New York...

It's a fact. I'm going to NYC for fashion week for Fashiolista... Too excited to breathe.
What to wear?!

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Evolving Influence

Speakers include: Style Bubble, The Cut, Bryan Boy,
 Cupcakes and Cashmere, Street Peeper,
Bloglovin', Gala Darling, LOOKBOOK

I know one of my first blogposts was about Tavi, and how I thought it went a bit overboard when magazines were looking at her outfits to get a glimpse of new trends. But, it's a simple fact that bloggers nowadays are gaining more and more influence in the fashion industry, which is why I was very sad that I couldn't fly to NYC after being invited by IFB (Independent Fashion Bloggers) to listen to the 'debate' between famous fashion bloggers. Luckily a little video was composed of the Evolving Influence conference. Click play to view.

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Fashion Environment

This past Monday was the start of a new year at fashion school (AMFI - Amsterdam Fashion Institute). With a semester called 'Fashion Environment', I came to think about my own fashion environment. Basically speaking, you could say that my environment exists of a couple sectors: first there's the school, that's obviously a great fashion environment for me. It fills me with knowledge about important fashion brand strategies, the tales and truths of the industry and it teaches me how to design a smart communicating lay out. Next to that it secures my future as a fashion professional, it also secures my sense of style, in a way that there's not much chance I am completely off with latest trends. Having such wonderfully well dressed boys and girls wandering around the school, even a child could spot trends or see fashion statements that are worth keeping an eye out for, pop up their heads way before they hit the highstreets. You might think morning life in front of your closet picking your outfit for the day has gotten harder ever since I became a Fashion student, the opposite is the case. Since now my inspiration has lead me to believe that everything is possible, I make bold choices and decisions. Perhaps some are a bit over the top, but who's judging? AMFI may seem like a runway to others outside of the fashion environment, to us it's just a place where we can express ourselves and steal some inspiring styling shots from each other. 

Next to school, my job is part of my fashion environment. Being the editor in chief for Fashiolista (God, do I love saying that!), I am asked to go see collection previews, art gallery openings and other fashion related events. I get to meet amazingly interesting and inspiring people in the industry for interviews or other features (read here about our latest cool blogger Suze from fashion blog Hold Your Breath) and I am allowed to go to Fashion Week!

Seeing my friends is another piece of the pie called my fashion environment. My friends inspire me with their wise words and wisdoms about life and love. We can chat for hours about the drama that troubled men have caused in our lives, but we can easily switch to the new knitted and leather A/W collection that has just come in stores at Zara, and then keep this subject on for couple hours or so. The hopes we all have for the future, the shared ambitions, the wish to let our fashion environment expand over the years, fills me with a firm believe that we'll all make it there someday. 

That leaves me with the last fashion environment to discuss, which is also the one that inspired me to write this post. As some of you may know, I live in a student apartment in Amsterdam, with three roomies (or I should say flatmates, as we all have our own room) that make life a little less boring and much more comforting when you find yourself stumbling along those three stairs with a striking pain in your left heel after drinking too much wodka ("with a hint of a fresh squeezed lime, please?") and walking far too long or dancing way too fierce on your new moss-green leather wedged ankle booties (laced up!). They hear my overenthusiastic stories when I come home, sink down to the kitchen floor, only to give a two-hour speech about the blue eyes of a certain famous singer I just stared in the eyes. They also soothe me when this singer is declaring his love for a certain editor - though not an editor for Fashiolista. 

Anyhow, I am wandering off. I wanted to talk about my domain in the house: my bedroom. This is definitely a huge part of my fashion environment, it's where I choose my outfits and where I write my posts, where I can read books and mag's and where I work on school assignments, where I can close the door and be in my very own dreamy world for hours on end. It sometimes feels quite personal when someone enters this world of dreams and hopes that I've created, as they are MY dreams and hopes, and I often feel quite aware of what's to see in my room. It's filled with books, cramped with shoes and packed with little bits and bops.The walls are covered with frames of antique fashion drawings, old black and white photos, a newspaper ad from the 80s from my grandfathers boutique and I think I made clear to anyone who enters my room I'm quite the Chanel fan. My room reflects who I am, organized in my own way, and interested in a broad range of things. It also reflects my way of dressing and I've often heard that my bedroom is an exact replica of who I am as a person. This makes me smile.

Photos by Emilie Sobels

Not completely random I came to think about my bedroom as my largest and most personal fashion environment, as my assignment for the coming five weeks is to design a living room box - or in my case a bedroom box, as my targetgroup is teenagers - in which you can clearly see whose special space it is. That means mini beds and mini desks, but what else? If you're in the age group 13 - 20 years, please inspire me and perhaps you'll find your tribute in my bedroom box...!

