Prabal Gurung Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2012

In Prabal Gurung’s fall collection Hell and Heaven came together, starting off with all black, followed by a blue period, and culminating in a finale of gold and ivory.  To the press the designer talked about his own spiritual quest, about embracing both the dark and the light within.
The show went from dark to light, beginning with all-black looks on brunette/black models, then a blue section on girls with light brown hair, followed by the ivory and gold finale shown on blondes. With this collection Gurung moved away from the ladyfied looks that got him noticed in the first place.

A sense of precision was revealed in well-defined lines: sculpted coats, tunics and sexy bootleg trousers; a black neoprene dress with sheer tulle inserts at the waist and neck accessorized with a patent-leather spine harness. Bold variations on spring’s Rorschach-like prints turned up, as did the flounced-skirt silhouette.

Peter Som Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2012

There was a lot of peplum-stuff going on at Peter Som. With this major seasonal trend Som payed homage to Hollywood icons like Marlene Dietrich and Katherine Hepburn. The designer was also inspired by the industrial shapes of 20th century sculptors Chamberlain and Brancusi. Stiff fabrics added an architectural element to the clothes. The designer explored just about every use of the peplum from skirt-like overlays on top of narrow trousers to a frill on the rear of a beautiful, leather burgundy pencil skirt to a long, flowing floor-length chiffon train on a black nylon organza dress. Prints were almost absent, but the colors were interesting: bottle green, burgundy, muddy brown and flashes of neon pink.

Doo.Ri Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2012

From the first model that stepped at the catwalk at Doo.Ri it was obvious the collection was influenced by modern dance. The washed out faces, the slicked-back buns with headbands and the jersey draping. And hey, draping seems to be the strongest point of designer Doo-Ri Chung – so there was much to enjoy. From the twist-top blouses and dresses,  high necks, and ink-blue wrap dresses with a twist top. The most interesting idea was to create jackets and coats that looked like two overlapping garments. Colors were like poetry: the tonal combinations of pale pink and shades of brown and eggplant looked fresh.

Jason Wu Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2012

For the first time Jason Wu took his heritage – Asia – as a theme for his collection. Fall 2012 is all about Mao meets the Qing dynasty and Shanghai Express. Luckily no cliche-clothes, but a savvy and sophisticated collection. A belted, army green puffy jacket was quilted at the shoulders with a black lace overlay everywhere else except the big military pockets. Opulent embroideries, fur sleeves and collars gave the sharp tailoring a regal air. Variations on the cheongsam dress were beautiful precision-cut sheaths, some with alluring keyhole necklines, others with lavish embroideries. For evening, Wu recharged a Golden Age glamour silhouette with a strong shoulder, high neck and lean skirt that draped around the body with a dramatic slit.

Gestuz Catwalk Fashion Show Amsterdam FW2012

Minimal meets French rock ‘n roll’, according to designer Arina Woron and CEO  Sanne Nielsen that’s the way to describe the fall collection of Danish label Gestuz best. The collection called ‘through rocks and waves’ shows nature around the Danish costal scenery in it’s most rough but elegant way.  The inspiration for the theme came from the work of Kirsten Klein, a Danish photographer who makes pictures of nature. ‘We wanted to show raw nature, old and destroyed. As a starting point we took little pieces of different photo’s from Kirsten and put them together to make it one.’ The actual result you see in the print dresses and shirts.

And not only the prints reflect the theme perfectly, it’s also the use of fabrics like lace, wool, silk and leather, which made some interesting combinations.  Like a cotton lace maxi-dress combined with a leather jacket, biker trousers with a casual denim blouse or a sequin dress. ‘We really played with soft and rough elements and combined them in one look. Like the sequin dress which looks really soft and feminine, but the sequins are made of actual metal which gives it that rough edge.’ And if you want to give a dress some sharpness, just wear some biker boots underneath it.

Also the colors came straight out of nature, like olive green, black, gray and dusty red. ‘We use a lot of dark colors, so the red is to soften it up a bit and add some color to the collection’.

The Danish label shows what the Scandinavians designers are best in: making wearable clothes, simple, clean and elegant but always with a personal touch. And in this case,  the rock ‘n roll worked really well.

by Eva Dusch

Tony Cohen Catwalk Fashion Show Amsterdam FW2012

Tony Cohen’s new collection had some international allure today. Not only did the production of the show feel like some Paris fashion week show (Rick Owens?), even the designs seemed to aim more at an international market (Haider Ackermann?)

