Mimi Berlin Blogger Team at Amsterdam Fashionweek
It’s that time of the year again; Fashionweek in Amsterdam has started. Mimi Berlin Blogger Team saw 3 Shows on Thursday, January 26, 2017. And two more on Friday. First we went to see the presentation of Collectie Arnhem 2017. After that it was time for the opening night of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Amsterdam.
The Opening-Night shows are always situated at the Gashouder; an inmense venue which houses a couple of thousand people. This year Martan (design duo Diek Pothoven and Luuk Kuijf) opened Amsterdam Fashion Week. A very gutsy move: Martan is a debutant to the ‘ball’ and this also was their first collection ever made! Martan took inspiration for their designs from “various world religions and spirituality” and in particular from the Bahá’í Temple. They showed 30 looks in total for men and women. We think it’s a smart move that they collaborated with various designers on embroideries, knits, shoes (Ailissa Nicolai), prints (Marieke van de Ven) and bags (Adinda Anna). We are not sure if we mentioned all….if not please let us know. (read and see more HERE)
Next and last we visited a group show;’The Painting‘. Nine young designers: Ailene van Elmpt, Johannes Offerhaus, Liesbeth Sterkenburg, Marlou Breuls, Merel van Glabbeek, Sunanda Koning, TRINHBECX, Yoko Maja and Zyanya Keizer each showed 3 or 4 outfits, all made in white. It’s always nice to see the diversity of designs at group presentantion. This show clearly had a theme: Peace (which we love!). After the models were done walking the catwalk, a choir, dressed in colorful Vlisco prints, appeared while singing John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’. We aren’t sure why: the statement made was already absolutely clear before this ‘church-encore’
Fashionweek in Amsterdam day 2
Disney’s Beauty and The Beast Fashion Collaboration: With the movie in mind and in particular Belle; set in modern day times, nine (young) designers (Boaz van Doornik, Elke van Zuylen, Liesbeth Sterkenburg, Zyanya Keizer, Marlou Breuls and Jazz Kuipers) designed one outfit each. We didn’t visit the show but met up with 2 very enthusiastic participants; Boaz van Doornik and Liesbeth Sterkenburg. They sent us their photo’s which you can see above.
Schepers Bosman, Collection F/W2017 ‘Flat Dutch’ (men and women’s wear.)
Designers Anne Bosman and Sanne Schepers are starting over with a new name after the close-down of their former label Futura. The designs of SchepersBosman are very recognizable as theirs; they are from The Netherlands and this duo doesn’t hide that fact. No way! They embrace their roots and managed to translate them into a fresh, intelligent and the most casual collection we’ve seen so far at MBAFW. (Our guess it WILL be the most casual one for sure.) The ‘Flat Dutch’ collection, (for which Dazzle camouflage and sailing were inspiration sources) was a breath of fresh air because of the originality and honesty in design. And even more so because of the fact that a dreamworld rules at MBFWA. Please visit the SchepersBosman site to see collection for yourself.
TRINHBECX showed their 2nd collection, womens’s wear made for A/W2017, in 21 looks, at Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek Amsterdam. According to the designers this season was based on “vintage cycling shirts, liquorish, Alessandro Mendini’s special chair, medieval costumes and 2000’s pop music videos.” That’s what we noticed as well but In our minds the 1970s aesthetics linger on the most, maybe because these outfits were translated quite literally from that era? Never mind that! We had a great time watching this show. It was noticeable, in comparison to trinhbecx’ previous collection, that the designers Tung Trinh and Tim Becx are growing into making less experimental designs and are creating their personal signature within the bounderies of making wearable and unique fashion.
There was much much more to be seen of course; Go to Amsterdam Fashion Week to read about and see all shows and events