blog team
ABOUT FLOORTJE MENNEN
Floortje Mennen (30) entered the world of fashion five years ago, working on a promotional project about Amsterdam’s fashion designers. Having been a project coordinator at Amsterdam International Fashion Week, she ended up at Modefabriek bv where she has been working since May 2008.
Besides her role in communications and PR, she is also the co-curator of the international designer platform Next & Cutting Edge. For each new edition, she showcases emerging new designers from all over the world to be presented at Modefabriek.
“It is a privilege to work with this great group of creative and talented people and with an amazing product. The Next & Cutting Edge designer platform has become a firm favourite at Modefabriek. I believe there is a growing interest in discovering new talent. Worldwide, you see more and more talent programmes popping up. A lot of them have grown to become big stages which offer support in one way or another. With Next & Cutting Edge, we are bringing this to the Dutch market. We aim to serve as a matchmaker between these designers and our high-end fashion boutiques and the Dutch fashion press”.
Amsterdam inspiration guide for cosmopolites
The Brandretail Company LIGANOVA recently launched an Amsterdam inspiration guide for the cosmopolitan traveler, in cooperation with FRAME publishers.
This Amsterdam edition is part of the ‘Inspiration Guide’ series. Following Paris, Berlin, and Copenhagen, the Amsterdam Inspiration Guide is the latest edition, featuring the coolest in-scene tips for cosmopolitan travellers and metropolites.
The collector must-have appears in three fresh neon colours and offers insider tips away from the mainstream with some cool photography. 15 Amsterdam-based contributors from the fields of fashion, design and media have been selected to all exclusively reveal their favourite hang-outs and must-sees. Amongst the contributors are Programme Director of Amsterdam International Fashion Week, Merle Deterink, Editor-in-Chief at FRAME, Robert Thiemann, and It-Girl of the current Mango blog campaign, Andy Torres from Stylescrapbook.com.
The ‘Amsterdam – Inspiration Guide for Cosmopolitan Travellers’ is available in a selection of bookstores and at liganova.com and framemag.com.
Working together with Modefabriek, this Sunday and Monday, LIGANOVA and FRAME Publishers provides each brand exhibitor at Modefabriek a free copy. More Amsterdam Inspiration Guides will be found in the goody bags front row at the Next & Cutting Edge catwalk show. The guides are also being sold at Mendo’s pop-up bookstore .
16 x INTERNATIONAL
I recently introduced the 4 Dutch designers taking part at the international platform of Next & Cutting Edge. This Saturday, 12 more designers fly & drive to Amsterdam to participate at the talent and avant-garde designer stage at Modefabriek. Tomorrow we will all meet up for the fitting of the show presentation Modefabriek presents Next & Cutting Edge, scheduled on Monday 18th around noon. From Sunday, they are already present for meeting & greeting, an introduction to their label and the showcase of their newest collections.
To start off with Patrick Mohr. The German avant-garde designer creates designs that are architectural, sometimes draped in flowing, and a tension between elegance and sportiness, avantgarde and streetwear. After having seen his collection SS 2012 collection „I Want Mohr“ at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin last week, I indeed want mohr. And yes, we are presenting a good selection of Mr. Mohr’s collection next Monday on the Next & Cutting Edge catwalk.
Meet Katja Schlegel and Kai Seifried. They are the designers behind Starstyling. The label created a self-made universe, filled with brain damage and exploratory techniques, and is on something like a voyage through a world of urban pattern-making. Starstyling takes you along on their next journey with their ss 2012 ‘Stripes for your right right to party’. As this name already suggests.. it’s all about stripes. In the form of sporty style, comfortable summer clothing.
Also German-based, but Danish designer Julie Eilenberger, always starts her work from an emotion which then translates into clothing and visuals. She draws her drawing inspiration from her own childhood and is fascinated by the eccentric and delicate worlds that the elderly live in. Eilenberger found it was a natural topic for her to combine the extremely similar characteristics of these two demographics and translate it to her collection.
The label SADAK by Serbian designer Sasa Kovacevic maintains strong ethnographic ties to Serbian traditional attire and is generally inspired by culture and history. SADAK often reinterprets traditional and/or historical clothing with a fashion-forward flair, blending tribal symbolism, local beliefs and, for example, sci-fi cinema.
Danish brand uncommon creatures was founded by Jens Kold-Christensen and Christina Højris Ottosen with their debut A/W10 collection. Jens studied brand design, marketing and communication, while Christina attended a course in fashion design at TEKO. Their ways crossed in 2008: they met accidentally in a bar and got along at once.
Uncommon creatures’s main concept encapsulates aesthetic motifs of different ethnic communities. This results in daring collections, at times showing through a dark mood, that focuses on perfect wearability, in combination of pure, raw designs, age-old traditions and contemporary trends. This, topped with charm and mystery.
