FASHION VS. ART

Marlou Breuls

FASHION VS. ART 

4 March –  6 August2017
Location: SCHUNCK* Glaspaleis, Shop Window (Bongerd 18, Heerlen)

FASHION VS. ART exhibition at SCHUNCK* in Heerlen is curated by FASHIONCLASH and organized in collaboration with SCHUNCK*, this multidisciplinary exhibition questions the relationship between fashion and art.

The multidisciplinary FASHION VS. ART exhibition displays a selection of work by fashion designers who in their own practice question and challenge the boundaries of fashion as a form of art. With their playful and innovative approach to fashion they stimulate our imaginary world and question our perception. They make you ask yourself: Is it art or is it fashion? 

“For me fashion and art are inseparable. All artists try to capture memories and emotions. Fashion or art unfolds itself when people can relate to it” – Marlou Breuls 

Art is not only paint and canvas. It has no rules. It is something that can be made with anything and in any way. As broad as the concept of fashion is, it can also encompass ‘art’. The status of fashion within the world of art is a constant topic of disputes. Some legendary designers identify themselves as artists. One of them is Elsa Schiaparelli who declared in her biography that she considers fashion design “not as a profession but as an art”. On the other hand, prominent designers such as Martin Margiela, Miuccia Prada, Karl Lagerfeld and Marc Jacobs disagree with that statement. 

Within the academic sphere and the world of young designers there are many examples of cross-overs with art and autonomous approaches to fashion as a form of art. 

“If you ask me if fashion is art, then I would answer ‘YES’. I believe that everything in this life is art. Art is in fact energy, its hanging somewhere in the air and sometimes you can pick it up, sometimes not” - Jade van der Mark

“Despite the similarities between the two, fashion is not art in my opinion. The most important difference for me is that fashion always starts from the body. 'Body related art' creates usually more towards the body, instead of using the body as a beginning always. Another really important difference is the approach of timelessness in art, both as an artist while creating and as a spectator while experiencing the artwork.” - Vere van Hal

“When people recognize my inspiration without prior explanations I have reached my ultimate goal. This collection blurs the traditional lines of canvas, sculpture, and model. My models' faces are often covered by a masked garment or painted to blend into the work” – Marlou Breuls

Anouk van Klaveren

“My designs are based on my paintings. The paintings and the fashion go hand in hand. I get inspired by the way of thinking and moving of our society, I want to translate this into my textiles and paintings” – Jade van der Mark 

 “A body as a whole in relation to another body is a basic assumption for me. A body not as a person, not as an identity, but as a volume. During the exhibition Fashion vs. Art I challenge the visitor to experience a garment from a new perspective. The garment becomes an object on its own in which it doesn't have to adapt to the body anymore. I would like to invite the visitor to create new relations with the garment.”- Vere van Hal

--> Participants Part1 (4 March - 21 May): Aina Seerden, Vandaag de Toekomst, By vanharten, Chris van den Elzen, Studio Dennis Vanderbroeck, Elvira ’t Hart, Femke Agema, Statement made by Jade, Pot Luck Mieke Kockelkorn, Minou Lejeune, Pleun van Dijk (reborn), Sanna Schubert, Sidi El Karchi, Vera Gulikers.
Part 2 (25 May - 6 Augustus 2017): Antoine Peters, Anouk van Klaveren, Charlotte Van de Velde, ISIS ELSA FEE, Vandaag de Toekomst, Femke Agema, Statement made by Jade, Marie-Sophie Beinke, Lotte Milder, Marlou Breuls, STEVEN VANDERYT, Tiel Janssen Design, Vere van Hal

Exhibition opening times: Daily from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. SCHUNCK* Glaspaleis, Shop window. Taking place at the same time in SCHUNCK* will be exhibition of Paint it Soft (Museum -1) and the interactive installation, Emulate / (Ne) Plus Ultra State: the ‘Take-away’ Collection (mezzanine). All three exhibitions address the themes fashion, textiles and texture.

More information: 
schunck.nl/agenda/fashion-vs-art

Das Leben am Haverkamp Cruise 2018 Lookbook

After their bespoke show at Amsterdam Fashion Week, the dutch collective Das Leben am Haverkamp have now launched a lookbook for their Cruise 2018 collection. The concept behind the images, that feature only two dimensional representations of clothes, is to question the need for functionality in fashion. This in an era where it is only used to express an artistic vision.

