Elise Kim Amsterdam Fashion Week Preview FW2013

Elise Kim has had quite a few busy months. She has held a show in her hometown Saigon, has been making tailor made clothes for her clients and went out and about to meet new lots of new people. But she is now fully focused on her brand new fall winter collection, which she will show next week. It’s part of her trilogy of which we’ve already seen part one and part two and from what Elise has shown us so far it sure looks promising. Expect a chic, sexy collection, made with lots of handwork and a few very modern techniques as well. Oh and Elise is not only showing clothes this time around…

Why did you decide to show again during AFW?
“I chose to show at AFW because this collection is the third part of a trilogy and the first two parts I already showed at Amsterdam Fashion Week. It is nice to close my trilogy here at the Gashouder location at the Amsterdam Fashion Week. It is a nice exposure for my new collection and also for my clients and press to come and see the show. Recently I started to like to do fashion shows, it gives me such a kick.”

Does the third part of your trilogy have as much handwork as the second part?
“Although I still have handwork in this collection, it is much less compared to the last collection. Handwork is part of who I am, I really like doing that. When I have a lot of stress it is my meditation doing handwork.”

Do you get help creating your designs?
“I work together with 2 seamstresses. Recently, an intern joined us, she helps with some small things and the handwork. I’m really picky with choosing interns, if I don’t have a click with someone, it’s very difficult to work together. It would block my creativity, then I’d rather work on my own. Since the team is so small, I personally cut all the fabrics myself and prepare all the work so that the seamstress can put together the clothes as fast as possible.”

What was your inspiration for the new collection?
“This collection is inspired by a darker dream when one is in a deep sleep, but sometimes wakes up from seeing bizarre images or gets lost in another world. Once I read a short story and I was inspired by this sentence: Night is strange, night is surreal. Night is when you dream, and not because you are asleep.”

How is that darker dream visible in your f/w2013 designs?
“It’s a collection with lots of black, cobalt blue and some bright colors (reddish orange, orange and fuchsia) every now and then. It was also in the weirdest dream I saw while making this collection; I saw accent colors, sparkling in the deepest night. You can see dark clothing pieces with bright embroideries or embellishments.”

What else can we expect?
“I’ve fallen in love again with leather, there are also different kinds of wool, silk and cotton. Besides the materials we used different kind of techniques, such as laser-cut, embroidery and beading. I will show a total of 28 looks: 45 pieces of clothing. For this collection we also have shoes and bags, in collaboration with Jarah Stoop and Jelske Peterson.”

How would you describe the collection?
“Every collection reflects how I feel at the moment. This is a different collection, but it is still Elise Kim’s style. The graphic, feminine, edgy elements and the use of embroidery and handwork are all there. The Elise Kim woman is growing up, she’s sexier and mysterious, yet still my designs are very chic and wearable.”

Elise Kim will present her new collection on Saturday 26 January at 09.00 p.m.

Cold Method Amsterdam Fashion Week Preview FW2013

We had to miss Cold Method during the some of the latest editions of Amsterdam Fashion Week, but the Dutch fashion brand is back. On Friday 25 January Cold Method will hold a catwalk show in Het Transformatorhuis. We caught up with designer Dieter de Cock to talk about his design process and his idea of what a ‘Cold Method man’ should look like.

Why did you decide Cold Method should be part of the Amsterdam Fashion Week again?
“I’ve seen Amsterdam Fashion Week growing for the last couple of years and I think this season’s program looks interesting. Also, the AFW platform is a good way to reach a lot of people. Everyone’s schedule is always super busy, so by presenting the new collection during AFW we hope more people will be able to stop by.”

How do you make sure Cold Method stands out during AFW?
“Usually we come up with a location that fits the collection and the brand, this time it’s more of a challenge to make the show into something that really breathes CM. Therefore we’ve opted for a smaller location within the AFW and with our street model casting (60% of the CM models will be casted on the streets) we’ll try to still make the show something unique. We are a commercial brand, yet we like to present ourselves as a smaller, more intimate label.”

What can you tell us about the new Cold Method man?
“The CM man is slightly changing every season and I try to let him develop with every collection. For winter he has grown into a more flamboyant type of guy. A guy that dares to wear floral, paisley and pied-de-poule prints and lots of color, yet still looks manly. He wears warm shades like dark emerald, ruby, royal blue and touches of neon, yet black and grey are brought back into the CM color palette as well. His style is a mix between dressy and casual and has a British kind of New Romantics feeling.”

