Bas Kosters, the bad boy of Dutch fashion. PHOTOGRAPHY MARC DEURLOO
In 2008, Amsterdam tried something new. Aiming to curb rising crime in the red-light district, the city collaborated with fashion consultancy HTNK to loan buildings in the area to 14 up-and-coming fashion designers. The Redlight Fashion district was born.
Designer Jan Taminiau, creator of romantic dresses, and rebel Bas Kosters, who designs edgy and extravagant pieces, opened ateliers in the De Wallen district. Fashionably coiffed mannequins soon appeared in the once-infamous windows.
It’s only one style-savvy initiative that has helped Dutch fashion make headlines around the world. Amsterdam International Fashion Week has been bringing local talent into the limelight since 2004. The week-long fashion program showcasing Dutch designers is held every July, offering exclusivity and public revelry in one shot. The invitation-only portion includes catwalk shows, trade fairs, presentations, lectures and parties at Westergasfabriek, the former gasworks on the edge of the city centre.
But the public program — Fashion Week DOWNTOWN — is where the real fun happens. Catwalks are set up at the Tropenmuseum and Van Gogh Museum, exhibitions are held at the Foam Photography Museum, and daily parties take over nightclubs such as Jimmy Woo and the Supperclub. Over 300 designers have walked down the AIFW catwalks so far, and the program rakes in five million euros for the city each year.
The cultural appreciation for art in Holland — evident in everything from Delft blue to Rembrandt and 17th-century canal houses — is reflected in the work of today’s designers. Jewellery designer Bibi van der Velden is a regular showstopper at AIFW. A sculptor by profession, the designer’s shows bridge the gap between fashion and performance art. Inspired by travels to Africa and India, van der Velden creates wearable art, from “Afrozonian” feathered headpieces to blown-glass “necklaces” that would make Lady Gaga jealous. “It’s so much more than jewellery,” says van der Velden.
Bas Kosters is even more provocative. His new line, “Living Too Hard,” documents the high-maintenance lifestyle of rock and pop stars. Departing from his usual flashy electric yellows and reds, the clothing is dark and romantic.
“There’s an appreciation [in Amsterdam] of the way Dutch fashion designers work on a high intellectual level,” says Kosters. Unlike the high-heeled, brand-driven fashion of Milan and Paris, Dutch design is highly conceptual, and like art, it tells a story. The story of a fashion capital on the rise.