Photography by Sanja Marušić
www.daslebenamhaverkamp.com

Gucci AW 2017 campaign and film

Shot by the legendary Glen Luchford, the coming season’s campaign sees Gucci’s geeks transported into a galaxy far, far away, inspired by sci-fi shows of the Fifties and Sixties and taking major cues from back episodes of Star Trek.

Gucci transports us to to faraway galaxies with its preferred extraterrestrials for its full AW 17 campaign. Inspired by 50s and 60s sci-fi, particularly the interstellar adventures of Captain James T Kirk and his crew aboard the starship USS Enterprise in early Star Trek episodes, Alessandro Michele, art director Christopher Simmonds and photographer/director Glen Luchford have dreamed up a series retro-futurist settings where a mixed cast of humanoids, aliens, robots and earthlings discover Gucci AW 17.
From the fight between William Shatner's Kirk and the Gorn to Jack Arnold's Creature of the Black Lagoon, the campaign reimagines iconic sci-fi scenes and creates a few of its own. Human heroes interact with alien creatures and dinosaurs on Earth before being beamed up to surreal, psychedelic outer space landscapes and trippy spaceship interiors, creating the type of wild and fantastical compositions that Star Trek's Gene Roddenberry could only dream of. With Alessandro Michele as its captain, Gucci will live long and prosper.

credits:
TM & © 2017 CBS Studios Inc. STAR TREK and related marks are properties owned by CBS Studios Inc.

Federico Cina - FASHIONCLASH Festival 2017

Federico Cina, recent Polimoda Institute graduate, won the FASHIONCLASH Festival 2017 Talent Award. In addition he is selected for Sangue Novo a talent show at ModaLisboa - Lisboa Fashion Week.
His menswear collection 'Come Una Vita Viene Al Mondo' stood out according to the jury and press.

“Exist for the first time, to exist for my country, to exist as if to be born.” (Monica Cirinnà, extracted from the speech to the Italian Senate House). When I created this collection, there was a dabate in to approve civil unions for gay families became legal, so I tackled the subject with greater sensitivity, and I wanted to represent my family. A family without diversity, which can raise a child and do everything a heterosexual family does. Breast pumps included in men’s clothing with a military background, destructured, classic stereotype of the male universe, tell the story of an individual who takes care of their child.
In these dresses there is a desire to make their voice heard, the desire of a child, and the ability to build a family in the future. For me, this collection also becomes the bearer of a social message. It seems absurd that someone can decide what is right or wrong for other people, since this is the name of the collection “HOW A LIFE COMES ALIVE IN THE WORLD”."

Photography Team Peter Stigter

www.federicocina.net

Alessandro Trincone - FASHIONCLASH Festival 2017

Alessandro Trincone, the winner of FASHIONCLASH Festival Talent Award 2016 returned to Maastricht for the 9th edition of the festival with another breathtaking collections 'Agendermi'.

"Agender/Gender/Genderless.Agendermi talks about the gender. About the people that cannot express themselves because of the other people.The freedom of the identification in iconic masculine and feminine garments. The freedom of express ourselves through what we wear. The freedom of do not think what the people say about us. I don’t make clothes for man and woman, I do it for people.I choose to show my collections on man because is connected at my principal inspiration, MySelf. It works for me because it’s also an exercise that I do with my body. Just express."
Photography Team Peter Stigter
http://www.alessandrotrincone.com

Fashion Makes Sense LAB - FASHIONCLASH Festival 2017

Does Fashion Make Sense?

The Fashion Makes Sense LAB was especially designed and curated for this edition containing an exposition, designer market, performances, films, workshops and fashion talks. The LAB space and scenography is designed in cooperation with Studio Stad, who is also responsible for the design of the Forza Fashion House and all previous editions of FASHIONCLASH Festival since 2011.

