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.

For the BCBG Max Azria fall 2009 collection, designing couple Lubov and Max Azria took it to the future with a highly artistic, beautifully crafted collection that surpassed the bounds of the safety zones their known for sticking within. The collection centered around draped silhouettes and geometric cuts, all of which moved beautifully with each and every step. The delicate silhouettes were enlivened with the occasional jeweled embellishment, intricate pleating, and hand painted prints. Adding fuel to the futuristic fire were the accessories– metallic tights, chunky platform, and lucite jewel-box clutches. Overall, while this collection was a bit more on the serious and sophisticated side than those of seasons past, it still possessed all the classic timelessness responsible for the brand’s massive appeal.

Colors: Ivory, Purple, Green, Yellow, Navy
Fabrics: Wool, Jersey, Satin, and Silk Jacquard
Celebs: Amanda Bynes, Nastia Liukin, Kellie Pickler, Solange Knowles, Amanda Beard
Photo credit: Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

The Fashion Institute Arnhem is famous for its designers. Big stars like Viktor & Rolf and Spijkers & Spijkers all studied at the institute. This year they introduced us to some of their top graduates. In order of appearance: Maryam Kordbacheh, Rudolph Holmond, Felicia Mak and Lisa Weinberg.

Maryam Kordbacheh’s collection is called “the sexuality of flowers’ and is about the intimacy between the cloth and the female body. The organic shapes of nature come back into her designs. All pieces were moulded and handcrafted and she used techniques such as hand dying and hand pleating. With the use of all natural materials such as silk, cotton, silk jersey, silk tulle and silk cashmere, Kordbacheh created experimental pieces that women can wear, and at the same time, adore. Rudolph Holmond’s collection is called ‘Posturbia’ — derived from positive disturbia but also post-urban. It shows a real slim and smart silhouette combined with some more baggy items. The fabrics are a clash between traditional materials like flannel, wool, and cottons and more modern materials such as shiny plastic and transparent voiles. The collection titled ‘if you melt a suit, you get a dress’ from starting designer Felicia Mak is based on the idea of a striptease from a suit, slowly into a dress and inspired by Dita von Teese. The shapes are developed by taking a tailleur and producing it into softer and more feminine materials. The colours are based on the black and white contrast of a suit, the naked skin and sensual shades of orange. Lisa Weinberg’s collection is called ‘Dawn.’ Dawn emphasizes her special interest for developing her own textile and print designs. Mohair, latex, copper, silks and organza are all dyed by hand into colours of sunrise. Embroidery and hand painted prints, techniques which enhance the original fabrics, are incorporated in the collection. See the slideshow for collection pieces from these featured fashion week designers.

Dutch jewellery designer Bibi Van der Velden opened Amsterdam International Fashion Week with her show titled “Afrozonian Affluences.” Van der Velden created with her show an exotic and Utopian world where ancient natural materials where taken out of their context to create futuristic new designs. Ostrich eggs, taxidermy tropical birds, tiny shells, mammoth teeth and an abundance of colourful feathers- mostly treasures discovered on the designer’s extensive journeys to Africa, were transformed into pieces of wearable art. With this collection, Van der Velden used nature’s own beauty to return to her core being, looking for a respectful balance between nature and design. With her show, Bibi van der Velden gave the audience a combination of theatre, music, art, fashion and sculpture that blended in perfectly with one inspirational experience-challenging the audience to rethink their definition of what jewellery really is.

Oilily presented their Fall/Winter ’09 collection with lots of gold! Alive with charm, colour, quality, and original prints, the unique collection enables any woman, young or old, to accentuate her own individuality. Rich fabrics, dreamy and surreal graphics stood side by side to create deliberately rebellious but feminine designs. Viennese artists from the early 1900s such as Hundertwasser and Klimt were the inspiration for this collection’s prints, colour palette and decorative embellishments. With just a few fundamental amendments here and there, Oilily’s striking womenswear designs transform into the most beautiful new creations for girls.
The collection ranges from voluminous skirts to snug wool cardigans, as well as eye-catching tops and sophisticated dresses made from rich, dramatic fabrics.