Amsterdam-Based Fashion Recruitment/Consultancy Agency HTNK Organizes Event With Fashion Designers And Recent Graduates#
This weekend, Jing Daily attended "Dutch Fashion Here & Now" at Shanghai Fashion Week. Consisting of runway shows, sourcing events, private fittings and showrooms, Dutch Fashion Here & Now -- which continues until October 26 -- looks to introduce some of Holland's top designers to a Chinese audience for the first time, helping to foster relationships between the Dutch and Chinese fashion industries. The two-part event kicked off at Fuxing Park last night with two events, "Dutch Fashion Graduates Here & Now" and "Dutch Fashion Avant-Garde Here & Now," followed up by an after-party at Club DROP.
Dutch Fashion Graduates Here & Now#
, presented by three Dutch academies -- the AMFI-Amsterdam Fashion Institute; the Royal Academy of Art, the Hague; and the Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam -- that are looking to cultivate relationships with Chinese design universities and the country's fashion industry, showcased the work of three of their top 2010 graduates: Marije de Haan, Floor Kolen, and Musa Shah. Highly experimental, with unique materials and highly unusual designs, the work of these three students proved a distinctive counterpoint to the otherwise highly polished collections we saw over the course of the weekend at Shanghai Fashion Week.
Next came the
Dutch Fashion Avant-Garde Here & Now#
runway show, featuring the work of four established Dutch designers: 'new glam' couture from Mattijs van Bergen, over-the-top design from And Beyond, street couture from Daryl van Wouw and premium denim design by Avelon. Highlighting the cutting edge of Dutch design, indicating a distinctive interpretation of color, fit and flow, the designs included in the Avant-Garde Here & Now runway show were surprisingly wearable, and some of them wouldn't look out of place hung in Shanghai's more fashionable shopping areas.
Following the two runway shows, guests were bused to an after-party at Club DROP, featuring music by two Dutch international DJs, Joost van Bellen and DJ Sanyi. Over the course of the evening, "Dutch Fashion Here & Now" gave attendees a fascinating glimpse into the world of Dutch design, and hopefully has paved the way for more cooperation between Dutch and Chinese designers -- as well as more access to the Chinese market for Dutch designers, and vice versa. With the warm reception given this event by Shanghai's fashion elite, it looks to have been a rousing success. We'll definitely keep our eyes open to see if the Dutch designers featured at Shanghai Fashion Week gain a stronger foothold in the city in coming months.
The Jing Daily team would like to thank Lois Lee and Karlijn Bozon of HTNK for organizing Dutch Fashion Here & Now, and Sandy Chu of D.I.S. for facilitating our participation in this event.