I err, therefore I am

The newest Vestoj is out and I have it! Love this issue on failure. It's an annual journal that critically reviews fashion and tries to open up a dialogue about the cultural phenomenon that is fashion. Every issue contains intellectual interviews and stories about the ongoing topic (failure in the current issue) bringing together theory and practice.

Have you ever read Vestoj? xx

Earth Alchemy Factory - Atelier NL

During the Dutch Design Week I went to the Earth Alchemy Factory in the Bergmann kerk. Through this project Atelier NL "invites people to explore the world by learning and making as a community."

In the church they have their workplace in which they transform elements of the earth (e.g. sand and clay) into all kinds of items. For example, you can buy little bowls with baked sand in it, which in many cases turned into glass. There are also tiles in many earth colors, representing clay from different places in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany. The clay is also used for ceramics. The paint samples you can see are made of different kinds of soil.

In sum, it is a great project that shows you all the things you can do with simple natural materials. xx

Premium and Seek Berlin

You probably already saw some photos on my Instagram feed from when I was in Berlin to visit the Premium and Seek fashion fair. Here are a few photos from the general area in Seek berlin which was much more fashion forward and showing more interesting, contemporary brands compared to the Premium fair.

When eating a burger and some fries the evening of our arrival we met two kind men that are working for the Danish brand Kaibosh specialized in [sun]glasses. It is a brand that has a completely different philosophy than other optical brands. They believe that one should have multiple glasses that complement your carefully curated looks, instead of one pair that doesn't go with all your looks. For instance when you are wearing a boyish look you should wear a pair of glasses that rounds off the look.

As they say themselves: "Now you can have a high quality pair of trend-setting prescription glasses or sunglasses for the same price as a pair of jeans". Browsing through their website will show you that they carry many different styles, there is something for everyone. And for those that cannot decide upon a pair in the morning they also have two-way glasses that you can alter throughout the day. Those glasses were also at the Seek fair and were amazing, how cool is it that you can wear your glasses in two ways?! Definitely fashion-forward! xx

Nacht van de Mode

Saturday night during 'Nacht van de Mode' in the popular Modekwartier [fashionquarters] in my hometown Arnhem. This is a special evening that is dedicated to all the artisans, stores and designers in the fashion area. During the event that is held in the stores and in the streets in front of all the workshops, stores and restaurant. Here some photos to show what it looked like. xx

The Future of Fashion is Now: Boijmans van Beuningen

Last weekend we performed during the opening of The Future of Fashion is Now exhibition at the Boijmans van Beuningen museum in Rotterdam. As part of the Fashion Masters at Artez we worked together with the Australian Fashion Designer and performer Adele Varcoe.

During the opening night - on friday the 10th of October - we showed three acts that we had been working on during the previous weeks. Because we are fashion strategist, we didn't perform ourselves but we recruited models, dancers and other professionals to do the job. It was a chaotic but nice evening, it was fun to work on a real project and see the result of the ideas we had been working on for a while.

1. We worked with models and mirrors. Models stared at the audience through a compact mirror.
2. We worked with dancers who were intensely looking at the audience and sometimes adjusting their outfit (rolling up sleeves, opening buttons) and upon the arrival of a nude model they started to undress as well (while continuing the staring and adjusting part).
3. We held a catwalk show where we worked with the anticipation of the audience. We reversed the scenario so that the audience had to walk down the runway.

We were invited to an expert-meeting earlier that day, where some guest speakers gave us an interesting insight in the/their fashion world. The guest speakers were: Elisa van Joolen, Lucia Cuba, Adele Varcoe, Antoine Peeters, Craig Green, Forrest Jessee, Pauline van Dongen and Hefin Jones.

The exhibition The Future of Fashion is Now is on show from the 11th of October until the 18th of January 2015. As I mentioned before, you can find it at the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam. Did any of you go there yet or is planning to? xx