N O V E L T Y / Finding the relevance of couture at Maison Martin Margiela

Haute Couture always felt like something very distant to me. Something that I'd only occasionally see presented on a dead plastic mannequin in a fashion exposition at a museum. Something that's only made for a small elite club from another era. Something that's so exclusive that it seems like it's taking place in a parallel universe to which we will never have access to. Though the reason why I love fashion so much is because it is so close to the body that it almost becomes a part of it, an extension of yourself, something that everyone must participates in and from which there is no escape. Haute Couture felt so untouchable and far away that I always regarded it more as art than as fashion. Basically I felt excluded and left out from it, not having a spare 10 grand to spend on a dress, not being a celebrity in need of a red carpet outfit and not having access to the intimate shows to see the garments in movement.

Attending the Maison Martin Margiela show forced me to think more about wether Haute Couture is still relevant in 2013. Yes we already know that it is about the detailing, the craftsmanship, the exclusivity, blablabla. But you never get to experience that by just seeing the collections through images, it just never comes through unless you see it in real life, in movement. I tell you, it is impressive.

I found how important Haute Couture can be for a house right now for many other reasons than selling clothes or having celebs wear garments (let's hope that Kanye never wears a Margiela mask again, to ironically, use it for its opposite purpose: getting attention instead of being anonymous). In The case of Maison Martin Margiela, who only have had couture collections for 3 seasons, it is a way to gain more freedom. Complete conceptual freedom, the design team gets to do whatever they want without thinking about sales or wearability. It's like going back to the core of the house. I have been told that some ideas that are too unwearable and get left out of the ready to wear lines are saved for the Couture shows. It is about showing what the maison is all about, what it is capable of, what techniques it can apply.

And as expected, Maison Martin Margiela broke all the rules of Haute Couture and send some worn down jeans down the runway. These were my favorite looks, paired with oversized collars and masks made out of large marble beads on bare skin. So simple yet so extravagant. Then there was the deconstructed and reconstructed vintage and antique garments; a 1950s prom dress, an Art Nouveau curtain and even some beadings from the Napoleon-era. Recuperating these vintage and antique pieces was such a respectful way to treat clothes, almost like an homage, making old clothes relevant again for the future. It could even be a statement from MMM connected to the relevance haute couture itself.

A C C E S S O R I E S / Material Merging at Margiela

Experimenting can lead to wonderful new ideas. One of the things that I was impressed and inspired by from the Maison Martin Margiela show last week was how high tech techniques were applied in a Haute Couture collection: these pieces of jewelry made out of crystal and white matte resin.

I imagine the Swarovski design atelier looking somewhat like a lab. Their team is partly made up out of technicians, engineers and mathematicians who experiment with crystal (apparently, Swarovski does much more than only produce sparkles for asian nail salons). They somehow managed to fuse crystal with a white matte resin, merging them with pressure and without any glue involved. Then took the samples of their newly found technology to Paris and asked for a vision from Maison Martin Margiela. Who came up with the idea of shapes and cuts resembling natural stalactites. In the beginning it was a complete experimental adventure, it was still even unsure if it was going to work out and if there was ever going to be an end product. But now two years later, the line is finally a reality. My favorite pieces were the multi purpose tie- and document-clips; which can be clipped pretty much everywhere and also be used as an office accessory.

I N T E R I O R / Inside Maison Martin Margiela

From the outside one would never know that there is a little Margiela universe behind the thick walls of the former convent. There is no sign, no logo, nothing indicating that these are the headquarters of the Maison. Ultra discrete. Only in my wildest dreams would I ever enter this place, it was absolutely insane being invited (and getting a tour) by Maison Martin Margiela, which traditionally only communicated with press through a fax machine.

Before I knew it, I was standing in their entrance hall underneath the iconic veiled chandelier. The entire place was of course decorated with all their legendary stuff and furniture; the painted couch, trompe-l'oeil everywhere, the bottle lamps, piles and piles of their deconstructed lookbooks, empty snow globes and I even spotted a fax machine. Almost everything in white and stripped from its identity, even the computers were partly covered hiding the apples logos. As a tradition from Martin, all staff from all departments were still wearing the white overall uniforms, creating a sense of equality and collectiveness. As a visitor there was just no way to figure out who is from the design team, who is in sales, who cleans the toilets.

