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