Where did that New Romantics inspiration come from?
“I was inspired by King Charles’, an upcoming artist who looks like a guy from Pirates of the Caribbean and wears the most perfect British suits. It’s his mix of full on dandy looks and tough music that appealed to me. I see the new CM man as a king of his own kingdom who perfectly knows how to dress himself. With this collection I tell him to be whoever he wants to be.”

On Facebook you already posted something about SS2014. Are you that far ahead?
“Yes, I asked my friends (& fans) to come up with their ideas for my new summer collection. I didn’t use any of them, because they didn’t really fit so much with how I saw our CM changing. Yet I found it very interesting to see what everyone came up with. I am already fully focused on that collection. As a matter of fact, I have to present my SS2014 sketches the Monday after the AFW show. It’s my only concern, but we’re very much on schedule with everything.”

On the 25^th of January Dieter de Cock will present his Eclectic Kingdom collection of around 28 looks. See some impressions of that fall/winter 2013 collection in the gallery below.

SIS by Spijkers en Spijkers Amsterdam Fashion Week Preview FW2013

No Amsterdam Fashion Week without the Spijkers-sisters. Once again Truus and Riet Spijkers are presenting their latest SIS by Spijkers en Spijkers collection. A rock ‘n roll collection with a sweet fifties touch and a muse that is, for a change, still alive. We caught up with Truus to talk about the upcoming SIS a/w2013 collection.

What inspired you for your upcoming collection?
“We thought of a rock ‘n roll / high school theme. Don’t expect lots of black leather; you have to think of the rock ‘n roll of the fifties, a sweet kind of rock ‘n roll. It also has something surrealistic, which becomes visible through the prints. Like with every collection we chose a woman as our muse. I can not tell you who it is. But this time it is a rock ‘n roll lady and she is still alive, which is new for us.”

What kind of winter collection can we expect?
“There will be heavy and light pieces brought together in a somewhat airy collection. Since we’re sold all over the world we didn’t necessarily want to produce a very warm and heavy collection. There has to be something for every occasion and overall the feeling needs to be fresh and light. A SIS woman for instance can wear one of our lace tops underneath an angora sweater. Colors will be winter shades like black, blue and brown, yet done in a fresh way.”

How will the SIS woman be dressed next winter?
Overall the collection has designs for every day, yet there might be one or two looks that are more for a night out. We’ve worked with lace, cotton, silk, crepe de chine, angora and some lovely knitwear out of which we’ve made beanies and scarves. We’ve created super soft suits made of a wool and lycra mix. We’ve produced T-shirts with a dog print and there is another cute print, which we’ve produced in two different color schemes. In every look the waist is the focus point and our models will wear wide belts to stress that.”

Are you excited about showing at the much larger show area at the Westergasterrein?
“I haven’t really thought about that. Let’s just hope the catwalk is not much longer than usually. A normal fashion show is already pretty though for our young models. But the new show area seems like an exciting space which will lead to a different experience. Let’s hope enough people will come so we can fill up the large area.”

What are your plans for 2013 regarding SIS?
“Since last season we have new selling points in France and Italy, which we’re very excited about. Before we mostly sold SIS in the Netherlands and Japan, now we’re really hitting the market in Europe. Yet we’re also planning on extending our sales within the Dutch market. This year we’ve investigated why SIS is not sold extremely well in our home country and found out not everyone knows SIS. A lot of people don’t even know we have a second line and think we’re much more expensive (the Spijkers en Spijkers collection is three times more expensive than the SIS collection). In 2013 we would like to work on becoming more visible and known in our own country. We would for instance love to be sold at the Bijenkorf.”

On the 24th of January the new SIS by Spijkers en Spijkers collection will be shown at 06.00 p.m.

 

Casablanca Fashion Week 2012 Preview: Said Mahrouf

One of the designers who will show his collection at Casablanca Fashion Week is Said Mahrouf (40). He is the one who invited Team Peter Stigter to Casablanca. That’s no coincidence, since Mahrouf lived for more than 30 years in the Netherlands – he came to our country with his parents when he was 9 – and studied Fashion Design at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. This year in January he presented his collection for the first time at Amsterdam Fashion Week.

Mahrouf is fascinated by the interaction between human movements and space. He gradually focused his work on designing costumes for site-specific performances. His work has been displayed at the New Museum of Contemporary Art and the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, both in New York, the Utrecht Central Museum, the Amsterdam Municipal Museum, Carriage Works Gallery in Sydney and in Casablanca’s Loft Gallery. In 2011 he was appointed artistic director of the 15th edition of Morocco’s main traditional fashion event, Caftan, which was broadcast live from Marrakech. Said Mahrouf presents a ready-to-wear collection at Festimode-Casablanca Fashion Week annually.

