MODEFABRIEK Brands & Shops
blog team
Brands & Shops
Brands & Shops
RAW POWER
I still can’t help thinking of London as the greatest city in Europe, at least when shopping is concerned. Calculating pounds sterling to euros only adds to the sheer fun of it. On one end, the well known Oxford Street shopping giants, and on the other, more arty and alternative streets and squares of east London. Just the place to wave your plastic about in exchange for the bags full of goods.
Less likely found on the high street, Shoreditch harbors smaller one-off shops and vintage markets (in abundance), and it’s pavements and bars are patrolled by often edgy and cool looking people.
Walking through the first Topman General store in Shoreditch (they recently opened a second one in Covent Garden) made me think of one particular T-shirt label of two guys I have met, sold at Topman.
Michael started RAW POWER in 2002 and re-established the brand together with Ben two years ago. So, for their ten year anniversary, I think they deserve a little blog party here with us.
What they are on about, besides of hand printed graphics on 100% cotton, is celebrating both the success and failure of celebrity culture. The rise and fall of a star. The birth and death of an icon. Mugshots in your face and bold slogans in print put a social comment on our times of reality soaps, social media and style icons. Let’s hope they can be more then a hype themselves, because they are doing insanely good! Selling points like Selfridges, Topman, Asos.com and Harvey Nichols make it even odd to me that they are not yet available in Dutch stores. So if anyone knows a good agent, give me a call and I’ll hook you up with them. For now, you can take your digital earoplane: http://shop.rawpowertshirts.com/ and they have Twitter And Facebook obviously. Lets ‘like’ the page, as a present.
Emma Francois: the anthropologist turned designer
Emma Francois, designer of the French label ‘Sessun’, prefers old things with a story over all things new. By adding her own imagination to them, she ‘recycles’ the object and creates her own story out of it. It may not come as a surprise that her house in Marseille is furnished with vintage furniture and antiques, mixed with neutral and warm earthly shades. She also collects souvenirs from long and far exotic travels. Actually, that’s exactly how the story of Sessun commenced.
She was 22 when she visited Latin America for the first time. Studying economic anthropology. Francois became acquainted with craftsmanship and the colourful culture of Ecuador, Guatemala and Peru. A life changing experience followed. Back in Paris she immediately started to knit and crochet small items from pure alpaca wool, as a try-out. She received positive reactions on the things she learned in South America. She worked from there and in 1995 Sessun was born: ready-to-wear clothing where urban culture and Paris chic are combined.
While urban was a big trait of Sessun in 1995, in 2012 the brand has matured and Francois designs more timeless, elegant pieces. It might have something to do with the fact that the brand reaches a bigger audience nowadays, which wasn’t the case in the nineties. Those are the terms of commercial success; summer 2012 with Sessun is like a young fresh girl strutting down the French Riviera. But instead of glamorous drapes of chiffon, this girl loves vintage, mixing female and male items and has a certain je-ne-sais-quoi attitude. It results in a warm colour pallet, with high waist shorts, skirts and dresses. As well as some male bow-ties and blazers. If you take a close look at Francois’ home-interior, you see the resemblance in her 2012 collection. Bringing the exotic to home and home to work, the anthropologist in Francois is still very much alive. Visit homedit to view Francois’ house in Marseille.
Henrik Vibskov: a multi-interpretable artist
A fashion designer by day and a drummer by night, the ideal combination of two creative jobs you would say? Designer Henrik Vibskov, one of Copenhagen’s treasures, would never be only hitting the drums or only designing fashion. Too boring. He likes to compare it with a salad: “I like the combination of tomatoes, pepper and pineapple. You need mixture to make it a bit more balanced.” So aside from his work for electronic band TRENTEMØLLER he studied ‘Fashion Design’ at the prestigious Central Saint Martins. He now has a permanent schedule on Paris Fashion Week.
His work can be typified as a combination of two elements: humor (he has the tradition to give his collections bizarre names like ‘The Fantabulous Bicycle Music Factory’) and the reserved Scandinavian signature: minimal clean cuts. Vibskov is aware of the expectation for him to deliver minimal designs, “you need to get some food on the table,” he explains. Humor on the other hand is reflected in his ingenuity to experiment with ‘odd’ materials. A laptop bag made out of beads for instant. Or a men’s coat printed with colorful flowers.
If you look at the spring collection you immediately recognize the humor vs. minimal element. Let’s start with humor. Men are wearing goggles, a beret, rainbow knitted pants and suits with psychedelic prints. But if you look closely you see the fiercely cut coats, pants and blouses with a modern fitting. Conclusion? Fun is hidden in the color combination and the graphic print while minimal is hidden in the construction of the garment.
Henrik Vibskov is clearly still in touch with his Scandinavian heritage, but studying in London has enriched his work with a bit of rock ‘n roll, humor and healthy quirkiness. Like Vibskov said, he needs ‘mixture’ to stay balanced.
