MRS. MO VELD

Today it is my recommendation to get into the good habit of checking The Daily Recommendation on the Fantastic Man website, ehm, daily. Occasionally I have the pleasure of bringing in small delights, like this time when I was invited to the press opening of David Hockney’s show A Bigger Picture at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne. I was absolutely thrilled to meet the master himself but the show in it itself is absolutely jaw dropping too. Treat yourself to this trip!

As I model for friends only I was particularly happy to pose for Mark van Vorstenbos and Twan Janssen, the ever so charming couple behind Dutch knitwear label YOUASME MEASYOU, in front of the lens of my good friends at Studio Blommers/Schumm. The portrait is part of an exhibition in Amsterdam’s famed Gallery Torch called YOUASME MEASYOU The Social Show, subtitled The Art of Sharing. All the people in the mirrored portraits belong to the Family of Founders of this utterly contemporary label with its precious quality knitwear and jersey pieces and innovative concepts such as the world wide virtual stores. Do learn more about this really forward thinking new luxury brand concept on their website or come to Gallery Torch to sign up for this wonderful win-win fashion deal: join the Family of Founders! Make sure not to miss Riette Wanders‘ flower arrangements while doing the paper work. YOUASME MEASYOU The Social Show runs until December 22^nd, 2012. (The hand knit scarf I’m wearing in the picture will make a comeback in the collection soon and, whisper whisper, they do awesome sales too!)

On Friday September 28 I was invited to the opening dinner in Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, in honor of the opening of Rejina Pyo’s breathtaking exhibition. The Han Nefkens Fasion Award jury panel, including Viktor & Rolf, Gentlewoman’s Penny Martin, fashion lecturer José Teunissen and mecenas Han Nefkens himself, selected the young Korean born Central Saint Martins Fashion Master graduate as the lucky talent to be granted 25.000 Euro’s to realize a new collection and putting it up in a show at the wonderful Boijmans van Beuningen art temple in Rotterdam. Rejina Pyo’s work is overwhelming in it’s sculptural perfection and pressing fashion vision. Niels Klavers and I returned to Rotterdam shortly after for a field trip with the Gerrit Rietveld fashion department, and we strongly recommend you see this immaculate little show too. No need to buy tickets, it’s put up in a free zone near the entrance, until January 20, 2013.

It is with pride that I make myself useful as a copywriter for the great cause of the Amsterdam based Orange Babies foundation, whose hands on initiatives help to fight HIV in Africa. The most recent occasion was the Orange Babies Gala 2012, a high profile fundraising auction event which took place on June 23rd. As part of this year’s Chic ‘n Soul themed gala the famous Dutch wax print company Vlisco, with it’s vast African connection, collaborated with some 30 young and established designers to create exclusive accessories for auction. My Eindhoven-connection, fashion and design concept store You Are Here, helped recruit an army of wonderful young design talents to collaborate in this colorful exercise. Besides the many many colorful and perfectly covetable bags, ties and bow ties here are a few gorgeous examples by Thera Hillenaar, Turina Jewellery, design studio RenS and MATTIJS. The night’s auction made a neat total of 527.805 Euro’s for the Orange Babies cause by the way.

Thera Hillenaar X Vlisco

Sandra Turina X Vlisco

Renee Mennen and Stefanie van Keijsteren of Studio RenS X Vlisco

MATTIJS X Vlisco

As the rookie fashion theory teacher at the fashion department of the infamous Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam I am especially proud of ‘our’ first fashion show, held on Friday June 15. The brand new head of this fashion department Niels Klavers picked an excellent location for starters, on the third floor of the academy’s new wing across from the famously stylish Gerrit Rietveld building which served as a backdrop for the 45 meters long minimalist catwalk, a fruitful collaboration with Audio Visual students Kristinn Gudmundsen and Peter Sattler, Foundation Year student Karim Adduchi and other students. The show included a fascinating selection of first and second year fashion students, three fashion graduates – Jolka Wiens, Poul Brouwer and Morta Griskeviciute – and two more graduates, Elisabeth Leerssen from textiles and Torfi Fannar Gunnarsson from audio visual. Here is a selection of first reviews of the show by Kristoper Arden-Houser on Diane Pernet’s A Shaded View On Fashion site, prominent Dutch fashion reporter Georgette Koning and fashion blogger Branco Popovic. See the finale here on YouTube.

Great laser cut silhouettes by Jolka Wiens

Gold sheen neoprene minidress by Jolka Wiens

Shredded big coat by Morta Griskeviciute

Fascinating beautiful ravage by Morta Griskeviciute

Padded silhouette by Poul Brouwer

Crisp watered down tile prints by Poul Brouwer

Awesome sweaters knitted by Elisabeth Leerssen

Torfi Gunnarson's eccentric knitwear

The runway pictures are shot by by the infamous Peter Stigter and Jetty Ferwerda team, always loyal to budding talent, here with a bow to the lovely Schoon den Boer PR team.

For the graduation paper we did in collaboration with graphic design student Aude Debout, photography student Kyle Tryhorn I interviewed the three fashion graduates of 2012. Read the rest of this entry »

In a series of interior stories I have done with photographer Kasia Gatkowska this one of designer Stef Bakker’s new Amsterdam apartment was featured in the june issue of Elle Decor Italia. As Stef Bakker is designing the all new and improved interior my own modest Amsterdamse School house – together with his amazing assistant Joren Naerebout - I am especially pleased to share the PDFs and an english version of my write up.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Amsterdam photography museum FOAM is opening a dependence-cum-concept store named &Foam on January 26, 2012. As I am proud to mention that I will start teaching Fashion Theory at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy this February, I particularly look forward to see EVERYONE at the opening of the alumni exhibit there! It is organized by the brand new head of the Gerrit Rietveld fashion department Niels Klavers – formerly of Klavers van Engelen – and it will feature work by JOFF, Freudenthal/Verhagen, And Beyond, Emmeline de Mooij, Paul Helbers, Corné Gabriëls, Thera Hillenaar, Hyun Yeu, Wojciech Dziedzic and more. Let’s raise those glasses to another great season for genuine fashion talent!

Invite_&Foam

Going to print this very day… and I can’t wait to see it: BUGABOO magazine by …,staat creative agency. I got to do the loveliest fashion-mood-lifting interview with Angela Missoni for the occasion of Missoni’s fabulous collaboration with Bugaboo, and I did a fun profile on Mark Jacobs for the same reason. BOO The Celebration Issue as the magazine is called will be launched world wide and in a number of languages.

Photography: Barrie Hullegie & Sabrina Bongiovanni, Styling: Maarten Spruyt

Long overdue since the lovely Sammy at C.Cruden mailed me this pic, but here it is, at last, in a category I do not even have on my site but I might just start it right here. Check out this classless rip off act by a Dutch brand called Ruby Tuesday of this other Dutch brand C.Cruden’s wonderful ‘Leather Lace’. The folks at Ruby Tuesday even ripped off the packaging as you can clearly make out for yourself. As Ruby Tuesday, a tiny venture in ‘iconic fashion pieces that complement your wardrobe’ state on their site: “We love being inspired by the “little things” in life. Be it the simplicity of Scandinavian furniture design to  Farrow’s hairdo in Rosemary’s Baby.” Or C.Cruden’s marvelous multi functional Leather Lace in this case… tired, very tired indeed.

Watch out for the September 2011 issue of Elle Decor Italia with a special story on Amsterdam I made with photographer Kasia Gatkowska. Our focus was on ‘something old, something new’ with lots of exciting, innovative, artisanal or downright bold gems of places and people. Download the full PDF here