In relationship to the central theme ‘Fashion Makes Sense’ a curated selection of work will be exposed. In the LAB one could explore the extraordinary installations and presentations of Pleun van Dijk, Floriane Misslin, Olle Lundin, M.A.F. van der Vloed, Jo Cope, Djeli, Sepideh Ahadi, Sensewear and Daan Couzijn. Furthermore there was a live sewing studio by slowFASHIONfast from Bosnia and Herzegovina, presentation and workshop from TextileLab Amsterdam and interactive performance by Mami Izumi, Iris Woutera and the dance performance by LAGOM by MIJ x Mila Halizova.
The designer market offered a unique experience where one can meet new designers and obtain one of a kind clothing, jewellery and accessories by LUDUS, LOV-S, Nous Avons, Soolista, Joelle Boers, JEN MM DSGN and many more.
Sunday 2 July was dedicated to dialogues and encounters; the Fashion Talks. Moderated by Saskia van Stein, artistic director at Bureau Europa, a stage was given to a several festival participants and professionals such as Carolyn Mair and Roosmarie Ruigrok (Clean&Unique) to engage in the discussion. Here the audience, designers and more debating about the festival’s theme: (Does) Fashion Makes Sense.

ANDRAHANDARICstudio

Vere van Hal

Boaz van Doornik - Amsterdam Fashion Week

Boaz van Doornik presented his new men’s collection LEAF, during his debut at the 27th edition of the Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek Amsterdam. The inspiration for LEAF is in line with his award-winning graduate collection ‘Monumental Memories’, which was all about his father, the nature and beautiful childhood memories.

The basis of the LEAF collection was inspired by a few dried oak leaves that Van Doornik found at home, crushed between the pages of a book.
He told Fashionweek.nl: “I do remember placing them in the book, but I totally forgot about them. When I found them, it was like finding a treasure! It was winter and there were no leaves on the ground anywhere. I loved the old leaves, weathered by the ravages of time.”
Finding these leaves took him back to his childhood and the amount of leaves he used to pick up during the forest walks he made with his father. Especially the ‘propellers’, that every kid loved to play with, revived Van Doorniks fascination for shapes and structures of leaves and seeds.

http://www.boazvandoornik.com

Images: brankopopovicblog, source fashionweek.nl

Liesbeth Sterkenburg - Amsterdam Fashion Week

Liesbeth Sterkenburg, the Artez 2016 graduate, had a promising start with her first solo show at Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek Amsterdam. At the previous edition of Amsterdam FashionWeek, she took part in Beauty and the Beast, a Disney-supported collection that included one of her ensembles, and several of her designs appeared in Future Generation.
For her new collection NEWSTREET EXPO she got inspired by retro hip-hop and '70s-streetwear.

http://www.liesbethsterkenburg.com

All images are by brankopopovicblog

RECONSTRUCT

RECONSTRUCT collective presented their SS 2018 collection at Amsterdam Fashion Week.
The set design and choreography was created in cooperation with Studio Dennis Vanderbroeck.

RECONSTRUCT is a collective of six female designers who graduated in 2015-2016. After graduating from WDKA in Rotterdam, Laura Aanen, Zara Asmail, Alyssa Groeneveld, Kim Kivits, Michelle Lievaart and Sanne Verkleij decided to join forces and together shake up and conquer the fashion world.

RECONSTRUCT represents change and is out to redefine the fashion system. For the collective, the current system is outdated and in need of renovation. They presented their first joint collection at the 26th edition of Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek Amsterdam, which included something from each individual yet still represented a coherent, innovative look. The collective was inspired by the famous art historian, whose ideas and process they’ve applied to their own collection.

http://www.reconstruct.nl

All images by brankopopovicblog

Klaudia Stavreva - Amsterdam Fashion Week

One of the coolest shows this year at Amsterdam Fashion Week was by Klaudia Stavreva who showed a personal collection. Her father opened the show, followed by a very simple yet fresh and effective choreography; needless to say a very strong cast of models.

Recently graduated from the ArtEZ Fashion Masters, the German born designer with Macedonian origin presented her collection BOSSTVRVA TEIL, which is a follow up to her master collection.
The presentation was enriched by a video-clip from her childhood. In this video, Klaudia and her sister put on their fathers HUGO BOSS suit to play dress up.

"I was inspired by the Sworn Virgins in Albania. They're women who live men's lives. They take a vow never to marry or have children, so that they (for instance because of a shortage of men in the family) can work to support the family. While I was doing this research, I suddenly thought about how my sister and I used to dress up in our father's BOSS suits, so I decided to combine the two stories together." 

https://www.instagram.com/stavrevakreator/ 

All images by brankopopovicblog

Atelier. by Lotte van Dijk

Atelier. by Lotte van Dijk at Amsterdam Fashion Week

One of the highlights this year at Amsterdam Fashion Week this summer was the collection by Atelier. , label by talented designer Lotte van Dijk. 

