Dutch designers shine in Paris

Paris is for many young fashion-designers still the place to be during the international fashionweek. They hope editors and stylists find a little hole in their schedule and visit their showroom and presentation. Well, it was certainly worth visiting Esther Dorhout Mees at the Totem showroom at 6, avenue Delcassé in Paris. Her feminine and conceptual style is still there, this time reminding of a aquarel painting.

Two other designers who presented their latest designs were Lotte van Dijk and Klaudia Stavevra,the 18th generation of the fashion design master of ArtEZ University of the Arts Arnhem. At Atelier Néerlandais they showed their highly personal visions on the future of fashion and femininity.

Lotte van Dijk (the Netherlands) based her collection on the way painters depict textiles. The bold and striking brushstrokes of Marlene Dumas inspired van Dijk to start her process by painting large images of garments including floral dresses, denim pieces, lace gowns and army coats. These paintings were used to create her
bold silhouettes, painted on top of the final garments or translated into jacquards.
Oversized, easy shapes in combinations of jacquards with plastic, canvas or tarpaulin are manipulated by belts, gathering towards the body, or by folding the big darts outside. Lotte is nominated for Hyeres 2017.

Klaudia Stavreva (Macedonia) presented her collection BOSSTVRVA. Inspired by the Sworn Virgins of Albania – women who assume the life and rights of a man, vowing not to marry or have children – she proposed a new, inverted way of power dressing – both sensual and strong. Modified garments, shapes and embellishments reference classic menswear, work wear, military dress, and Macedonian folkloric dress. Luxurious detailing, embellishment and fabrics clash beautifully with the hard signature menswear references.

Balmain Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW2017

Next fall the glamazons of Balmain will be dressed in raw pelts with a stitched-together feel. One of the models looked particularly fierce in a black dress assembled from crocodile skins, a tribal-looking metallic lip ring tracing a gleaming line across her mouth. Other options included a shearling sleeveless coat, or a tunic top pieced together from panels of glossy ponyskin. “It’s all about a return to the forces of nature. I wanted to create strong Amazons. Women’s power today is extremely important, and I think I reflect that with this collection. It’s very feminist,” Olivier Rousteing told WWD backstage.
The wealth of craftsmanship and materials on display was impressive. Rousteing is proud of the house’s historic ateliers, which turned out dresses and tunics in elaborate patchworks of crystal mesh, jacquard, leather appliqué, embroidery, velvet, fringe and metallic studs. This was craft of the highest level.
Rousteing diluted the impact of some dresses by adding panels depicting wolves, the wolf designsalso returned on T-shirts that anchored a boho rock star wardrobe of maxi cardigans, eyelet-studded leather and thigh-high boots.

Streetfashion Paris Womenswear FW2017, Day 02

What are you wearing during the fashion weeks? Your Gucci-shoes, that vintage Prada or your latest Vetements-denim? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: Paris Fashion Week FW 2017.

Dries van Noten Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW2017

Dries van Noten’s show yesterday marked a milestone: it was his 100th collection inclusing women’s and men’s. And he took the opportunity to look back, but without being nostalgic. He chose to celebrate with the clothes and the women who have telegraphed their power from the beginning – literally generations of runway models. He opened with Kristina de Coninck, followed by a roll call of his favorite go-to girls from the Nineties on — Amber Valletta, Anne Catherine Lacroix, Carolyn Murphy, Alek Wek, Cecilia Chancellor, Élise Crombez, Erin O’Connor, Esther de Jong, Guinevere Van Seenus, Kirsten Owen, Liya Kebede and Nadja Auermann — who shared the runway with the familiar faces of today.

Van Noten dressed them to play up their strength, both as individuals and as a gender. And it did work, powerfully and easily. Van Noten crossed traditional masculine and feminine elements on his runway.
Van Noten’s other big message: prints – he’s a master of the genre. As part of looking back, he revived favorite patterns from his archive, overprinting them with additional motifs so that nothing is today as it was then.

Streetfashion Paris Womenswear FW2017, Day 01

What are you wearing during the fashion weeks? Your Gucci-shoes, that vintage Prada or your latest Vetements-denim? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: Paris Fashion Week FW 2017.

Saint Laurent Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW2017

Anthony Vaccarello’s collection for Saint Laurent was not about chic. Looking chic is the furthest thing from the mind of this Saint Laurent girl. She wants to look aggressive cool: peak-shouldered jackets and micro dresses, high-shine vinyl (or leather), ruffles and a tricked-out sleeve. Such clothes are in-your-face fashion, pulsing with sexy attitude. Part two of the Saint Laurent collection was a series of impeccably made, basic (as in really basic) clothes: jackets, sweaters, pants, jeans, a tank-top. The pre-finale men’s wear fell completely into this category — ultra-cool, ultra-wearable, just clothes.

 

Liselore Frowijn Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW2017

Liselore Frowijn designed her fall collection in the name of the greater goo: crafting an outdoor/nomadic/global collection as a commentary on “human unity and freedom.” The looks were pileups of quilted bombers, tunics and wide-leg pants that referenced traditional Indian garb, brushed wool scarves, ponchos and long tailored coats done in gradient colors. Planetary prints inspired by Alfred Eikelenboom and gold Spandex-ish layers added an otherworldly feeling to the eclectic mix.

Streetwear Haute Couture Paris SS2017, Part 2

What are you wearing during the fashionweeks? Your Gucci-shoes, that vintage Prada or your latest Vetements-denim? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: Paris Haute Couture spring/summer 2017.

Viktor & Rolf Haute Couture Catwalk Show SS2017

To state Viktor & Rolf’s couture collection was breathtakingly beautiful would still be an understatement. Their collection of broken dreams was simply stunning from beginning to end. Inspired by Kintsugi (the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum as it’s breakage and repair are part of the history of an object) the Dutch design duo cut up old vintage gowns and used pieces of them on their brand new designs (quite the sustainable idea). Attached with a gold or silver lining around it, just like the cups and bowls you’d find after Googling ‘Kintsugi’. Now in case you thought this game of cut and paste would make the couture pieces end up like rag dolls, this was definitely not the case. The pieces gave the new looks, which were already stunners, extra value, a deeper layer. The color scheme (that moved from brights to pastels) worked gorgeously as did they interplay of sheerness, highly decorated jacquards, polka dots, checks and thick layers of 3D tule. Viktor and Rolf even pulled off some impressive couture pants. And believe it or not this collection even appeared quite wearable (given that it was haute couture and Viktor & Rolf). The finale of five different (broken) dream dresses was every girls fantasy. The deep green cut-outs attached to the light pink gown (look 28) was the perfect couture gown mash up. Couture collage done like only Viktor & Rolf would. Can you tell we’re head over (their shiny, ankle strap) heels?

Streetwear Haute Couture Paris SS2017, Part 1

What are you wearing during the fashionweeks? Your Gucci-shoes, that vintage Prada or your latest Vetements-denim? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: Paris Haute Couture spring/summer 2017.

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