His fashion-collections are an ode to femininity and elegance. The soft, sensual lines of his designs truly come to life on a female body. And his clientele in Casablanca loves it. After years of living in Amsterdam and traveling the world, Said Mahrouf returned  to Casablanca in 2010 definitely. In his atelier he designs and sells ready to wear de luxe. And it made him a celebrity in Morocco. Moroccan fashion is often traditional in spirit, what Mahrouf designs is considered avant-garde. And elite wants that.

Team Peter Stigter visited the designer in his atelier in Casablanca for a preview of his new collection, which is inspired by the colors of Marrakech.

More information about Said Mahrouf and Casablanca Fashion Week

 

Elise Kim Amsterdam Fashion Week Preview

Dreamworld
The last show of this summer edition of the Amsterdam Fashion Week will be that of Elise Kim. The Vietnam born designer will show part two of her trilogy, which she started last season. “My previous show was all about the moment we fall asleep, this collection will be like a dream. During my show I want everyone to step into a dreamworld inspired by the twenties, my favorite decade”, Elise Says.

Twenties
In 24 looks Elise will give the fashion week audience twenties to the max. “The silhouette is very straight and I’ve used lots of beads and feathers. Most of the beads are extremely tiny; the tiniest beads we could find. I used them on several dresses and even created a few pairs of earrings with them. When the models walk in the dresses full of beads they move like crystal waterfalls; you see all kind of shapes and movements and it works beautifully with the light. Very pretty.”

1,5 km of beads
Finding the tiniest beads in the world is one thing, attaching them turned out to be one hell of a job. Elise: “I kind of underestimated the amount of work that goes into creating a dress covered in beads. Each dress takes up around two till three hundred hours to make. Can you believe we’ve been adding around 1,5 kilometers of beads?! At the office me and my intern make the best out of it and enjoy some music, tea and cookies while we’re working, but after hours and hours of threading it gets pretty dull. Yet I really wanted to show a lot of handwork and it is turning out very beautiful.”

Bright
After her latest collection full of black and navy this collection will be a lot brighter. “We start the show with black, then we go to bright blue (almost turquoise) white, green and white again. Green represents summer for me and blue stands for the ocean. I’ve used silk, crêpe satin and a mix of silk and wool for lots of dresses, blouses skirts and a few coats. Since the dresses are very outspoken I’m going to opt for a minimalistic way of styling.“

Risk
Even though Elise loves her new designs she feels like she’s taking a risk. “I’ve used glitter beads and the whole collection is about fantasy and glamour. It is very different, since I’ve never done this before. I wanted to show designs that were slightly more special. Yet every dress can be made without the beads as well. The opening look in black with beads that look like fringes and the last white colored dress are my favorite looks. The finale will be great as well, since we’re doing something special. I can not tell you what it is yet, but I’m very excited.”

Elise Kim will show her new collection on Sunday 15 July at 08.00 PM

Jan Boelo Amsterdam Fashion Week Preview

Going big
After having presented his previous collections in the afternoon Jan Boelo will hold a big evening show in collaboration with phone company Sizz during upcoming Amsterdam Fashion Week. And so Jan is going big with his collection too this season. “We’re creating about forty to fifty looks this time, twice the number of looks we did last year”, says Boelo. “Of course it tougher, but the number of team members working on the collection is doubled too and we’ll get some extra help the coming weeks, so we’ll manage. Since I only want to show the strongest looks we eventually might edit out about five of them during the styling process, but for now we’re just creating enough options.”

In the navy
The theme of Jan’s spring summer collection will be military, inspired by an editorial in French Vogue. “I’m showing all kinds of variations of the uniform. The army and the navy will be big themes in the show. The runway show will be a triumph, after battle. This means besides uniforms I will present garments men and women wear when returning home after war, for example leather long johns. All designs (in shades of sand, army, navy, red, white, blue, silver and gold ) will be slightly destroyed and the models’ hair and make-up too will look a bit off, in line with the theme”, Jan explains.

Seks & wax
The pieces will have a slightly different fit compared to last season, yet there’s no doubt they will still breathe the same amount of sex and rock. Jan: “The military jackets will be extremely tailored, T-shirts will be super tight, yet pants will be slightly looser and there is a focus on the shoulders. You’ll see my signature leather and jersey, plus I’ve used a special wax fabric for some of the coats and jackets. I will even present a sweater knitted out of chains, we are working on right now.”