Hailing from Spain is the design duo of young El Colmillo de Morsa. Catalan Jordi Espino and Elisabet Vallecillo both graduated from ESDi Design University. Directly after, they decided to create their own brand. Their s/s 2012 collection “El Triángulo de las Bermudas” (Bermuda Triangle), lets us embark into the unknown, into mystery of old legends and myths told by those explorers who embark on a journey of no return.
Just across the border, Antwerp-based designer Belgian Angelo van Mol shows us his signature design in the collection SHRPST. A collection with male elegance, sportswear and formal wear. As graduate from the Royal academy of fine arts he wins the acclaimed “motivation award from Ann Demeulemeester & Ann Chapelle”.
US, New York based Raun LaRose is graduate of the Art Institute of New York. In 2009, he interned at Zac Posen in Paris. A year later, young LaRose had launched his own independent menswear label. LaRose is considering to furthering his education at Central Saint Martin’s in London but already he’s a designer to watch.
Folk themed designers twenty(2)too from Romania and German label Thu Thu give us colorful prints, knitwear and clean lining. More knitwear will be presented by Lithuanian born Laura Theiss. This fresh and talented Central Saint Martins graduate continues her exploration of traditional hand knitting and croched techniques in her SS 2012 collection. The collection is inspired by the mood of the zeitgeist, she brings her signature style of unusual colour and texture combination with a futuristic, feminine injection.
NATIONAL DESIGNERS ON INTERNATIONAL NEXT & CUTTING EDGE STAGE
On July 17th and 18th, Amsterdam will welcome a group of 16 international fashion design talents. These designers, invited by Modefabriek to present their newest collections at the Next & Cutting Edge designer platform, hail from locations around the globe, including Spain, Denmark, the UK, the US and Romania. There are also 4 home-grown talents. These Dutch designers are well worth their place on this international stage.
Take Iranian-born Dutch designer Maryam Kordbacheh. After graduating cum laude from the Willem de Kooning Academy and then completing a masters degree at the Arnhem Fashion Institute, Kordbacheh reached the final of this year’s edition of the internationally acclaimed Hyères International Festival of Fashion & Photography. The young fashion duo Bravoure went just across the border to present and sell their ‘Native Structures’ 2011 collection at the pop-up concept store DSGNRMRKT in Hasselt, Belgium. Furthermore, Roos van Kampen, winner of the 2010 series of Catwalk Runway is currently aiming to launch her label Roparosa on the international stage. Last week, she debuted internationally with her brand new collection at Premium in Berlin. Her national sales figures have skyrocketed in the last year and she is now ready to expand her borders. Our newest prospect is Afghan-born Roya Hesam. Having graduated from AMFI, she won the International Award at London’s Graduate Fashion Week and she has already been picked up by Vogue UK.
All 16 designers are being presented on Modefabriek’s Next & Cutting Edge international designer stage. On Monday, the 18th of July, their designs will be showcased on the Modefabriek catwalk.
AS LONG AS YOU’RE YOUNG
Young designers are blessed with press attention. As long as designers are young, up-and-coming and recognised as ´designers to watch´, they receive all the attention they need to build up their reputations. They have access to a huge and ever-growing international media platform. In addition to leading international fashion magazines, quality niche style magazines and the immense range of online magazines and websites, there is now also a whole army of bloggers eager to sing the praises of these promising new designers. And then there is the selective group of fashion-connoisseur celebs who support these design youngsters. After all, there is no greater endorsement than to have your creations worn by miss Gaga, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Kim Kardashian or one of those now famous it-girls.
But after all this presswashing, the creations must then be adopted by the general public. At this point, it will be all about the less sexy sales numbers. When young designers are no longer referred to as young and when rising stars reach their press attention peak, for a lot of designers, this is the point at which they have to bridge the gap and turn their reputation into a flourishing business.
Luckily, there is an increasing number of options open to designers to help bridge these gaps and get their clothing into the shops, such as consultancy agencies, designer platforms at trade-shows and of course, the new world of small-scale niche designer shops and shops that nurture young, home grown talent. Thanks are also due to the growing number of shopping boutiques online, to name just a few I like: NAGPEOPLE, Conventnyc, Machine-A, Very poolish, Beyond the Valley, Young British designers. And my special thank you goes out to the ever-enjoyable and inspiring NJAL.
