Hasta La Ideas

Mada van Gaans’ collections are often inspired by myths around female figures, elements out of nature and influences from other cultures. She usually builds her collection around a story, consisting of different characters. Her feminine, young designs are chic and strong, sensual and fluid, and made from refine fabrics. Traditional craftsmanship from other cultures is important to Mada, and she finds it a challenge to translate these techniques into new designs. The brilliant aspect of designing to her is the fact that it enables her to communicate her fantasies to other people. For her Winter ’09 collection called “Au bord de la Nuit,’ she took inspiration from the transition between day and night. In her own words she describes it as “on the edge of the night, when the sky turns darker and the sun seems to slowly disappear beneath the surface of planet earth, silence falls over us like a mysterious blanket.” Mada showed several collections during Amsterdam Fashion Week over the past years. In 2005 Mada went to New York to show her collection to the American press and stores during New York Fashion Week Dutch Touch New York and took part of the exhibition “Dutch at the Edge of Design” at The Museum at FIT. In October 2007 Mada won second prize at the IAF Awards in Taipei in Taiwan and in November she was nominated to take part in the Mercedes Benz Dutch Fashion Awards.