If Dutch designers are often low profile, they are nevertheless hard workers who stick to their guns, the best example being Lucas Ossendrijver, who has been creating stunning collections at Lanvin for more than a decade. Dutch fashion schools are vibrant, exciting and often full of ideas, blending the raw with the conceptual, historicism with global concerns. This was my first time being part of the jury at Lichting 2017, a great initiative launched in 2007 by HTNK and FashionWeek Netherlands. The purpose of Lichting is to promote the best graduates from the country and award them with 2 prizes: the international jury awards the winner of the competition with 10.000€ while the audience prize, worth 3000€, goes to another graduate. This year, 3 menswear collections clearly stood out.
Lizzy Stuyfzand -who graduated with a BA in Fashion design from ArtEZ in Arnhem- delivered an energetic collection inspired by London club kids and Austrian craftsmen. She walked away with the 10.000€ jury award, which she will use to pursue her textile research. Bold, confident and playful, her clothes were a convincing mix of contemporary tailoring, fancy accessories and contrasting textures, associating sheer fabrics with embroidery techniques, man-made materials with high-quality yarns. Her collection also played with the current gender divide while keeping a strong masculine vibe, even when she sent out a transparent green skirt on the runway, worn with a lurex trimmed shirt. Teun Seuren, who graduated from HKU in Utrecht, was inspired by hooligans and gay power, printing swear words and homophobic slurs on his delicate mesh t-shirts, which subverted the classic language of sportswear. His message was powerful, yet subtle, focusing on wide-legs pants and a softer silhouette, as well as a restrained color palette of red and white. Sophie Roumans, who graduated from Utrecht’s School of the Arts, also had politics in mind with a collection that focused on global warming. Entitled “The Promise”, her clothes hinted at the ambiguity of human behavior towards the planet, creating and destroying it at the same time. Her draping was beautiful, as well as her loose tailored pieces and use of knitwear. Placing drawstrings on several pieces, she managed to play with hems and proportions, offering garments that were intelligent and seductive at once.
If those 3 graduates play their cards well, you’ll probably hear from them in the near future.
The natural declinations of High Hopes are to be considered (or would be considered) young people: the future (an aware and sustainable future) is theirs.
Last week we traveled to Kyiv to attend the second edition of the International Young Designers Contest (IYDC), one of the largest and most influential international fashion events for emerging talents in Eastern and Central Europe.
Dior Men unveiled its Fall/Winter 2019 campaign, captured by the lens of Steven Meisel, in a decor inspired by the atelier of an iconic figure of California’s 1970s Punk scene, Raymond Pettibon.
Peniel at Named, Dillon at Select, and Neeraj at Premier photographed by Eeva Rinne and styled by Stelios Stylianou with pieces from Mirco Pitscheider, in exclusive for Fucking Young! Online.
Japanese cult brand JULIUS just unveiled their Spring/Summer 2020 collection “Afangar” meaning hybrid in Malagasy, exploring the link between the technological “now” and the chaos of Nature. The lookbook was captured by Piczo and… »
Bringing an idea to reality for the first time is always a hard way. It’s not just about creativity. Designing fashion in today’s world, requires a deeper investigation, a collection that tells a story, a conscious production, a final product linked to… »
Desigual is celebrating a new chapter where they are changing their image and logo. For that, they joined forces with Sónar Barcelona to promote the positioning of Barcelona as the corner of the Mediterranean where creativity and art evolve and are redefined.
The first collaboration between Lacoste and Tyler, The Creator’s clothing brand, Lacoste × GOLF LE FLEUR injects some of the US artist’s iconic style into classic French tennis culture.
With hotels open in 25 countries all over the world, Aloft Hotels (Marriott International), is ready to accommodate the “next generation of travelers” now in the center of the Spanish capital.
Y-3’s Fall/Winter 2019 collection entirely reframes the collaboration between adidas and Yohji Yamamoto, creating a space for the German athletics pioneer and the Japanese designer to reinterpret each other’s most iconic design codes.
Niløs is the non-gendered line from the design team of Japanese avant-garde pioneers Julius. Its proposal for Spring/Summer 2020 is titled “Dark Rhizome” inspired by darkness, some kind of pessimistic nostalgia and the dark web. The… »
PERFUMES LOEWE presents LOEWE 7 PLATA, its new fragrance inspired by the 7 values that characterize the LOEWE 7 man: a man of contrasts that seeks to learn and apprehend every day.
For its Fall/Winter 2019 advertising campaign, KENZO collaborates with David LaChapelle, blurring the lines between high art, luxury advertising and the unavoidable wanderlust incited by modern social-media photography.
