Winde Rienstra & GOMES ESSER DESIGN – LAB Catwalk Fashion Shows SS2012

Winde Rienstra – 11:11

Winde Rienstra and Gomes Esser Design were next up at Amsterdam Fashion Week Lab. Winde really was the public’s favorite; everyone in the audience seemed blown away by her structured, handcrafted designs. Her designs were on the edge of clothes and objects and were not all very wearable, but sure painted a nice picture.

 

Gomes Esser Design – The perfection of imperfection

Designer Aleyda and Denise from Gomes Esser Design presented their work for the second time during AIFW. It showed their surrealistic and futuristic signature by combining lots of metal (jewelry and head pieces), leather and innovative solar panels.
There were male and female models and America’s Next Top Model participant Sara Longoria was one of them. She fiercely walked the show and is also the new face of Gomes Esser Design.

 

Catwalk Fashion Show SIS by Spijkers en Spijkers SS2012

Tonight the Amsterdam Fashion Week kicked off with the SIS by Spijkers en Spijkers (their second line) fashion show. A great start of a week full of fashion!

Designers Truus and Riet Spijkers presented a fun, sunny collection which turned a big smile on our faces. They were inspired by the twenties and Olympic swimmer Zus Braun in particular. The swim details were visible through fun play/bathing suits and old skool bathing caps.

SIS was divided in day wear and evening wear and overall felt very playful and optimistic. Shades of rose, red, pistachio, amber and nautical blue were used in combination with white and black. The models looked feminine in jumpsuits, shorts, jeans skirts (with large pockets) and casual suit jackets.

Stripes were used in every possible way, a zig zag print came by and a ‘vintage’ fashion illustration formed the print on some of the SIS-tops. Multi-colored belts, sunny shades and cane hats added just the right feeling to some of the looks. Overall it was just a very joyful and wearable collection, exactly what a second line should be.

 

Preview AIFW – Pauline van Dongen

While traveling from London to Rome and Amsterdam she kept multiple To do lists in the past weeks just to make sure all preparations for her show would be done in time. So with just a few days until that show everything seems to fall in place just right. And Pauline van Dongen’s first Amsterdam Fashion Week fashion show is most likely to become a success.

The collection Pauline will be showing is called Kinetic Landscapes and tells the story of subtle changes in nature made by the power of water and air, which can only be noticed after many decades. Like the remarkable traces of waves and sand on rocks and stones.

“Through this inspiration the collection shows my sculptural signature and experimental approach of shape and materials. I used lines and waves to create movement in my designs as well. I find it fascinating that wind and air can create soft and fluent shapes on such large and solid parts of nature.”

“I was inspired by the natural phenomena ‘The Wave’ in Arizona and thus opted for shades of that specific place like orange, cobalt blue, white, grey and black. A reflecting kind of knitwear and a springy sort of pleated knitwear represent the fluent and reflecting aspect of water in my creations.”

But better than to speak about Pauline’s designs we should watch them. Preferable on the runway while they’re being worn by models. ‘Cause, Pauline says, “I love to see my work on a moving body in stead of on a static object. The woman body gives my designs their outspoken shape and volume.”

Pauline van Dongen will show her collection on 14 July at 8 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

Raf Simons Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2012

Raf Simons’ own ss2012 collection was well balanced. A tailored black suit was the canvas on which the Belgian designer build his minimalistic vision, with roomy coats (and some tunics)  in mismatched checks or pastel-colors, sleeveless leather T-shirts, sleeveless knits with a small flower-print or shirts in contrasting black & white.

Especially the colorful checks added an upbeat character to this strict and minimal collection.

Dior Homme Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2012

Kris van Assche continued to celebrate the art of tailoring at the Dior Homme-collection. The ss2012 collection looked plain & minimal but oh so luxurious.

Shirts and tapered trousers came in natural linen and were trimmed in lambskin. Trenches appeared in powdery silk taffeta. Jackets were the stars of this precise and youthful collection, from handsome double-breasted numbers to roomy shirt-like and tunic styles, often closed at the throat and flaring open. The black hats. shoes and leather wristbands were the only contrasting details.

John Galliano Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2012

What happens when you take the living soul out of a designer-collection is that the format becomes visible in every detail. And that’s what’s going on at the house of John Galliano right now.  It’s courageous of Bill Gayten to take the bow after the show, but it all looked  forced. Gone are the theatrics, but the artsy types in military jackets, David Hockney clones and rakish rockers stayed since the Swinging Sixties and Pop Art were the sources of inspiration.

All the ingredients of a Galliano-collection were there. The long jackets, funny accessories, slim suits in gray silk or crinkled white linen. The message was at the end of the show, when two mustachioed Galliano- doppelgangers took their turns. They surely do miss him.

Comme des Garcons Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2012

Comme des Garcons again played the game of female and male dressing, Lace, pink, shiny fabrics, polka dots, crystal studs, frills – you really have to be a daredevil to wear this clothes with an attitude. But it stays interesting how Rei Kawakubo keeps on pushing the boundaries of men’s clothing, the codes etcetera.

The plot seemed to be an English boy who dreams of being a dandy prince.  Well, that explains something. What’s left after you leave all the decoration out, are nice long coats, good trenches and simple pants. But it’s the eccentricity that makes it worth looking at….

Givenchy Catwalk Fashion Show Paris ss2012

Again Riccardo Tisci was inro prints. After the dogs, the pin-ups and black panthers of this winter, he presented a new view on the Hawaian print in his ss2012 collection for Givenchy. And in a season where the Versace-esque print is making a come back it didn’t look weird at all. Actually, it looked beautiful in a streetwise way. His kaleidoscopic arrangements of bird-of-paradise flowers reminded us of eighties Miami as did the sweet colors with a contrasting role for green.

It certainly will find his way to the copycats, since the print appeared on everything from suits to sweatshirts, basketball jerseys and Bermudas. He also continued to push his favorite mix of XL sportswear with kilts, mostly in all white.

Kris van Assche Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2012

Kris van Assche’s spring summer collection for 2012 is build around the new suit, with wider pants and jackets.  They all came with heavy-soled boots, mirrored shades and hats, adding a punkish touch to the uniformity. Van Assche kept his favorite color palette: white, black, beige and shades of gray, with flashes of red in printed shirts.

Yves St. Laurent Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2012

Stefano Pilati kept it clean and classic for YSL ss2012. He started with impeccable tailored suits in navy where the message was in the details of lapels, cut and fabrics. Then he switched to sportswear inspired items all in white followed by a selection of experimental safari-inspired outfits in khaki.

It all resulted in military-style jackets, double-breasted coats and funnel-necked shirts. Large cargo pockets were placed  on pants, and curved all the way around the back of blazers. Safari jackets are all over the runways, and of course Pilati did not miss a chance to use an iconic YSL style.

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