MODEFABRIEK’S EMERGING DESIGNERS
Next & Cutting Edge is a showcase and support programme for emerging national and international fashion designers. Every January and July, a group of 16 leading-edge designers travel from all over the world to Modefabriek Amsterdam for an introduction to the Dutch and Western European fashion markets. This avant-garde elite section of Modefabriek is increasingly receiving attention from exclusive high-end fashion boutiques and the national and international fashion press. We have presented already over 120 great talents to date. Amongst them, I would like to mention once more a diverse selection of brilliant designers we have had the pleasure of working with: couture menswear designers Jean // Phillip, Karlotalaspalas and Carolyn Massey, the avant-garde silhouette designer Max.Tan, and the androgynous designs by intelligent designers David Andersen Denmark and Barbara I Gongini. Then there are the creative sculpture and print geniuses Ara Jo, Tour de Force, Martin Bergström and Belle Sauvage. And, last but not least, we should give a shout-out to our wonderful Dutch design talents and participants at Next & Cutting Edge: Conny Groenewegen, Elsien Gringhuis, Sjaak Hullekes and young Hyun Yeu’s Ado Les Scents.
Now it’s time to look ahead and present the next 16 designers that will be present at Modefabriek on 17th and 18th of July. To be revealed soon.
welcome to our brand-new blog
Hello to the world of fashion, design and creatives!
Welcome to our brand-new blog at modefabriek.nl – we are excited to be launching our official blog from today.
Ever since 1996, the Modefabriek Amsterdam Trade Show for High Quality Brands has provided a platform for national and international brands. These brands are a wide range of well-known brands, young designers and new labels. Over the years, Modefabriek has exhibited over…. brands, from womens wear, mens wear and jeans to green fashion and street fashion. We know about fashion – and it’s time for us to share!
We will be running features on fashion, of course, but not just on fashion, since Modefabriek is not just a trade show. Our brand identity expresses a strong focus on innovation, creativity and inspiration. These values have uniquely characterised Modefabriek since its inception. From our very first event, we have been working with a great team of in-house experts and a vast pool of creative freelance talent. On stage, Modefabriek creates interfaces between fashion, design, food, art, photography and music. This is what we call our creative DNA.
We will therefore be featuring fashion, brands and shops, design, music and video, innovations and places – around the world and right here in the Netherlands. And of course let us not forget Modefabriek itself. We provide an inspiring, up-to-date, illustrative and high-quality multidisciplinary platform for you online. But we don’t do it alone. Together with our wonderful contributors and with you, we make it happen. In this way, we aim to keep on sharing and expanding our knowledge – together. We therefore encourage you to post your comments, ideas and feedback. We are happy to open the dialogue.
Twice a year, Modefabriek holds its two-day event for professionals only, welcoming over 16,000 visitors from the fashion trade to each edition, including retailers, wholesalers, suppliers, brands, labels, agencies, press and others in the fashion business. But as of today, the Modefabriek blog is open to everyone. We bring you a glimpse behind the scenes. Follow Modefabriek’s diary and see what inspires us and our friends. Welcome!
Now let us introduce you to our thirteen contributors
that will batter you with information regarding all things happening N O W in these seven categories:
fashion, brand & shops, design, places to be & hotspots, innovative, music & video and of course Modefabriek. We asked them to be informative, urged them to be inspiring and prompted them to be frank. The ultimate goal of the project is to bring to you an extensive and broad collection of information selected by, and commented on, by these specialists.
FASHION
Independent stylepaper Glamcult will live up to its reputation and write about high end fashion. ‘We select, create and wonder around in today’s avant-garde.’
Places to be & new hotspots
Anna Nikbakht Nooshin, co- owner of Overdose.am is going to write on places to be in Amsterdam ‘one of the best cities this planet has to offer’ and the Netherlands;
Karine Bloem, founding editor of The Digitalistas.com will reveal some of her favorite international hotspots.
Design
Sharing her view on design is Sylvia Avontuur, founder of the very first Dutch press agency and a woman who puts creativity into communication and vice versa.
‘Design goes beyond the product itself.’
Music & video
Catarina Aimée Dahms, singer of electro-afrobeat band Skip & Die, musician, visual artist and editor-in-chief of Spunk.nl is going to write about the finest tunes, best artists and the most interesting collaborations in music and video today.
Innovatives
The man who is going to share the latest on the most innovative is Maurice Ajanaku, who has his own online magazine. Ajanaku.com is recognized as a great online source for the most recent creative trends in amongst others design, art and music. Ajanaku is joined by Jan Agelink.
Brands & shops
A team of five contributors is going to inform you regarding the most interesting brands, the most innovative shops and the latest developments in the retail world.
Lisa Anne Stuijfzand Elle Style Awards-winner and a renowned freelance fashionstylist; Jose Klap is co-founder of Zoo magazine and a creative director at L’Officiel Hommes; Igor Guinau is managing editor at L’Officiel Hommes and a copywriter for various international fashionlabels; Aynouk Tan is a fashionjournalist with a keen interest in the artworld and Kalinka Hählen is a contributing editor for a number of magazines such as Elle and Marie Claire
Modefabriek
Coen Wulms is going to contribute weekly to keep you informed about all the latest developments concerning Modefabriek. Wulms is lifestyle editor at Esquire magazine, writes for numerous magazines, is an imagemaker and works internationally as a creative consultant.