Most doors were covered with a picture of a different door creating a trompe-l'oeil effect, these were pictures of the doors at the first Maison Martin Margiela headquarters. When they moved in 2004 this was a way to take a piece of their former home with them. Though they didn't change or cover up much about the identity of this building, none of the walls are painted but left in their natural old, sometimes dilapidating state. Which makes a beautiful contrast with all the white, the crafted clothes and accessories. It was just one big space where creativity flows everywhere.

R E P O R T / ArtEZ Beauty Shots

Never have I seen a person look this good in red lipstick as this beautiful androgynous creature that came down the runway at the ArtEZ show. Though after the show was finished, he took off the pvc suit he was showcasing but left on the matte red lipstick. Then when going for a backstage peek, one of Barbara Langendijk's models (more on her soon!) caught my eye with her thick black shiny hair in two ponytails, one clipped down with a minimalistic silver barrette.

R E P O R T / J. JS Lee aw13

This London fashion week post is deliberately 3 months late.
At the time every single inch of digital fashion space was saturated by fashion week related images.
This was just to good to let it get lost in that sea of runway snapshots. Jackie JS Lee was my favorite show in London.

According to the papers on the benches on of the show, this was going to be a collection inspired by the African continent.
But as soon as the models came out it was clear that Jackie stepped far away from all the cliches involving african inspired fashion.
Instead she focussed on applying traditional african weaving techniques on her minimalist designs. Combining thick, robust loop knits with delicate fabrics
and incorporating bits of fluffy wool on top of the loafers and sandal-loafers. The show closed with four enormous box jackets in the thickest imaginable wool, too beautiful to capture well on camera.
I was lucky enough to get to meet the lovely Jackie herself and hear her explain about her urge to travel, and the way these trips inspire her.

REPORT | Stockholm Guide

Yes, yes, yes, all the stories and all the cliches are true; everything in Sweden is better. Unlike Amsterdam, the streets are spacious and buildings are stately. The people are friendly and all the girls are ridiculously beautiful. The city is clean and functions orderly. Though it was freezing, at this time of year the sun doesn't come up all the way but stays very low throughout the day, which means there is a permanent sunset over Stockholm. Magical. While writing this I miss it already! If you're heading north any time soon, here are a couple of places/shops that are definitely worth a visit:

Aplace - Götgatan 36
All the Scandinavian brands you hope and expect to see in Stockholm together in one store; Ann-Sofie Back, Carin Wester, Whyred, Hope, Acne, Nhu Duong, Wood Wood, they have got it all and more. I could spend hours in there.

Aplace outlet - Tjärhovsgatan 14
The Scandinavian concept-store also has an outlet a couple of streets away.

Granit - Götgatan 31
Can you imagine a Swedish version of Muji? This is it. Simple, basic, no fuss stationary and home accessories. Almost everything inside Granit is black, white or something in between.

Acne Archives - Torsgatan 53
Light pink bags with the four lettered black script on them are everywhere is Stockholm, it seems like there is an Acne store on every other corner. Though if you walk a bit further away from the centre, you will find Acne Archives; a boutique filled with items from previous collections, pieces that never made it to production and piles of jeans for only a fraction of their original price.

Mrs H - Birger Jarlsgatan 9
Ann Demeulemeester, Haider Ackermann, Helmut Lang, Maison Martin Margiela, Proenza Schouler, Alexander Wang...yes they carry all that. Need I say more about this boutique?

Konst-ig - Åsögatan 124
A cute bookstore specialized in art, design, architecture, fashion related books. Great place to get some visual inspiration.

Eat! - Tegnérgatan 3
When you're trying to eat healthy and vegan it is always hard to find food that is 'safe' in a city that you don't know. It was a shame that we only stumbled upon 'Eat' on the last day of our stay. It is a small all organic grocery store with lots of fresh food and healthy snacks. They also serve coffee and delicious vegan pastries which you can eat on their window sill.