Great minds think alike WON HUNDRED
“Clothing is about emotions.” That is what Nikolaj Nielsen told us as a reason to not always follow the made plans. And I’m sure he’s right. As well in fashion there are many moments of making decisions. A lot of us will probably recognize them as moments of comparing different outcomes, often by visualizing them in your head for they’re yet a work of imagination in a lead in to, what we hope to be, the right picture. Sometimes it may only cover the question about a certain lipstick color, or whether the choice of footwear for your model will fall on high heels or a pair of flat shoes. Having made up our mind on details as such will lead us to knowing how they will affect your general picture and help to chose for a day light instead of flash light, or vice versa. But with the other things, bigger things, the things that will take months or years before you even get a glimpse of a concrete result, you can only stick your gut feeling and hope for the best.
For the founder of the Danish brand Won Hundred, it was an exciting but easy decision. Sometimes things cross your path and they just feel right. So together with the great brains behind the multiple brand store Centre Neuf, Cindy Bonenberg and Frans Torque, they opened a first flag-ship store outside of Denmark, here in Amsterdam on the corner of Utrechtsestraat en Prinsengracht. Maybe it wasn’t the exact plan, but a very nice opportunity in combination with the right people and the right spot for this pretty brand that is known as a typical Scandinavian-one, with the perfect mix of the familiar comfortable minimalism and refined finishing touch. Just like the brand new store itself, the collection is clean, fresh, and with subtile details that make it authentic and recognizable without screaming branding. Exactly like we are used to of our northern neighbors.
But! It’s not completely inarticulate for Won Hundred to be based in Amsterdam since the head of design is the Dutch Kelly Konings. Graduated at ArtEZ in Arnhem, she started working for H&M in 2004. After this experience with one of the biggest fashion companies on earth she moved on to the Swedish label Velour, and in 2009
ended up as head of design of Won Hundred in Copenhagen. In my opinion they set a good example of a team of people that fit together rather well. It feels right and that you can tell from the moment you you walk into the shop. For a new pair of fresh jeans, the must-have nerdy sandal, or your new favorite knitted sweater. Open: from 23rd of March, Utrechtsestraat 117, Amsterdam
Get your coffee at the Bank
It’s not as strange as it sounds. With ‘getting your coffee at the Bank’ I mean the new Starbucks conceptstore in Amsterdam. You will actually have your coffee in the ancient vault.
That is kind of special already, but it doesn’t stop there. The 430 sq meters surface of the historical bank building was transformed by at least 35 local artists and craftsmen into a unique venue where sustainability is key (LEED® certified).
Liz Muller –Head of Concepts Design- was in charge of the operation to create the innovating and cosy Starbucks ‘The Bank’ conceptstore it has become, from an old, raw concrete vault:”You have to feel welcomed and at home. This is not just a coffee company, but a people’s company. Sure you can drop by to get your coffee-to-go, but we’d rather have you stay here and relax all afternoon, the choice is yours. We just aim to offer you the most extensive of coffee experiences.”
The decoration offers interesting and humoristic references to the Dutch and their history. Don’t forget to look for surprises in every corner (some hints: speculaas and bikes) and lift your head to the impressive ceiling sculpture made of 1876 wooden blocks. You’ll even see it better through your phone’s camera.
Speaking of your phone…having your Twitter at hand would be a good idea. Since you’ll be getting a tweet when the freshly baked cookies you just ordered come rolling out of the oven.
Find more details on the newly opened Starbucks –The Bank here.
Brand new: The Suits
The suit makes the man, so they say. A great suit exudes power, prestige and classic refinement. Wearing a suit can be an instant confidence booster and changes your body language. [Note to self: wear a suit more often.] But where to find the perfect suit? Well, for those of you who can’t afford – or may be unwilling to pay – four-digit prices for an ensemble, but have outgrown H&M, may I present to you: The Suits. The brand new Antwerp-based menswear label brings exactly what its name implies. A no-nonsense, straight-forward and compact collection, comprising sixteen variations on the perfect suit. Fitted and dressed up, yet comfortable – and surprisingly affordable (retail prices commence at 350 euro). The Suits combines a rock ‘n’ roll feeling with a hand-made look. Gentleman meets rock star, as they say on their website. The collection is designed in-house at The Suits’ Antwerp headquarters and produced in Turkey, in the same factory where some of the world’s leading designer brands have their goods made. Launched this season at trade fairs White and Tranoï, The Suits attracted interest from buyers all over the globe, resulting in 30 points of sale for fall/winter 2012. Stores include Nano Universe (Tokyo), KOON (Seoul), Biffi (Milan), Margreeth Olsthoorn (Rotterdam) and SPRMRKT (Amsterdam). The look book, shot by Amsterdam-based photographer Philippe Vogelenzang – starring Belgian model Sverre Denis – perfectly embodies the mood of the collection, merging clean and sleek silhouettes with a hint of 70s cool.
Palladium’s traditional blanc
In these days, the term heritage is that widespread and self-evidently used that we don’t even think about the expression’s meaning anymore. It is hence a good thing that others undertake this. Especially within fashion, it seems to be a common trend to connote heritage. Resultingly it is more often about jumping on the bandwagon than seriously carrying, far less inhering heritage.