Shine on
Jan already has a famous clientèle of mainly artists (Caro Emerald, Daily Bread and Ellen ten Damme) who wear his designs on stage. And it seems he inspires them as much as they do him. “The fabrics I use work really well on stage, since they’re often very shiny. It’s the stand out pieces (his metallic pants and baroque jackets from previous collections) that are selling the best. In Paris (where his designs are sold at Le Vestibule) a selection of Jan Boelo jackets was even sold out in four days. Jan: “The great thing is that even abroad mostly musicians and performers, people I’m inspired by, buy my designs.”

Celebs
And oh my do stars love Jan Boelo. Ever since his first fashion show he has had a star studded front row, something he never would have imagined. “I’m only 24 years old and I am actually just starting out. Sometimes I can not even believe some of the famous Dutch artists would actually come to my show.” Looking far ahead with his career is thus something Jan doesn’t do. “It’s hard to plan things, but of course I would love to expand. I would like to sell my clothes in London, Italy, Germany and Scandinavia, but time will tell if that will happen.”

Friday the 13th
For now Jan is finishing up his collection and is excited about the show. “I’m showing on the same day as Bas Kosters and Spijkers en Spijkers, so it will be a great day even though it will be Friday the 13th. I’m looking forward to putting on a great show together with them. ‘Cause I feel making Amsterdam Fashion Week a success is something you do together.”

Jan Boelo will show his Spring Summer 2013 collection on Friday 13 July at 09.00 PM

Bas Kosters Amsterdam Fashion Week Preview

Changes
After having shown his collection during the evening the last couple of seasons Bas Kosters is holding a matinee next week. “I decided it was time for a change. The previous shows were always one big spectacle, but this time the vibe will be completely different. Don’t expect it to be a quiet and calm event, but it will be different”, says Bas.

Couture-focus
Changes will be visible throughout the collection as well, since Bas decided to focus more on couture. “My previous collections were always very prêt-à-porter, but sometimes that can come across as too commercial. Therefore we’ve now added more unique pieces and we’ve created a different balance. These couture pieces are the showpony’s of the matinee. With them I can really show what I stand for. They’re easier to portray my vision with and they’re meant to eventually generate more sales.”

Love Fuck Yeah
Couture and prêt-à-porter will meet each other in Bas’ new collection, named Love Fuck Yeah. A collection which is about love. So is Bas very in love? Bas: “I am, but oddly enough I came up with this whole Love theme last year in August/September when I was actually heartbroken. Yet love is about so much more than just being in love. It’s about communication too, but on another level.”

No elite event
Like last season Vodafone is Bas’ main sponsor. Yet after the last show, which seemed to be all about telephones, Bas will now focus on the customer. “We want to involve the costumer. My show should not be this elite event. Therefore we also organized model castings this time, so the show is for ‘everyone’.”

Mystery
How the designs are going to look like, will remain a mystery for now, but there’s a few things Bas can reveal. “What I can tell you is there will be a focus on color, use of materials and dessins, which we’ve produced ourselves. We’ve used lots of cotton, as well as velvet and silk. Oh and the shoes will be sponsored by Nelly.com and Palladium.”

Bas Kosters will show his Spring/Summer 2013 collection on 13 July at 03.00 PM
A new edition of Bas’ magazine Extra Kak will be launched during the show.

Karssenberg-Greidanus Amsterdam Fashion Week Preview

First time
Karssenberg-Greidanus will present their work for the second time during Amsterdam Fashion Week. For the very first time designers Sanne Karssenberg and Cleo Greidanus are presenting a summer collection, named CloudScape. Sanne: “Up until now we’ve only been working on winter collections and art projects, so this will be our first spring/summer collection. Now don’t expect it to be all airy and bright, ‘cause the show won’t have that typical summer feeling.”

Rainy summer
No bikini’s or tropical blouses, these designers translated ‘summer’ in their very own way. “We’ll show shirts and dresses that are perfect for summer. Plus, we’ve designed raincoats that are right for our rainy Dutch summers, since we always like to design functional clothes that made for protection.” And it’s not just the weather these coats refer to, the designers used rain as a metaphor too. “Rain stands for the large amount of data we receive every day, which can be kind of an overload. The raincoat can feel as a safe cocoon, but can be kind of suffocating too.”

Hello color?
It’s the first spring/summer collection but it is also the first time the designduo is working with color. Well, color…“Before we always used ‘non-colors’, now we’ve used shades of white, grey, black and red. We used these on lots of jerseys, some transparent plastics, knitwear, glass-like materials that represent water drops.”