Moderna Museet - Skeppsholmen
The museum of contemporary art, located on the tiny Skepsholmen island. This was probably my favorite place in Stockholm. In the same building there is also a permanent architecture exhibition. We arrived on a night that they just happened to stay open longer and for free, it was super busy in a good way. The current exhibition of Picasso vs. Duchamp and their permanent collection was impressive but most of all the relaxed atmosphere was nice, even the kiddo felt right at home at Moderna Museet.

N O V E L T Y / Marques Almeida SS13

pictures taken by me and runway images courtesy of firstview.com

When I got to Sommerset House on that sunny Sunday morning and saw how empty the place was, it hit me that it was only 9.30 instead of 10.30 and I had forgotten to put my clock an hour back when arriving in London. The silver lining though was that I got to talk to all the designers who were not too busy at this hour. Highlight was meeting Marta Marques and Paulo Almeida, who were both chilling at a table besides their collection that they showed the previous day.

What I saw was a Nineties / early noughties feel, lot's of heavily frayed denim and raw unsewn edges. But much less of the extremely destroyed, trashed denim as seen in previous collections. It was a bit less grunge and a bit more -dare I say- girly. Ok, girly in the sense of: it would have been perfect for the sisters of my friends anno 1998, the ones that had a ring through their nose, a messy bedroom with piles of clothes and platform shoes on the floor and an ashtray next to the window.

REPORT | LFW, ACNE AW12

At Acne, everything is always right on spot. The collection, the magazine, the stores. The show, which I normally only get to see through slick style.com images, was everything I´d expect from the Swedes; it all made prefect sense. After climbing a stair or 6, visitors arrived at the top floor of the venue which kind of looked like a parking with its concrete floors, 2 meter thick round pillars, raw ceilings and dilapidated walls. This gigantic space used to be the London's post sorting office and has been empty for 15 years. A four meter high marble printed decor was set up in the middle. Everyone from Emanuelle Alt to Florence Welch to Kate Lanphear (could continue dropping names for quite a while but I'll spare you that bit) were there. The models walking through it a couple of minutes later in boxy sculptured jackets, leather dresses and pointy glasses completed the slightly futuristic story.

REPORT | A Black-White story called TWO

Giuliano Bolivar; mastermind behind 2 , Elisabeth Schaduw; cutest DJ you'll ever meet, Malou Tan; Talented photographer and employee at Sketch


I bet you too have had an overdose of words like 'selected' or 'handpicked' -vintage. I know I have. It's usually just the regular old secondhand clothes but on fancier hangers and with expensive tags. With Giuliano Bolivar's project '2' (yep, it's called Two) which is built up from secondhand clothes it was an entire different story.

Three racks of Giuliano's carefully curated used clothes awaited the visitors of the small luxury department store Sketch in Den Haag last Saturday. Accompanied by classic 1990s songs played by a long haired beauty on platforms, people were going through the black and white used garments.

TWO is a project that came together with things that already existed, clothes that were already there. Small alterations and adjustments are made to them and they are curated and arranged so well that these old and forgotten garments look fresh and valuable again.(Though the prices are still what you'd expect when buying second hand; tops under 35 Euro, jackets under 100 Euro) A long wide shirt suddenly looks much more valuable and modern without its pointy 1970s collar and hung next to a leather quilted sleeveless jacket.

Giuliano Bolivar is not afraid to say that it is all about branding and the way you present a product. 'These are just secondhand clothes. But arranged and styled in a way that they make sense with each other. The clothes weren't made by me. I just altered them and I chose them.' Yes he did, he created an entire vibe of which every customer wanted a piece and which was quickly referred to as a collection instead of a selection. The boy has style.



note: See that white ripped denim jacket hanging on the right side of the rack? I took that baby home! Already looking forward to the next TWO event! For more info about TWO and to see the look book click HERE

VIDEO | Land Dress

music : Phantogram - You are the ocean

My friend Linda Erkens, founder and head designer of the label Land gifted me this fantastic dress. Being the perfectionist that she is, she wanted to take in a cm here and there. On the footage that was taped almost a month ago we were having a conversation about fits. I said that as a consumer I would have bought this dress anyway, you go into a store, you find your size, it fits more or less and you buy it. But she as the designer sees that half a cm could be taken in here and there. My thought would just be 'Yes! they still have my size!' Linda's partner at Land Guido Rijkse then added that that is the essence of a good designer; the garment should be so well designed that is always fits.
And at Land it does.