After completing her fashion master's programme at ArtEZ she got noticed by being one of the finalitsts at Hyères Festival 2017.
In her work she combines art and clothing and produces all of her designs herself. She works like an artist treating each garment as a piece of art. All of her garments are beautiful in their own way and like wearable pieces of art.

“By painting on fabric and draping with the result, you keep the strength of the illustration and immediately see the impact of the painting on the silhouette - the relationship is clear, as opposed to a two dimensional print, developed independently.” 


Find more about Atelier. http://atelier.today

All pictures are by brankopopovicblog

Lichting 2017

Sarah Bruylant

On Friday evening, July 14 the ArtEZ Institute of the Artsgraduate Lizzy Stuyfzand won the Lighting 2017 main award.
In a spectacular catwalk show, 14 fashion graduates presented their graduation collections to the audience of Amsterdam Fashion Week.
Lizzy won the Lighting 2017 Award worth € 10,000 made possible by the Meester Koetsier Foundation. The Audience Favorite Award, powered by Ten Cate, chosen by a select group of fashion professionals in the audience, went to AMFI graduate Sarah Bruylant. She won a prize worth € 3,000.

Next to the winners the mention it is worth to congratulate all finalists who showed that there is many talent in The Netherlands.

Lichting is an initiative of HTNK and FashionWeek Netherlands, Lichting was launched in 2007 and each year the best graduate collection of the country gets awarded.  Each school out of seven Dutch fashion academies sends out two graduates, who get to show selection of five outfits on the runway during Amsterdam Fashion Week. Prior to the show, they have to present and defend their work in front of an international jury, which included Zowie Broach (Head of Fashion at Royal College of Art in London), Floor Kolen (Fashion designer and 2010 Lichting finalist), Federico Poletti (Editor, curator and consultant) and Philippe Pourhashemi (consultant, stylsit and writer for various magazine).

http://www.lichting.nl

Lizzy Stuyfzand

Barbara Langendijk x Noon Passama

Barbara Langendijk x Noon Passama at Amsterdam Fashion Week presented a beautiful collection with a performance developed in collaboration with House of Makers.

Barbara Langendijk x Noon Passama met during their studies at the ArtEZ Fashion Masters. Barbara designs clothing and Noon is a jewellery designer. For this collaboration they were inspired by traditional smocking and gathering.
"Today's presentation is inspired by the people who use to wear a smocked garment, called the 'smock frock', which historically were a group pf tough men, shepherds and wagonists. Together with interdisciplinary arts company House of Makers, we developed a scene in which the audience and the models are placed in a context inspired by the shepherds and wagonists. However, in a play on the historical context, the shepherds are replaced by the models, and the audience is herded by them, confined and forced to view them from an opposite position than is usual for a fashion show."


www.barbaralangendijk.com
www.noonpassama.com

Photography by brankopopovicblog

'My Paper Crown' - Bas Kosters

Festive presentation of 'My Paper Crown' collectionby Bas Kosters at the opening night of Amsterdam Fashion Week.
With this show he expressed his love for humanity and creativity.

 'Everyone deserves a fair chance in life'.

The show was staged as a festive 'Carrot Day' played by actors from the Toneelgezelschap Dood Paard. Meanwhile Bas Kosters himself sitting on a pile of patatoes. By peeling the patatoes he overlooked the stage and audience expressing the joy for the simple things in life.


www.baskosters.com

M.E.N. - Amsterdam Fashion Week

Strong debut by the new fashion brand M.E.N., a collective by three talented Dutch fashion designers Maartje Janse, Elysanne Schuurman and Nikki Duijst. The name M.E.N. is representing each of the designers' name first letter.

With their collaborative project they have managed to merge all their talents into a promising first collection ‘ES TUT MIR LEID! Ich habe mich verwählt’ . In addition they made sustainable choices by using left-over materials from other designers such as
Ann Demeulemeester, A.F. Vandevorst, Dries van Noten and Walter van Beirendonck.

The show started with a team of rugby players entering the runway and laying out a green 'grass' carpet, representing their quest to take traditional male and female clothing codes out of their context.

Pictures by Team Peter Stigter
www.studiomen.nl