This was Amsterdam International Fashion Week ss11

An impression of this years AIFW summer-edition!

Dagmar Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

Today Swedish label Dagmar showed for the first time during Amsterdam Fashion Week. Dagmar was founded in 2005 by three Swedish sisters: Kristina, Karin and Sofia. They all had their experience in fashion and decided to start a young, high end fashion brand.

Dagmar’ clothes usually are inspired by the Art Deco period of the twenties/thirties. Moving images, architecture, art, music and dance often are an inspiration for the collections too.

The Dagmar summer collection of today was trendy and wearable and showed diverse styles. The handmade knitwear was one of the strongest aspects of the collection, it came by in a mix of gold, black, grey and yellow. Another thing the Swedish sisters proved to be very good at were the masculine perfectly tailored jackets with shoulder pads. Especially the jacket of a beige colored suit looked stunning!

Dagmar’s pants were loose and were very elastic. And though elastic fabrics usually aren’t very appropriate to leave the house in, Dagmar showed some great examples in which you can do that.

A few tops with lots of texture were less impressive, yet the printed dresses at the end made up for that. The last look was not the strongest of the show; a thick white top combined with an airy pink skirt.

Overall Dagmar showed some great style and definitely has potential in the Netherlands. The sister’s muse, grandmother Dagmar, can be proud of her three granddaughters.

Hunkemöller Catwalk Fashion Show FW2011

Like Monique Collignon Hunkemöller is not the typical Amsterdam Fashion Week show, but there’s nothing bad to say about the lingerie an sich. The new collection ‘Women in bloom’ had some good pieces in it. The models looked lovely and walked the runway very elegantly, winking and smiling at the audience on the way.

The collection for next winter formed a good mix of romance, temptation and fantasy. Of course we know Hunkemöller makes great lingerie, but the brand never takes itself too seriously. Therefore the items of the show had playful accents.

The first few looks were soft, romantic; lots of nudes, dreamy shades and flowers. Lace little sleeves, satin bows and richly styled backs completed the looks. After that the models wore some Art Work pieces with more color (wintery green) and materials like satin, lace and veil. The Shapewear collection was made out of state of the art fabrics and high tech designs. It had soft pink and black shades. The Glamour serie had feminine shapes and high waisted pants. The show was ended by a model wearing a body with strass beads and the solid contours of a skirt. Not really fashion, but sure fun to watch!

MC by Monique Collignon Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

Though Monique Collignon is not really the kind of designer you’d expect at the Amsterdam Fashion Week. She was there to show her new collection of the line MC by Monique Collignon.

There was a whole different fashion crowd then we’re used to at AIFW-shows. Mostly people with money and hardly any journalists attended the show. They had a great time.

The new line was classy with a fun twist. A black jumpsuit, a turquoise top and a white pair of pants all had silver embellishments. And there were dresses with ruffles, lace and golden belts.

Shades of black, beige and white alternated each other in the show and towards the end Collignon also added a few animal prints one some airy summer tops and dresses. A black leather lady’s suit appeared almost Gothic, while a gray/silver one with a white belt worn over it, looked stunning.

Not everything breathed as much fashion as it was supposed to. Yet there were some good pieces. It was also nice that, for a change, the models walked the runway in a confident smooth way, instead of stumbling towards the end.

And most important: the clothes will definitely appeal to the Collignon woman. There’s no doubt she won’t be able to find a good work-/party outfit in this collection.

Quoc Thang Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

Quoc Thang’s new collection ‘Het moment voorbij’ was all about freedom. The designer translated that feeling through the style of a woodcutter. The collection was very outdoor; rough materials like wooll and cotton mixed with polyester and nylon.

The male models walked in overalls, raincoats and checked tuniques (these checks were especially designed for this collection and were made out of shields with two crossing bows). They carried backpacks and wore shoes by Timberland, the sponsor of the show. They looked cool, but their heads were all wet & sweaty.

The jacket had a central position in this collection; blazers, parka’s and tops that felt like coats were the eye-catchers of the show.

Quoc Thang
Quoc Thang (1979) graduated in 2005 at the Rietveld academy in Amsterdam. He then organized several projects in Berlijn en Parijs. In 2009 he launched his collection under his own name.

Marloes Blaas Catwalk Fashion Show SS2010

Like Franciscus van der Meer, Marloes Blaas also used the second World War as an inspiration. She drew much inspiration from peasant life and the atmosphere surrounding the liberation of that war.

We saw an army green uniform and a thick black leather top which looked very powerful. There were tough shorts with extra pockets and well tailored jackets. On the other hand Marloes opted for airy fabrics and feminine faded prints. So there were some contradictions in this collection.

We have to say the army outfits looked slightly stronger than the elegant, airy items. The prints looked great, yet the army clothes looked more outspoken and different from what we’ve seen before.

Oda Pausma Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

‘Hobohemian Heaven’ was the title of Oda Pausma’s collection, she presented on Thursday. It was based on the fusion of two worlds: poetical and rebellion. Imagine live under the roof of the boheme, artists haven, the Chelsea Hotel New York of the seventies….

Jiska van Rossum Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

Designer Jiska van Rossum presented her collection ‘Adorned in Elegance’ this week. Like in al her clothes sensuality and temptation were important aspects of her menswear clothes.

Thom Browne Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

The die-hard fashionpack already knew where Thom Browne was capable of. They’ve seen his shows from New York, for the Italian Moncler-label in Milan and his presentation at Firenze a few years ago. Browne’s shows are set up like a military operation, a huge set, models acting as a group on stage and all dressed alike.

So the set of of his first menswearshow in Paris was not surprising, but still overwhelming. The location was a large conference room at the official headquarters of the French Communist Party in Paris, designed by Oscar Niemeyer. The audience had to sit behinds the desks where party-members used to sit an debate about the cold war. As an American in Paris, the choice for the venue was – well – daring. Also because Browne kept pointing at historical ‘fights’ between the USA and USSR. For example the army of astronauts which opened the show by marching into the room. The models were hidden in the space-suits, and they all stepped out  at the same time dressed identically.

Their dress-code was boyish, and typical Thom Browne: a tight jacket with shorts, socks and brogues. They came in checks, blue, black, khaki, stripes or decorated with little bows, some had a flash of sequins. Eye-catching were the knee-high socks, the gold-frosted lips and the gold-colored mirroring sunglasses. Browne made himself clear.

Streetfashion Paris Menswear SS2011 Day 4

What are you wearing during the coming fashionweeks? Your Givenchy-slippers, your latest Comme des Garcons-bermuda or that vintage Prada? 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: menswear fashionweek in Paris.

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