Amsterdam Fashion Week shows diversity of Dutch fashion

The diversity of collections, the various types of shows and the variety of media via which people could enjoy the event, typify the Amsterdam Fashion Week platform. With its four programmes ‘Catwalk’, ‘Fashion LAB’, ‘Business Programme’ and ‘Downtown’, Amsterdam Fashion Week embraces all facets of the fashion industry. 

For the first time, the summer edition of Amsterdam Fashion Week took place in and around De Gashouder-building on the Westergasfabriek. The enormous industrial construction, the waterside lounge terrace, the view over the park and the beautiful weather, together provided for a spectacular backdrop.

While thousands of fashion professionals enjoyed the catwalk shows every day, people worked around the clock, both back- and front stage, to produce a successful 19th edition. 400 models allowed the fashion collections to shine on the catwalk; the catering team distributed 22.000 liters of drinking water to stay cool and 6 AFW-bloggers, 150 journalists and 200 photographers and cameramen reported the event.

Downtown and Fashion Weekend

The 19th edition of Amsterdam Fashion Week started on Saturday the 6th and Sunday the 7th of July with the public event ‘Fashion Weekend’, part of Downtown. The experience of fashion by the general public was the central theme, during eight  pop-up catwalk shows in front of the famous museums around Museum Square, fashion activities organised by local entrepreneurs, The Fashion Bazaar under the canopy of Restaurant Stedelijk and opening party ‘CELEBRATE – Everyone’s fashion party’.

With Downtown, Amsterdam Fashion Week aims to bring fashion ‘from catwalk to sidewalk’ and bridge the gap between the invitation-only catwalk shows at the Westergasfabriek and the visible fashion on the streets and in the shops.

Catwalk

The 29 designers who showed their new collections on the catwalk this edition, gave a more diverse picture of the Dutch fashion world than ever before. There was a sharp contrast between the refined work of designers such as Anne de Grijff and Francisco van Benthum, and the exuberant and experimental collections of Nieuw Jurk and Winde Rienstra.

There was a new sound in the presentations too. The Fashion LAB duo show by Armand Michiels – with his feminine corsets – and Franzel Amsterdam  – with their raw collection and abundant use of leather – treated the audience on an exciting overall picture. Marga Weimans rediscovered the traditional catwalk, by giving a select group of visitors an exclusive preview and by inviting the public to take a closer look at her collection on the lounge terrace after the show. The children’s show by SuperTrash Girls caused a stir, by placing (the) children (of fashion journalists and celebrities) front row.