As opposed to this, the boot brand Palladium is a positive example. Already existing since 1920, the French label indeed ingrains a legacy.
Proofing this anew each season, Palladium has just launched its Spring 2012 collection named Blanc. It contains their signature canvas in bright athletic colors, such as rio red, kelly green and indigo, with the classic Palladium rubber outsole in white.
Showing its origin in the past, Palladium concurrently brings its future-orientated attitude to display. In conjunction with the launch, the brand has released a film series which highlights the new collection through Palladium’s ‘urban exploring’ lens. The three-part series, entitled Streets in Focus, will showcase three young photographers as they offer firsthand insight on their craft and the hidden terrain that inspires them within their home cities.
The first film highlights fashion photographer Josh Gordon as he gathers the latest trends in fashion, art and music from London locales. The second film follows New York photographer Awo l Erizku as he discusses creative inspiration within his South Bronx neighborhood and the third film features photographer Manuela Costa Lima dissects the unknown spaces of Sao Paulo, Brazil through her innovative lens.
http://www.palladiumboots.nl/
The philantropic eye on style
Paris Fashion Week is going full swing as we speak. But don’t let what you spot on the runway be your only inspiration. If you have some time left in your busy schedule make a little worthwhile detour to Merci.
Yes, it is a conceptstore slash departmentstore. Yet, this one has a philantropic vision besides showing us what is on trend. Located in a less posh area than where you might expect a venue editors and creatives speak highly of –the Boulevard Beaumarchais is not known for being upscale, except for a designhotel a few steps away- Merci found a nice roof over its head in a gigantic loft.
When you cross the patio a red Fiat 500 (also subjected to make overs) is like smiling at you, and you already feel at home before passing the entrance. Once you’re in you can wander around the different departments: Beauty, Fashion, Accessories, Home…even a flowershop. To keep its visitors interested Merci has themed installations like an art gallery that change frequently.
Merci managed to collaborate with well-known designers who have set aside their margins. This means you can buy that fab Isabel Marant top for approximately 30% less than usual without any guilt because all profits the store makes are donated to charity –third world children projects to be exact.
Also don’t forget to take a coffee break in the Literary cafe while you’re there, with bookshelves filled with second hand books that reach the ceiling.
111 Boulevard Beaumarchais
75033 Paris
Subway: Saint Sébastien Froissart
Nanushka Beta Shop
written by Frame Mag
In the Castle District of Budapest, the Nanushka shop was created to contrast traditional retail spaces. Created by six architecture students – Daniel Balo, Zsofi Dobos, Dora Medveczky, Judit Emese Konopas and Noemi Varga – the store features a billowing ceiling with a cocoon-like effect.
‘We created a rigging system for the 250-sq-m canvas that would drape the interior by pulling wires below the ceiling,’ they explain. Inspired by wedding tents and gathered raw materials like cotton and linen, the resulting ceiling installation stretches from the front to the back of the shop.
The team was led by head (student) designer Sandra Sandor, who was influenced by the contrasts between rusty, rough, smooth and soft surfaces.
The floor is made from firewood logs sliced into 3-cm-thick rings, laid meticulously over a three day period. Meanwhile, display stands were constructed from rusted steel racks, adding to a barn-like effect. Hungary-made Ballon lamps keep with the organic, soft flow of the space.
Written by Sandra Sandor et al.
Photos courtesy Tamas Bujnovszky.
WE OWN THE STREET // FROM TRADEMARK STARS TO GUEST HOUSE
Loads of shopping streets in Amsterdam centre are much better known by the name of established shops than by the name of a street itself. A good example of this is the alley where you can find RIKA. I find it to be quite an achievement for someone who started her own brand once by creating one single bag as a prop for a photo shoot.
Designer Ulrika Lundgren , the owner and creative director of successfully running RIKA boutique has come up with yet another project worthy a mention, that alongside a few other cute shops and properties, is set to enrich picturesque “Nine Streets” area of Amsterdam.
MAISON RIKA is a newly opened guesthouse occupying the corner of Oudespiegelstraat and Herengracht, just across the street of her shop.
With her background as an successful interior stylist she designed both rooms that are for rent herself in her own individual, tasteful style that I would label as warm but yet clean, comfortable and classic with an urban feel. A perfect mix of modern and vintage, it’s bright and fresh and comes with a beautiful view over the canals.
Next to the rooms upstairs, the first floor lobby houses the Gallery Boutique. This space will be available for POP-UP events organized by friends in fashion, music & art.
Well worth popping in to get inspired by the creative and welcoming atmosphere and art works of Sang Ming, or to get tempted to buy yourself one of the RIKA books, candles or jewelry that are displayed in the brand new Gallery Boutique.
OUDE SPIEGELSTRAAT 12- 1016 BM AMSTERDAM – THE NETHERLANDS
+31 (0)20 33011 12 – www.rikaint.com – MAISON@RIKAINT.COM
