amsterdam fashion week: miriam de waard
(images via team peter stigter)
honestly, i'm not exactly sure how the lichting events at amsterdam fashion week work--i think it's a parallel idea of promising young graduates of the sort we see exhibiting in sydney, berlin, and the like--but i do know we've been introducing to some interesting sorts, and at the 2012 event, during which each participant showed about five looks (i believe for s/s 2013, just like the regular afw presenters), things were especially good. anyway, the dutch site nrc has some background on the subject, if that's what you need today.
meanwhile, another one of the new kids to catch opt's eye was a graduate of the hague's royal academy of art, young designer miriam de waard. according to the lichting site, ms. de waard's spring range was called 'wake for them' and "is about female night watchers, watching over their sleeping group during nighttime using their natural nightly instinct. They are born with a high-alertness and instinct at night to protect and take care. These women are approachable, but have to keep a certain distance; they are both sensual and raw. Not afraid to face their own fears, neuroses and deepest dreams, they are brave enough to create a world where they feel safe."
"Alertness and instinct," she continues (in what is presumably her mission statement), "are for me in one line with surprises and the unexpected parts of the night. The concept of this collection has developed into tensions between color gradients and layers of fragile as well as heavier fabrics. I pleated fabric by hand and created experimental forms such as round shoulder parts. Metallic materials as copper thread twisted around leather straps and my own textile made out of melted sequins are there to complement the unexpected" (see additional show images at den haag fashion & fashionising).