FASHIONWEEK | Recap

Haider Ackermann | Draped and shaped
Haider did his trick and we saw it was good. Organic and pure shapes in practically the same materials; the softest leather and shiny silk draped over the models. Ackermann has an eye for coats, and the simple grey one above was my favourite. Also spotted on several runways; covered mouths. Is it a reference to the cruel dictators in the news lately or just an aesthetic issue?

Acne | Fifty-fifty
I wrote earlier about how Acne's show quite disappointed me with its spring/summer ensemble, the fall/winter-show did only fifty-fifty. The first looks were not my taste (let's talk odd silhouettes, orange and red together and psychedelic cowboys), but the second half fulfilled my longing for beauty. The combination of pastels and neon is absolutely okay, and together with the raw leather and denim Acne saves its butt just before hitting the water...

Gareth Pugh | About monsters and the carwash
The shy Pugh did not want to give any comment on his empowering show, but the clothes do a lot of talking themselves. The runwayshow could be easily told as a fairytale. May I present you the enemies: carwash-bird, black unicorn and the magical witch. Dark, impressive, haunting and a bit 'high priestess of a techno death cult'. That is also the best résumé about Pugh: I really couldn't have said it better.

3.1 Phillip Lim | Clean and crispy
Lim does it more ladylike, with clean silhouettes of tough materials and a sophisticated look. The bright orange breaks it all and goes on a fluffy tour. Even tough the underlying thought as a kind of fairytale here (superheroes in daily life), it wasn't that obvious shown. Nice little detail for every day life: fold the welt of your blazer to the inside for a completely fresh look.

EDITORIAL | Taken Over

Volt Magazine | Taken Over
Photography | Peter Guenzel
Art Direction & Design | Marie Valognes
Make-up | Molly Aitken Davies
Model | Kajsa Mohammar

ALTERNATIVE | Surface to Air Pandora

Original | Surface to Air, € 465,-
Alternative | Whyred via Nelly.com, € 299,-

ARCHITECTURE | Dutch Pride

ph / John Lewis Marshall, Jaap Vliegenthart

I am honestly proud of all of the Dutch architects. Even though I can clearly recall two or three of them by names, the architecture of Holland is often featured on design blogs such as Dezeen and KNSTRCT. Dutch design might not be embraced by the inhabitants themselves, but it does gets acknowledged by foreigners. No, I am not pointing at the old, 'Golden Century'-buildings right and left of the Amsterdam' canals, but at the new generation. Literally.

denieuwegeneratie (thenewgeneration freely translated), is a young Amsterdam based design office, founded on the day the Lehmann Brothers filed bankruptcy. Its start-up project, Dutch Mountain as seen below, was the start of a productive first 3 years. denieuwegeneratie focuses on the essence of architectute: building and rebuilding. Due to the overabundance of offices, denieuwegeneratie sees refurbishments and reuse of existing city and its buildings as highly important. The Dutch Mountain is a house (or castle, in my opinion), built into a small mountain. A little bit inspired by the Teletubbies?

The details inside are jaw-dropping amazing. An oldtimer Jag functioning as bookshelf, old Dutch trashcans are part of a table, skateboard decks used as stairs. An outfit may be only completed by accessories, this house is perfect because of the odd-looking details. Design, functionality and effortless style mixed into a building. Note to myself: don't spend money on clothing, save every penny for a house like this. One day.

TOPLOOKS | February

1. Lauren Remington Platt via Stockholm Streetstyle
Ultimate sophistication, that is the power behind Lauren. With her elegant hair-do, timeless suit and white tones she completely nails it. Spring is most of all about mixing white hues, and this lady is the perfect example of how-to-do.

2. Josefin Arestav from FashionSphere
Yet again a powerful woman, but with dark edges. Bleached eyebrows mixed with bright red lips, multiple layers with different lengths, ombre effect in her pants... I could go on and on about her look. Maybe a little out of the tone of voice when I am talking about spring, but this outfit had to get in.

3. Shini Park from Park & Cube
The biggest spring trend spotted on the runways was pastel. Pretty pastel, proper pastel. Even tough that colourpalette is something I really need to learn, I grew on it. From all-black to mintgreen, violet and pale pink. Shini is better with experimenting, and sets the dresscode with this simple look. To spice things up, she used a wide choice of materials. From fuzzy and foxy to clean and crispy. You gotta learn it from the best.

WORDS | Authentic Self

Achievement is following the desires of your most authentic self.

I'm ok. What a contrast between this and last week, don't you think? The overwhelming amount of blogposts versus having no time for posts at all. Sorry for behaving as a bad blogger, but I worked day and night on getting in AMFI, the Amsterdam Fashion Institute. After filling in a application form and writing a motivation letter, Monday it was time for suitability tests. I cut with shaking hands, I spoke with shaky voice, in short: I was nervous as hell. A big thanks to the lovely comforting AMFI-people and the international students that were chit-chatting right away. Expect more goodies to come, since I now have in and about four weeks to shiver in silence, waiting for my positive or negative letter falling through the mailbox.

O ja, I've been a bad blogger. Maar niet zonder reden uiteraard. Het contrast tussen de dagelijkse, inspiratievolle posts van vorige week en het gebrek daaraan afgelopen week is levensgroot. Al mijn tijd en energie werd opgeslokt door de geschiktheidstesten van AMFI, het Amsterdam Fashion Institute, waar ik volgend jaar mijn tijd wil doorbrengen. Na het opsturen van een vragenformulier en een motivatieletter was het maandag tijd voor testen in real life. Bibberende handjes zorgden voor scheef geknip, een bibberend stemmetje probeerde in haar beste Engels uit te leggen waarom ze hier écht thuis hoorde. A big up voor de rustgevende docenten van AMFI en de gezellige Finse, Italiaanse en Poolse medestudenten die je de oren van je kop praten. De komende tijd is het iets rustiger, en dus tijd voor blogging. Dat doe ik pal op de deurmat, zodat de positieve of negatieve uitslag van AMFI niet te missen is!

FILM | Random Firl

Martina Scorcucchi | Morse code signals
Forty seconds of beeps, rewind shots and cult-like waterdrops crawling up the models sleeve. The overall vibe is madness. The girl could be a patient in a Psychiatric Department, struggling to get out. The open end is up to you...


SHOWstudio | Nick Knight, Karlie Kloss, Kate Phelan for Topshop
Even though Topshops latest collaboration with Mary Katrantzou sold out in nearly ten minutes, I couldn't hold back this short video with cooperations from the past ten years. Enjoy the artistic view on dozens of successful collections with Karlie Kloss as main (and mysterious) character.


Volt Magazine | Matthew Miller Man SS/12
Matthew Miller nailed it. The moment when the first concrete wall filled the screen, I did a little dance of joy. The under appreciated material is often found ugly, shallow and unfinished. In this mix-up, the white hairdo and crisp tailored trousers have found their perfect opposite in the raw concrete.


Karolina Zmarlak | Fall/Winter 2011
Bizarre how a dark tango and flower printed curtain complement each other. This Polish designer set up a strong collection with a double layer. The murderous twin-sisters chose a psychedelic approximation full of screaming and looking angry. Fine film with a dark undertone.


Brook&Lyn | Deflected Collection
Just a couple of days ago it was my time to discover jewelryblog Brook&Lyn. Her newest collection is floaty and playful, but with a philosophy. The soft pastels fit the vintagelook accessories perfectly. Definitely a designer on the run!