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- The New Dutch Look
By Shana Ting Lipton
- (Rush on Amsterdam
magazine, Spring 2001)
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- In March of 1999 The New York Times
confirmed the runway arrival of "Belgian Chic," and
the Lowlands country (which it called a "tiny nation"),
"a New York trendsetter." The Times was being a bit
condescending as it was forced to 'bow down' to the designs of
such a speck on the map. Little did those New York fashionistas
and their Paris and Milan counterparts know that only two years
later they might have to concede that the neighboring, even tinier
Netherlands would be the hot-bed of innovative fashion. And now,
the global trend-setting machine has made its way North and Dutch
fashion is it!
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- Some of this may be hard to believe
at first. For, on the surface, the Dutch seem so practical and
no frills--function over form, conformity over rebelliousness.
How did this culture evolve into producing such groundbreaking
maestros of couture? The answer begins in the past; as fashion
history speaks for itself.
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- Frans Molenaar took his pioneer
spot on the Netherlands' fashion map in the late 1960's. He began
his career as a tailor at Guy Laroche, and then an assistant
designer at Nina Ricci. Known for a strong basic form, Molenaar
uses circles, triangles and soft edges in his designs. He has,
through the years, broadened his work to include glassware, menswear,
a line of paint, and uniforms. Despite a prolific career in the
Netherlands his global status remains something of an obscurity,
with the exception of fashion circles. To some Dutch designers
Molenaar has been an inspiration, a trailblazer, especially during
the 1960's fashion design revival periods. But to others who
yearn to not just keep up with the rest of the world but surpass
it, his work has been lackluster at best.
- We never had good designers,"
says 24-year-old fashion designer Renu Kashyap (who recently
made it to the Robijn Fashion Awards finals with her final design
school project). "We had Frans Molenaar, Sheila de Vries,
very conservative designers, fashion for older women, very classic."
True, the work of the classic Dutch designers may have been a
far cry from cutting edge. But, in the same city as Molenaar
laid his couture cornerstone in 1960's, another Dutch fashion
group was planting its roots. Puck and Hans Kemick opened their
boutique during a period when Dutch fashion was still so virginal
that everything was truly grass roots. This was the charm of
their formula: keeping things manageable and intimate. In the
1980's, Puck & Hans really took of with their clean and design-savvy
postmodern styles. Most Amsterdammers will agree that the duo
laid the groundwork for the simple but chic Dutch fashion to
follow.
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- Dutch fashion's true turning point
from local trend to global phenomenon started with Alexander
van Slobbe. The designer hit the scene about a decade ago with
some frilly pieces made of funky and untraditional fabrics. He
is famous for having designed for So and Orson & Bodil. Today,
his clothes have taken on new looks, delving into the recently
popular Deconstructivism. Van Slobbe was actually the first solo
Dutch designer to hit the runways in Paris. 'Solo' is the operative
word. Because of course, few fashion victims (who merit the distinction
of that title) could discuss Dutch style today without mentioning
a certain unforgettable duo.
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- If Alexander van Slobbe paved the
path for the new Dutch look then Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren
continued down that trail doing choreographed dance moves and
chorus line kicks in the process. The team graduated from Arnhem
Institute for the Arts in 1992. Less than a decade later, their
tailored stars and stripes collection has captured the attention
of a worldwide fashion public. They are synonymous with the new
Dutch fashion movement. "Now we have this new generation
of Dutch designers. I think they will change something in the
view people have of fashion," enthuses Kashyap.
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- This is a job that Viktor &
Rolf are most certainly up for. The designers' attitude focuses
on ostentation and showiness, everything that their Dutch cultural
background rebuffed. Of course this is no coincidence. The trendy
two-some has had no trouble admitting to the press that their
work is a reaction to the rigid and sober social morays of their
homeland. In a recent Paris couture show, following a Broadway
theme, their models came out tap dancing down the runway.
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- Not far off, inching her way down
that same catwalk, designer Saskia van Drimmelen graduated a
year after Viktor & Rolf from the very same art academy.
But her work could not be more different from theirs. Van Drimmelen
rejects such pomp and circumstance in favor of the more concrete
and structured. She is passionate about construction and her
pieces reflect this meticulous design sense.
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- Working almost always in the gray
scale, she favors stiff fabrics and industrial assemblage. In
this case, her Dutch roots seem to have directly inspired her.
Function rules but not at the exclusion of form. She first presented
her work in Paris only a year after graduating (1994) at the
"Le Cri Neerlandais" ("The Dutch Cry") group
show. Though she is not as high profile as Viktor & Rolf,
her work is receiving attention in its own way.
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- These are, of course, only a small
selection of designers who are and will be prominent in this
movement. Others include Niels Klavers, Melanie & Jeroen,
Keuper & van Benthem, and Oscar & Suleyman. One would
imagine that the list with increased public interest in the region.
Diversity is the strength of this movement. Everything from Dutch
minimalism to more and more reactionary designers like Viktor
& Rolf is represented. Let's hope that the new recruits of
this design movement continue to reject their cultural roots
in one way while embracing them in another. In such a case, we
might look forward to a new generation of Dutch fashion designers
that stick their neck out above the crowd making their presence
known, while remaining modest after they attain worldwide success
and exposure.
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