Yesterday was my first day at the Amsterdam International Fashion Week A/W 2011 edition and I just could not wait to see some of the designers and models in action. My first show for today was The Green Fashion Competition. Basically, the eight finalists got a chance to showcase their collection and two winners were awarded at the end of the show. The jury chose the competition winners based on their business plans and designs, in which they both underlined their ability to sustain our world’s biodiversity while still producing catwalk-worthy collections.
Elsien Gringhuis and OAT turned out to be the winners of the first and second prizes respectively. Elsien is known for the smart simplicity of her collections. She unites futuristic designs with respect for the environment by using mainly hand painted silk, bamboo and wool as her fabrics and opting for colours like light blue, light green, black and white. OAT is a more surprising pick for me. He surprised us with his concept of naked models walking the catwalk while rolling a cart with his shoe collection inside it. In his collection, he is trying to create sneakers that not only look good but are also beneficial for the environment.
The using of organic materials seems to be getting more and more appreciated these days. It’s good for the environment and forces designers to be more creativity given the limitations of the fabrics. Let’s hope to see more of this in the future! Elsien and OAT’s winning designs will be presented to public from January 28th to February 4th at Nukuhiva, the concept store by Floortje Dessing.
I’ve also embedded a video of yesterday’s Jan Taminiau show including an interview which was made by Amsterdam International Fashion Week sponsor Rosemount.
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