Photos by Emilie Sobels

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Fancy file

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Request for Landing - Conny Groenewegen AIFW

It's a warm and starry summer nights sky: not completely dark, but more deep cobalt blue. I enter the field where the show is to be held. I must note that a field is not the best choice for a show during fashion week, as 98% of all women are wearing heels. Mine sink deep into the moist earth with every footstep I take. I stumble along to a bunch of people standing in a large circle. It's remarkably silent, I think, amazed by the little noise that's coming from this amount of people. When I get closer to the crowd, however, I can distinguish the silhouette of big headphones. Aha! That's why no one's talking. They're listening to music; it's a silent disco...

Amidst the circle of the fashion crowd, people are sitting on pallets wrapped in plastic, while models march in any direction. It reminds me of last season's Prada show in Milan, when models were walking in different directions too. This is much more intimate though, which is exactly what designer Conny Groenewegen had in mind. Big lightbulbs hanging on a stick, light up when a model walks past, giving it a more industrial than disco theme. I think Edison would've been proud.

In the middle of the show, the models gather together for a group photoshoot. And not just any shoot, they all strike different poses, resulting in wonderful pictures.

The show, called Request for Landing, is about the transform process of a caterpillar into a butterfly. Conny Groenewegen explains: "It's a bit like designing a collection. With the show you - more or less - also ask permission from the audience to land, to be seen."

"I've been inspired by insects, butterflies mainly. The lines of the looks, the fabrics and materials and the show aspect have all been influenced by these insects." This is clearly visible in the shiny metallic fabrics, the soft lines and the holes that look like a beehive. And thus the second show during AIFW inspired by a physical process of nature.

Check this video to get an even better image of the show:

Photo's: Team Peter Stigter

Let's bring the circus to AIFW: Individuals AMFI

Being the proud AMFI student that I am, I was very anxious seeing what my fellow students designed for our own label, Individuals. I must say, I definitely liked some things, but wasn't blown away by the entire collection.

The music reminded me of the circus, and so did the make up: big spidery eyes combined with bright green, orange and pink eyeshadow, a dog (?) painted over the face of a model gave it that surreal circus touch. The looks varied from wide satin dresses in salmons, nudes and whites, combined with accessories in deep colours as fuchsia, turquoise and purple, to more sporty swimwear, still in those same three deep colours. Individuals did a good job, as after the show I found out the theme was indeed circus!

I didn't quite like the bra straps right above the knee though, as well as the bright knee caps in the beginning of the show. To me, they seemed a bit useless, and it looked a bit over-accessorized. I'm never a fan of very bright colours though, so the last bit of the show was more my taste: heavy gold and grey satin duchesse little blazers, a very feminine brown crocodile tail coat, and a beautiful black and beige printed silk fringed scarf. The best looks of the evening to me were the long silk coat and the black rope tied top. In combination with the bright and dramatic make up, (see the pictures at the beginning of this post) they were absolute winners.

Final conclusion: I think Individuals definitely succeeded in portraying their main theme, the circus. The bright coloured looks weren't really my taste, therefore I am more enthusiastic about the looks that had blacks, whites, nudes, salmons and beige tones, and heavy make up. I do think that musicwise Individuals could've been more original. The switch from one music to the other wasn't very smooth, which didn't build on the professional level.

Photos: Team Peter Stigter

Sail away sisteract: Spijkers en Spijkers at the opening soiree

A big ship painted on the breast of a model. A mauve jersey jumpsuit with a little boat on the front. Floaty dresses in VOC  slash ‘Delfts Blauw‘ prints. White dresses and blouses with blue shell shapes all over, as some sort of exotic print. 

The two twinsisters Riet Spijkers en Truus Spijkers, showed their SS11 collection at the Westergasfabriek during the opening soiree of Amsterdam Fashion Week (AIFW). They were inspired by the Dutch folksong ‘Daar was laatst een meisje loos’ (translated: A little girl was missing) that dates back to 1774.

In the 18th century a lot of girls dressed as boys so they could sail along with the big trading ships, which is what this song is about. The designerduo chose to show us a nautical theme with a twist. A very wearable collection, with stripes, Brigitte Bardot black and white printed tops, round shaped red and white sunglasses, and flowing kaftans and cute beach dresses in greens, blues and whites. Red lips, salty sea coupes and matching platform wedges with a cork sole and a see through plastic strap finished the look. 

St Tropez in the ’60s with a 18th century feel; a mix of times and cultures, very well performed.

Photos: Peter Stigter