As temperatures are slowly getting above zero again, Amsterdam was making itself up for the 26th edition of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. The organisation wants to connect the gap between commerce and creativity, they aim to bring the Dutch fashion industry to a higher level and celebrate the talent that this small country brings forward. This year the concept and meaning behind the work that was shown particularly inspired us – when walking away from the venue, these were the things that stuck to our thoughts.
Peter Leferink, curator of Future Generation, says “fashion is like a metaphor for what happens in society, for what we can expect in the future”. According to MBFWA we can expect clothing unbound to a season, influences of different cultures and a combination of contrasting materials. But what especially stood out on this edition was the focus on bringing across a positive message.
The first night started off with the debut collection of Luuk Kuijf and Diek Pothoven, two graduates of ArtEZ, who joined forces under the name Martan. The two young men communicated a positive message with regards to today’s world. An eclectic mix of contrasting fabrics visualise that all expressions of religion can blend together. Fluidity and religious elements like the spiral shape were recurring in the asymmetrical designs that sometimes looked like they would fall off the model’s body.
The first night started off with the debut collection of Luuk Kuijf and Diek Pothoven, two graduates of ArtEZ, who joined forces under the name Martan. The two young men communicated a positive message with regards to today’s world. An eclectic mix of contrasting fabrics visualise that all expressions of religion can blend together. Fluidity and religious elements like the spiral shape were recurring in the asymmetrical designs that sometimes looked like they would fall off the model’s body.
The fun thing about watching fashion shows is being completely caught up in the moment, to experience the world of the designer. A good example of that was the performance of das Leben am Haverkamp, a collective of four designers focusing on how their work relates to identity. Colourful garments, faces of the models covered by creative hats, origami techniques in outfits mainly made out of paper and a surprising yet perfectly suitable ending of inflatable dolls that filled the room with energy. By pushing and sometimes even crossing boundaries, this collective lays bare who you are, who we are and who we aren’t or no longer want to be.
How to end an opening night presenting the future generation better than by taking a look into the future? The Painting showed how nine young fashion designers worked in white. Today is the beginning of tomorrow; it’s like a blank canvas that we can fill in with our own dreams. All nine designers created three outfits in complete freedom, with the only restriction that it had to be fully in white. 27 models took place in a tableau vivant, in front of a massive peace sign, when a gospel choir surprised the audience by bringing across a clear message of peace with their own version of John Lennon’s Imagine.
The third day of fashion week started off with the launch of Re|fuse Magazine, a single edition about and made by refugees. A subject that is, now more than ever, of great importance. The avant-garde glossy is created as a protest on the refugee situation. Re|fuse aims to give back dignity to those who were forced to hand over all their wet garments to the Mediterranean border police. The numbers we hear and read about in the news get a face; they are spoken about in different words and presented in a different form, stylish and artistic, creating a new vision on migration.
An interesting mix of different styles was shown by the collective Reconstruct. Six designers aim to redefine fashion by reconstructing clothing pieces that we are familiar with. They are not afraid to combine different ideas in one design, making the collection a true artwork to look at. Thin fabrics, like collars made of tulle, are in contrasts with predominant heavy materials, resulting in a surprising mix of tough and sweet.
We finished fashion week on Sunday with the talented designer Liselore Frowijn who launched her first ‘see now, buy now’ capsule collection The New Cluster. She used twelve fabrics to produce ten colourful looks with one mission – immediate fashion, expressing the shifting needs and expectations of today’s consumer. Being inspired by the chaotic streets of Lagos, the collection refocuses and brings attention to different cultures and places.