Story to tell
Karssenberg-Greidanus have been absent for a while, but decided to show again during Amsterdam Fashion Week, since they felt they had a new story to tell. “For the first time we are launching a more wearable collection, we felt people should see that. We want people to know the story behind the collection and with a catwalk show you can tell that story. It is slightly more stressful though, because we really want the collection to portray the right feeling.”

Pre-show ritual
Sanne: “We’re pretty right on track. Every now and then I get a small anxiety attack, but apart from that the show preparations are going well. We hope we have time for our pre-show ritual on Wednesday. We like to go to the hairdresser together and get a new haircut as a last preparation for the show and a welcome getaway from the design studio where we are spending all our time right now.”

Karssenberg-Greidanus will show their Spring Summer 2013 collection on Thursday 12 July at 08.00 PM

See some the first impressions of the collection below.

Jacob Kok Preview Amsterdam Fashion Week

Jacob Kok will show his fall/winter 2012/2013 collection on Friday 27 January at 02.00 PM. He spoke with us about his brand new collection and his plans for the future.

Title
“The name of my collection is Schat Zoeken (Treasure Hunting). I began with the idea of minerals and crystals and eventually I added the world of mineworkers to it.’

Inspiration
“My inspiration for this collection is a result of the winning collection I showed on Project Catwalk. There I designed clothes with stone details and I thought it would be nice to start from there. The mineworkers theme is very visible, since I used many work clothing details. Also, I added some sort of treasure to every look…”

Materials
“The treasures in the collection can for instance be a special fabric. I developed my own fabrics at the Audax Museum of Textiles in Tilburg , which represent my treasures. The clothes might appear pretty normal; it’s the fabrics that make it special. Besides those new fabrics I also used recycled ones, so there’s a real contrast between old and new. I, for instance, worked with blankets movers use when they want to protect the furniture.”

Colors
“Overall the clothes look quite dusty. Even if I used colorful fabrics; they still have this washed out feeling to it; as if everything is covered in dust.”

Stress
“I was actually planning on coming up with about 20 looks, but as fashion week is approaching I think that number might diminish to 15 or 17. There’s still a lot to do, so I’ll definitely work till the very last hour. I have really panicked about this, but now I am planning on just doing the best I can and not stressing out any more.”

Goal
“With this collection I am not planning on impressing buyers and press, like others. I just hope my knowledge of fabric and the way I work with it will get noticed. It’s not my goal to create a new collection every six months and sell as much dresses as possible. I would love to just work together with an established fashion brand. For instance, a collaboration like Peter Pilotto and Kipling; I would love to work on a project like that. I don’t even have to work with clothes necessarily; I think I am much better in creating accessories anyway. I don’t see myself as a fashion designer, yet more as an art director.”

Sjaak Hullekes Preview Amsterdam Fashion Week

Sjaak Hullekes is the second designer to reveal a little bit of the collection he will show at the Amsterdam Fashion Week. Together with Bas Kosters Hullekes will present his  fall/winter 2012/2013 collection on the opening-night, Wednesday 25 January at 07.00 PM. He spoke with us about his brand new collection.

Show
“The first time I showed my collection during Amsterdam Fashion Week was in 2007. Although it’s been a while, I’m glad to be back. I decided to show again during AFW since the fashion week has made a new start. It’s more about the fashion again, instead of the people and the party.”

Goal
“For us showing at AFW is about showing my work to the press and trying to sell. Yet we also want to give everyone in the audience a small stimulant. It’s good to be able to show our collection to a broader audience.”

Time
“We’re right on schedule for this collection. Since we’re going to Paris a few days before the show, everything had to be done in time. There’s still some work to do but I am not worried. At some point you just have to have faith in the people around you, so I am actually pretty calm.”

Inspiration
“Our inspiration for the show is Gemstone. The collection is about the contrast between the way we work with technology nowadays versus the way in which people just used to work with what the earth had to offer. To get in the mood for this collection we watched the movie Pink Narcissus and we watched clips of Serpentine Dancers. The city Marrakesh was also a big source of inspiration. We visited the city a couple of times and just love how everything stimulates your senses; the hammam, the gardens, the herbs.”

Look & feel
“The color palette of the collection is very rich, we used deep shades like amber and aubergine. We also used Berber influences and you’ll see aesthetic and mystic references.”

Dance
“We’re going to show a total of 40 looks; 32 looks we will show on models and 8 other looks will be shown on dancers. I cannot tell you anything more about that. Let’s just keep it a surprise until Wednesday.”

Photography: Jeannette Huisman@Team Peter Stigter

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