MRS. MO VELD

During the recent Amsterdam International Fashion Week I had the pleasure to collaborate with designer Stef Bakker and graphic designer Carsten Klein on this ‘open source’ installation called Mode is., as part of SALON/1. Amsterdam’s most celebrated designer store Van Ravenstein offered us their next door gallery space and from thursday 15 till sunday 18 July SALON/1 visitors could leave their thoughts on fashion on large strips of paper, which could then be hanged in a ceiling high wishing tree made of metal hangers. At the end of each day the ‘harvest’ was shared with everyone who had left behind their e-mail address. We were delighted with the result, a long list of highly diverse statements about fashion, most of them rather serious and passionate, some downright desperate or revolting. We look forward to repeat the experiment and keep on growing this tree of fashion thoughts.

Please note: there’s a little interview with Manon Schaap, one of the SALON initiators, on JCReport

Click below to read the harvest of this Mode is. tree (as yet untranslated, so there’s a lot of Dutch, and some German in there, as well as a few hidden inspiration quotes originating from famous designers or philosophers) (more…)

The first time I laid eyes [and hands] on fresh Dutch label C.Cruden was last February, at then newly opened concept store Sketch in The Hague where the owners Robert and Erik van Oosterom gave me a tour of their hand picked ‘contemporary artisan’ designers. Jewelry by Arielle de Pinto, Creative Recreation and Volta shoes, Mismo and Filson bags, Raf Simons, Monique van Heist and C.Cruden - did I know Sammy Cruden? I did not. But I loved her work on the spot. Denim leggings with fashioned feet, very Peter Pan, also available in butter soft black leather. Oversized organic cotton T-shirts with sequin print and totally covetable black leather carry all bags modeled after a supersized toiletry bag. Simple yet highly effective, C.Cruden made me want to throw out my entire wardrobe; this is all I need. I just had to get to know Ms. Cruden first thing.

Thus my newest Skype-friend, Sammy officially goes by her dramatic adoptive name Clothilde Alexandra Cruden [which explains the C.] and she’s been very comfortable ‘off the radar’ (more…)

On the first sunny weekend of 2010 - March 12, 13 & 14 - I was invited to witness Moda Lisboa.

It was a first for me, as for many years I have been hearing lots of positive rumor about this event, so now I am happy to report; it is all true. On the dot organization including 5-star hospitality - we even had an exquisite midnight dinner at the major’s one night  - and an impressive national fashion line up. The ‘hardship’ with a local fashion week like Moda Lisboa is that their 4-day show program mixes just about every segment from newly graduated or highly conceptual talents to typical ’socialite darling’ couturiers, longer running internationally oriented labels and even highly commercial denim brands. New to the Portuguese fashion scene, I decided to simply enjoy the ride while questioning some very nice local colleagues for much needed context. Here’s my pick of labels, presentations and looks, some of which will no doubt be featured in an upcoming issue of Code or Blend magazine:

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Ever since I started scanning fashion magazines I have this little fantasy, or neurosis, which in short comes down to: my house burnt down and I get to start over from scratch and some fashion fairy grants me to pick a brand new, although absolutely bare minimum, all-I-need designer wardrobe for the coming season. (Diane Vreeland said it: “Elegance is refusal.”) I guess this little game forces me to think about what is essential for that particular fashion season, or at least for me. So when the KLAVERS VAN ENGELEN spring summer 2010 lookbook landed in my mail, I couldn’t help but indulge.
It wasn’t hard to pick my five KLAVERS VAN ENGELEN looks that I would then have to spend the whole summer in, although I admit I would probably need something of a sweater or coat, living in Northern Europe and all, and at some point an old T-shirt or so. I know I’m being silly but it’s hard to keep up the ‘objective journalist act’ when two of your favourite designers drop one collection after another simply oozing with ‘the new you’.

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I send in this rare little ‘film bite’ to Fantastic Man Daily some time ago but my fantastic friends didn’t mention the fact that the yummy Snowman scarf modeled so elegantly by Mr. David Bowie in this short movie intro is actually for sale here (limited edition 2oo cm adult version, all sustainable alpaca and with a label signed by Raymond Briggs.) If this doesn’t mean anything to you - after all, it’s not your every day fashion info - see the Oscar winning animation of Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman first.

Little James and his very special scarf

Mr. Jop van Bennekom, the celebrated art director behind infamous titles RE-, Butt & Fantastic Man basically owed me a little favour and designed this lovely foxy logo for Mrs. Mo Veld (together with all the stationary going with it, naturally). Now all I have to figure out is how to incorporate it into my header. Tips welcome ;-)

I’m not about to start a full fledged fashion blog. This is in fact meant to become my online portfolio. But since the blog roll is there I’ll try and entertain you from time to time while digitalizing archives, figuring out categories and how to incorporate different media for you to source.

So here’s a golden oldie I encountered, something fun I did back in the late nineties together with Viktor & Rolf, involving something called the Infinite Dress from TellSell, for Blvd. magazine. [Just don't tell V&R that I posted this!]

Viktor & Rolf's original faux perfume model and celebrated photographer Vivianne Sassen modelling The Infinite Dress, styling by Viktor & Rolf

Test test test. So this is me, Mrs. Mo Veld, proudly modelling Viktor & Rolf couture for my crazy fashion photography friends Carmen Freudenthal & Elle Verhagen, and accidentally ending up on the cover of Amsterdam Index for which I wrote an extensive feature on the infamous Viktor & Rolf network. The things we do for friends!