Tony’s designs were asymmetric, duocolored and formed a surprising mix of different textures. Nylon, wool, silk and fur came together in several looks.

Pointed vests and draped cardigans were tight together by leather waistbands and wintery scarves were tossed around the models’ bodies.

Some of dresses will look better on a more curvy woman, the silk pants on the other hand will look unflattering on any woman who’s larger than a size XS.

The deep colored looks (deep green, aubergine and plum) were styled off by dark ankle boots and leather & fur Laimbock gloves; simple, but strong.

It was a pleasant show to watch and we’re sure we’ll see some of these designs on Tony Cohen’s famous clientele (who sat front row this evening) very soon.

Custo Barcelona Catwalk Fashion Show Amsterdam FW2012

Spanish label Custo Barcelona is back. After a few years of absence the womens label, from the two brothers Custo and David Dalmau, is trying to capture the European market with their bold prints and colors.

It’s absolutely clear, these two brothers are global orientated and like to travel. They get inspired by all the different countries they visit, the diverse cultures they get to know and the colorful and innovative prints they see along the way. And it showed in the whole collection. The Custo Barcelona women likes to go for a long journey and explore the world, but always in style. This time the label seem to be mostly inspired by the old, native Americans, like the Indians and cowboys. But they gave it a modern, luxurious twist, which results in a lot of mixed looks. We saw some faux fur mixed with woolen vests, camel hats, fringe and sequin dresses, rough leather jackets,  a geometric shirt (like a cape) with a printed picture of nature and tweed knee- high boots with patent leather moccasins details.

Between the splash of color, their trademark, and animal prints there were also some toned- down, desert colors like sand, dark brown and military green.

Although some pieces made you want to pack your backs and go travel yourself, most looks seem too much of everything. Too much different prints, layers, shiny fabrics, small details and bright colors used in one look. Less is more definitely doesn’t count for this collection.

by Eva Dusch

Marloes Blaas Preview Amsterdam Fashion Week

Marloes Blaas will show her fall/winter 2012/2013 collection on Friday 27 January at 04.00 PM. She spoke with us about her brand new collection and how she came up with her source of inspiration.

Show
“I have showed my work during Amsterdam Fashion Week before, but it was always pretty tough to come up with the large amount of money they charge designers. This year I have the help of sponsor shoelabel Clarks, which I am very grateful for. They even provided me with shoes from their f/w2012/2013 collection, which are now produced earlier especially for my show.”

Inspiration
“My collection is called ‘A common silver spoon’ and is based on a Dutch saying (Geboren met een zilveren lepel in de mond). I came up with this when I was on the phone with my mum. She told me she had some old silver for me, which I maybe could use in my work. Right then the inspiration for my collection was born.”

Theme
“The collection is built around the after war period. In other collections I used to look at the forties; this time I focused more on the fifties, a prosperous period in which everyone seemed to be doing well. It was a time of solidarity, working together and large families. Especially those family portraits intrigued me. I started looking and old photo-albums from my mother’s family (she grew up in a family of 12 children). People used to really dress up in their best clothes. They didn’t look at all like themselves, but they did put a lot of effort into those pictures. I used bits and pieces of looks from that time and translated them into something modern.”

Collection
“My collection of 20 looks is divided into 3 parts. 1. In the first part jewelry plays a big role. I used real silver spoons and made necklaces out of them. The clothes in this first part are heavy, dark and are made in shades of grey and black. 2. The second part of the collection is more tough. For this part I studied old school pictures. They inspired me to come up with several school uniforms and school bags. 3. For the third part, which is more about the reconstruction after the war,  I used my own print with rocks. It has shades of burgundy and sand in it.”

Iris van Herpen Catwalk Fashion Couture Show Paris ss2012

Dutch artist/designer Iris van Herpen was an official guest at the calendar of the Haute Couture-shows in Paris. Again she surprised the audience with a breathtaking collection.

Jan Taminiau Catwalk Fashion Couture Show ss2012

Dutch designer Jan Taminiau showed his Tarnished Beauty collection during the first day of Paris Haute Couture. According to the press release  the collection was designed to elevate women. For this purpose Jan Taminiau deployed an army of beauty. The collection is feminine, colorful and extravagant with fragile forms, tarnished delicate fabrics underneath and in contrast with this glittering armor.

Tarnished Beauty
In the world of Jan Taminiau  beauty is more than a twinkling armor that protects us from reality. It is a hedonistic refuge that keeps the world outside. Real beauty comes alive when people open themselves to each other. Ultimately, the army descends and the masks go off.

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