Tag: fashion

(ENG) IN BETWEEN SEASONS

(ENG) THE FUTURE OF FASHION BLOGGING

(ENG) EP!C MOONWALK

Angelic versus Raw: Ilja Visser combines the best of both worlds

I’m sure you’ve heard about her by now: she’s not one to miss in the Dutch fashion industry. Ilja Visser has managed to keep up with the hectic world of big names and designers, turning her creations into lovely must haves for each and every budget.
This week, she presented us with not one, but two amazing fashion shows, all bringing together her beautiful vision of clothing. Her Couture AW11/12 collection, named Pluche, was dedicated to the world of politicians and formalities. Presenting daily routines in a whole new dimension, we wouldn’t mind having the huge black dress of crazy fur wrapped around our shoulders. Her Ready to Fish collection, called Desolation, was based on the movie Paris, Texas, making it look angelic, sweet and tough at the same time.
It makes me gain faith in fashion when it comes to a time where it’s quite hard to stay original. Besides: how cool is it that one woman managed to create this empire all by herself? I’d say it’s pretty darn cool.

FILM IS THE FUTURE

Gareth Pugh is one of the most fascinating creative minds at the moment. Glamcult and Mr. Pugh have one thing in common; we both think fashion film is the medium of today. Fashion film is still exciting in a way that fashion photography often isn’t these days.

Since Gareth’s first collection at London Fashion Week in 2005, his shows still draw standing ovations as he continues to blur the lines between high fashion and art. His vision was the antidote to the pared-down aesthetic of the previous decade.

Nowadays Gareth Pugh is also known for his breathtaking innovative fashion films, in collaboration with filmmaker Ruth Hogben. The films are translations of what is going on in the designer’s head; they allow you to get deeper into his inner world. The films are remarkably iconic and scream Gareth Pugh. They take each collection to a mysterious world of rectangular folded designs and body movement where climactic sounds touch your soul; it’s an explosive innovation to fashion films.

Finding needles in a haystack

It seems I’m much more inspired when travelling abroad. Once there, my eyes are drawn to the most wonderful clothes and brands, things that I can never get a hold of in Amsterdam.

I stock up on denim by MiH Jeans, the denim brand by Chloe Lonsdale, daughter of Tony Lonsdale, who was better known as ‘Blue Jean King’ and founded the famous British shop Jean Machine in the seventies, and of Chekkie Maskell, a then famous denim model. The brand is a reincarnation of Made in Heaven, a denimbrand that was founded in 1969 by Lonsdale’s Godfather and which was popular by the likes of Farrah Fawcett and Jane Birkin. MiH designs covetable jeans in a range of great fits and finishes: big thumbs up for the gamine The Breathless and classic cool The Boston. Dutch model Marloes Horst fronts the s/s 11 campaign.

While these jeans are a perfect stepping stone, I take it up a notch with the quirky and cool designs by Karen Walker, a New Zealand designer. Walker has been around for almost a decade, but remains relatively underground. She never fails to include a marl grey sweater and T-shirt with some remarkable graphics in her collections, which give her mostly loose fitting, cute, colourful and slightly retro designs a tough and offbeat edge.

The design ethos over at Casely-Hayford is inspiring as well. This menswear label is definitely not for the faint of heart – thanks to it’s remarkable prints and strong shapes – but manages to remain utterly stylish nonetheless.

Upon return I search for retailers in the Netherlands who carry those brands, hungry for more. Sometimes I do find the needles in the haystack. Turns out one need not travel abroad to get inspired. One needs to search better.

The ‘Must-Have’ Fashion Blog

As I write this piece on my iPad, I can’t help but think how Internet has changed the way we perceive and interact with fashion and the trends that follow. When I started blogging a few years back, the hottest fashion blog out there was The Satorialist, by Scott Schuman. It was a place where he shared the inspirations of the street with us, directly on our computers. As the years passed, it seemed every girl out there felt they could do the same, but with one twist. Instead of inspiring, they took pictures of themselves, telling us that what they were wearing was the must have item of the that season. Not only did they share their fashion musts, but also had to tell us every high-class party they attended.

What’s made this possible? The Internet, and the ever-evolving devices that facilitate this. As you can tell I am not really a big fan of blogs that don’t really have substance and tell a story, but as these sites grow in popularity, gaining front row seats a the worlds best fashion shows, it can’t be ignored that fashion has less become about the craftsmanship put into each piece, but about the superficial ‘One-day Trend.’

I even catch myself becoming a victim of this, but hope that one day we again celebrate the detail put into a piece of clothing, instead of celebrating its appearance on the next ‘Sex and the City.’

LA MAISON CHAMPS-ELYSEES BY MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA

‘Fashion’s invisible man’ Martin Margiela – known for his timeless designs with identity – leads a complete refurbishment of the property and re-design on the former Sofitel hotel.

The concept of La Maison was to develop a place to get away and have some rest and privacy.

The goal is clear; give guests the experience of having a luxurious city home. Margiela’s distinctive style will be clearly recognizable in the whole interior. With his signature as theme, he turns the building into a minimalistic white world where everything meets in perfect balance.

La Maison Champs-Elysées is located in a quiet place between the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and the River Seine. The hotel features 57 rooms, 6 suites and 5 junior suites and will open its doors towards the end of spring 2011.

APPLAUD FOR FASHIONS’ CREATIVE COLLABORATIONS

For years, we have all been dreaming of English chain stores like Topshop. Now our dream has come true. Topshop has set up a joint venture with SPMRKT, the Amsterdam concept store, with one branch on Rozengracht and another in the south of Amsterdam at Cornelus Schuytstraat.

Finally we are mixing cheap but super hip clothing with brands like Alexander Wang, Martin Magiela and Acne.

In times of “sustainism”, the credo is do more with less; creativity rules. So we mix our own wardrobes with new designer pieces or wear Prada shoes with Topshop dresses. Make your own creation by mixing cheap, vintage and expensive pieces.

At last, a store is going to give us a creative choice from different ingredients in terms of style and price. In fact, this is a big step for a chain store like Topshop and a very important signal to the retail world. Customers have been mixing all kind of styles for years, but this is the first time a shop like SPMRKT is combining expensive designer brands with hip young fashions.
Bravo! It makes me smile and gives me confidence that creativity will remain important in the retail world, indeed will be an imperative for survival.