Gerrit Rietveld academy Hyun Yeu did an internship at Viktor & Rolf. He than founded his menswear label Ado Les Scents in 2009. That same year Yeu won the Frans Molenaar award (a 10.000 Euro money price) during the Amsterdam International Fashion Week. Last year Hyun Yeu also won the Dutch Fashion Incubator award durin the Dutch Fashion Awards. This summer it was announced Yeu is the new designer for Dutch fashion brand Gsus.

Quote
“My clothes may be artistic. As soon as they leave the work room it’s all about business.”

Collection
Friday night during the Dutch Fashion Award show Yeu will show his brand new collection for the very first time. “It´s named CLONES and it´s a story about identity,” says Yeu.

Plans
Yeu says he has been working very hard and of course hopes he will win Friday night´s big award. Yeu: “It´s time to grow internationally. If I win, I will use the money to set up a good team to grow further.”

DFA Nominee 2012: Elsien Gringhuis

She is one of the five designer nominated for a Dutch Fashion Award and Elsien Gringhuis might just become this year’s big winner. To freshen up everyone’s memory we’ve summarized what Gringhuis stands for and asked her a few short questions.

Fashion label
Elsien Gringhuis, womenswear. Founded in 2009.

Signature
Clean, chic and architectural. Elsien uses unconventional shapes and makes them wearable in a minimalistic way.

Short bio
Elsien Gringhuis graduated in Fashion Design from the ArtEZ Institute of the Arts in Arnhem in 2008. Since then, she presented her collections during Amsterdam International Fashion Week. Elsien Gringhuis’ design principal is completely based on sustainability. Her choice of materials consists of hand dyed silks, bamboo, wool and cotton, all with a certified eco and/or fair trade label. In 2011 she won the first prize of The Green Fashion Competition for bringing the best businessplan in supporting biodiversity. Next to her high-end sales collection Elsien Gringhuis is momentarily working on a second, more affordable line called BASIC ONES.

Quote
“My challenge is to get the maximum out of the minimal.”

Collection
On Friday, during the Dutch Fashion Awards 2012, Elsien will present a mix of creations from her fall/winter 2013 and spring/summer 2013 collection. Elsien: “It’s a collection on transformation, dead as the start of new life and fall, which is sunny and optimistic yet also dark and heavy.”

Clothes
“All my models will be very covered up and many of the designs can be worn two ways or are multi functional. A long skirt, for instance, can be turned into a dress. I also developed patterns made out of a maximum of one or two pattern parts in order to waste as little as possible”, Elsien explains.

Plans
Elsien: “I have worked very hard to build the fundament of my company and I’ve invested in a good team. If I should win we´d like to start focusing on expanding Elsien Gringhuis abroad. Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Russia and Japan, we’re ready!”

Website
www.elsiengringhuis.com