Soon the Land online shop will open its digital doors. It will be a place where you will find more garments like these which are all about fit and basic constructions and are not bounded to time.

NOVELTY | Berlin Shopping

left: Acne Store,
right: Comme des Garcon wallet, garments at the Wood Wood store


The tiny Acne sign on the window of their Berlin shop


Muji, adorable mini notebook I got


Weekday, one of their fantastic pieces that I purchased; an assymetric dress


Where the neighbor shop windows were styled exactly according to season and the streets in Mitte were flooded by Levis cut off shorts and black wayfarers, the Acne store stood out with its clean minimalist aesthetic. The personnel was dressed in white button up shirts, the inside was impeccably white while the outside wall was left raw, unpainted and covered with stickers and graffiti tags. Only a small discreet ACNE on the window indicated that this was the Berlin home of this Swedish brand. Münzstasse 21

Another shop worth visiting in the utterly hip neighborhood Mitte (Hipster central?)is the concept store by Scandinavian brand WoodWood. Besides selling their own brand they also offer a collection of magazines and books, sneakers and other brands like Opening Ceremony, Sonia Rykiel and Comme des Garcons. Rochstrasse 4

Looking back, the funnest shop in the Mitte area, the one that left the thought in my mind of 'I wish I had bought this and this and that' was Muji. A Japanese chain with the message 'back to our origins into the future' that sell all kinds of things in their simplest form, no prints, no brand names, no fuss; typically Japanese. From notebooks to clothing to furniture. And almost everything is either cardboard-brown, transparent or white. The products they offer are unpretentious, basic yet smart. A well designed raincoat of the type that you can fold so small that it fits in your back pocket, note- and sketchbooks in the cutest formats and transparent make up containers that are so chic that you can already envision them filled with Chanel products. Hackescher Markt 1

I had been stalking the Weekday website for months already and coincidentally, Weekday happened to be right across the street from the hotel that I was staying at. For those like me who don't have a Weekday in their country; don't expect the best quality though if you look carefully there is some good stuff to be found, like their footwear, the garments designed by Stine Goya, their huge Cheap Monday collection. Friedrichstrasse 140

More..
-Appartment: Memhardstraße 8
What they sell? Mens and womenswear; Rick Owens, Cheap Monday, Gareth Pugh
-Cash: Memhardstraße 8
What they sell? Second hand and last season's designer items
-Lomography Gallery store: Friedrichstraße 133
What they sell? All kinds of cameras and camera accessories
-COS: Friedrichstrasse 83, Neue Schönhauser Strasse 20
What they sell? the usual COS.
-Made in Berlin: Neue Schönhauser Strasse 19
What they sell? Vintage men's and women's clothes and accessories
-Doctor Martens: Dircksenstraße 49
What they sell? Mens, Womens, Kiddie Docs

REPORT | Inside LAND

translation of 'niks': nothing





These beautiful spaces is where my friend Linda Erkens eats, sleeps, designs, meets clients, and everything else that has to do with setting up your own label, in her case ‘LAND’.

Based in an old elementary school in the center of Amsterdam, the interior of the spaces reflect everything the brand LAND stands for. Basic colors, sharp lines. When entering her home/atelier/headquarters it feels as if you have entered her mood board or even have access to her thoughts. On every wall, in every corner quotes, words, photographs and other inspirations are taped to the wall or framed behind glass.

Other than alot of words with a secondary meaning or feeling, inspiration for her collection comes from the patterns and cuts instead of some sort of seasonal theme. The new collection continues where the old has ended. It is a never ending story.

keep an eye on her website: landwebsite.nl

SHOES | Rosa Roozen

Behold Rosa Roozen’s graduation collection! Just over a month ago she grauated at Artez academy in Arnhem. Rosa’s futuristic designs, original use of material and insane heels blew our minds at her exposition. I look forward to seeing more of her work!