Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin

If you want to escape the sun, I suggest to take a trip to photography museum Foam in Amsterdam. My favorite Dutch fashion photography duo, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, have an exhibition of their extensive work. I love it that their pictures are never just “pretty-pretty”, they mix fashion with art and there’s always an element of darkness in their work. The exhibition contains 300 of their most essential images, selected by the duo themselves. They choose the photographs that showed their fascination for people and their aspirations: who are we, how do we want to look en what does that say about our lives and feelings. A tiny selection of their work:

Advertisement:

Miu Miu Spring/Summer 2006

Chloé Spring/Summer 2007

Abbey Lee Kershaw in Fora by Gucci advertisement

Editorials:

Kate Moss for Vogue Paris, April 2008

i-D Magazine January 2009

French Vogue, August 2009

Lara Stone in W Magazine, May 2009

W Magazine, March 2005

Non commercial:

Pretty Much Everything – photographs 1985-2010:  June 25 – September 15,  Foam Amsterdam, entrance € 10,-.

Fashion for thought – Alexander van Slobbe exibition

Alexander van Slobbe is quite an entrepeneur. As front runner of the Dutch modernist fashion movement in the 1990s he achieved most of his successes outside his homecountry. In fact his main line Orson+Bodil only has three points of sale in the Netherlands. He has collaborated with Puma and Marc Jacobs amongst many others. His work is all about construction and styleful minimalsm. The Dutch modernism movement definetly does not come close to my personal aesthetic, but i have deep respect for people who work this hard and achieve so much influence in the world coming from this dot on the map we call home.

pieces from his fall/winter 2009  Orson+Bodil collection

His work has been collected for an overview by the Centraal Museum in Utrecht and will be presented in a special exposition called:

Stof tot nadenken(which literally means thinking material, but is being officially translated as Fashion for Thought )

from Feb 13th to May 16th 2010 at the Centraal Museum Utrecht

Here comes the best thing! Almost as interesting as the exposition, if not more(to me anyway).. is the fact there will be an accompanying project called “Patroon Ontrafeld”(“pattern untangled“) which will include patterns of Slobbe himself  available in a sewing workspace in the museum as well as creative workshops with famous artists and designers and a “sewing for dummies” workshop. As a finale to all this goodness there will be a  fashion show and design contest.

pieces from his spring/summer 2009 collection

mini biography: 1984 graduated cum laude at the fashion academy in Arnhem
started the label orson+bodil in 1989
1993 started menswear label SO and was the first Dutchman to have his own show in Paris in 1993.
In 1995 had over 200 selling points all over the world and soon after over 20 of his own stores.
2003 recieved the prince Bernhard culture award

link to the exibit page at the Utrecht Centraal Museum website

The Wardrobe of a Hollywood Queen

One of the things why I love London so much is that there’s always some great exhibition going on. To my excitement this Spring/Summer the Victoria & Albert museum will have an exhibition about the beautiful clothes of Grace Kelly. And the good news is, I will be in London this Spring together with the two other Three in a Crowd ladies! (Yes, this means I’m dragging you along to the Victoria & Albert).

Grace Kelly In Rear Window (1954), dress by Edith Head

With her mother in the fifties

At the Oscars in 1955, behind her is Audrey Hepburn

On display will be dresses from many of her most famous films, including ‘High Society’ and ‘Rear Window’; the gown she wore to accept her ‘Best Actress’ Oscar in 1955, for ‘The Country Girl’; the outfit she wore for her first meeting with Prince Rainier of Monaco; and pieces from her opulent haute couture wardrobe of the 1960s and 1970s by her favourite Paris couturiers, including Christian Dior, Cristobal Balenciaga, Hubert de Givenchy and Yves Saint Laurent.

In High Society(1956)

With Alfred Hitchcock on the set of To Catch a Thief (1955)

‘Grace Kelly: Style Icon’ will be arranged in three sections, tracing her evolution from MGM and Paramount silver screen star to real-life Princess. Three costumes designed by MGM’s Helen Rose, for Grace Kelly’s performance in ‘High Society’, in 1956, will be on show, including a Grecian-style bathing robe, and an embroidered evening gown, along with the black chiffon dress, designed by Paramount’s chief costume designer, Edith Head, for the Alfred Hitchcock classic, ‘Rear Window’.

Wedding dress, designed by Helen Rose

A second section will focus on the dress Grace Kelly wore for the announcement of her engagement to Prince Rainier and the clothes designed for her trousseau and dazzling wedding, in 1956.

The final section will illustrate her growing sense of style as fashion and culture ambassadress of the principality, and will include many couture gowns created for official royal engagements, such as the purple YSL, worn in 1981, to a Royal Opera House gala in London, where Princess Grace met the then Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles.

With prince Rainier

With the  Hermès ‘Kelly’ bag

The exhibition spans fashion across four decades, and includes eight dresses by Christian Dior, an extravagant, beaded Balenciaga jacket, Yves Saint Laurent’s ‘Mondrian’ dress of 1965, Coco Chanel suits jewellery by Van Cleef & Arpels, and, of course, the famous, original Hermès ‘Kelly’ bag.

Grace Kelly: Style Icon, April 17th-26th September, Victoria & Albert Museum, London; admission £6.

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Tim Burton by Tim Walker

The October issue of Harper’s Bazaar has a great fashion spread, influenced by Tim Burton. Tim Burton has made some of my favorite movies (like Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and also worked as a music video director for bands like The Cure and The Killers. This fashion shoot has his name written all over:  the dark, gothic atmosphere, Victorian clothing and a skeleton here and there – oh, and he also appears in some shots. If you want to know more about him, the Museum of Modern Art in New York has an exhibition of his work as a filmmaker, writer, photographer and illustrator. And check out his next project: the Alice in Wonderland movie!

 

Photo’s by Tim Walker. All pictures from www.harpersbazaar.com. More info on the exhibition on www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions.

The Art of Fashion

I’m not sure what’s happening with all the Dutch museums, but suddenly they seem to have discovered the fashion world. So in the near future I will be in Rotterdam to visit the “The Art of Fashion” exhibition in museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. The exhibition is about the balance between fashion and art and focusses on installations, performances and sculptural designs. So don’t expect it to be very wearable…..

The exhibition shows designs by Viktor & Rolf, Naomi Filmer, Hussein Chalayan, Anna-Nicole Ziesche, Walter Van Beirendonck and more.

Viktor & Rolf, Fall-Winter 2007-2008

 “The Art of Fashion: Installing Allusions” at the museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 19 september 2009 – 10 januari 2010

For more info check www.boijmans.nl