Erdem x H&M in Athens Press Preview

The Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens was transformed into a spectacular garden with colorful flowers for the presentation of the ERDEM x H&M collection in Greece.
A party dedicated to the beauty of the creations of ERDEMxHM, in fashion and music. The event was full of energy with performances of DJ Vangelis Aslanidis and Leon of Athens.

The decoration of the space revealed the romance and the sense of personal narration that characterizes the collection, emphasizing the beauty of its colors and floral motifs.

In addition to representatives of the fashion press, the event was attended by many fans and friends of the two brands.

Some special guests were wearing pieces of the collection, among them Evelyn Kazantzoglou, Eleni Foureira, Evangelia Aravani, Ismini Dafopoulou, Katerina Papoutsaki, Kostas Martakis, Maria Iliaki,  Tamta, Tzortzina Liossi and Harris Davlas.

"Erdem created a wonderfully magical world with the ERDEM x H & M collection. The event was meant to exude the power of the beauty of the collection, a feeling we need today as never before. We wanted to inspire the world with romance and must-pieces, which include wonderful evening toilets and men's suits to sports sweatshirts and T-shirts.
We are delighted with the enthusiasm of the world tonight and we believe our customers will show the same enthusiasm for this unique collection on the day of launch, " said Sandrine Galparoli, Country Manager of H & M in Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria.

In Greece, the collection will be available from November 2nd in Athens at H & M's store in Ermou 54.

Athens Fashion Week kicks off for the 22nd time!

Creativity, spectacular shows and fashionable people are key words for the 22nd edition of Athens Fashion Week better known as Athens Exclusive Designers Week.

For the opening night three greek designers presented their spring-summer 2018 collection to the press, buyers and fashion lovers.

Orsalia Parthenis opened Athens Fashion Week with her collection Exaggerated Individualism for men and women. It was an exotic, military story of attitude and style, inspired by the Patagonia of the 19th century. Her recognisable organic forms are her signature for this collection.

Second fashion show was by Panos Apergis in collaboration with Point Loom.

Panos Apergis always uses ethnic influences in his collection. In this spring-summer 2018 it was also about original combinations of materials and prints. The creativity of this greek designer seems unlimited!

The closing show of the first day of Athens Exclusive Designers Week was by Kathy Heyndels and Giannetos. The feminine dresses by fashion house Kathy Heyndels are presented once again with the handmade suits by Giannetos.
They invited two singers to make a party on the runway.
Kostas Martakis dresses in a suit by Giannetos presented his song Αν Κάπου Κάποτε (An kapou  kapote) and Josephine Wendel did a cover of Shape of you by Ed Sheehan.

Today Athens Exclusive Designers Week is all about new talent and the New Designers Awards will be announced!

Photos courtesy of AXDW by Panoulis

Queen Maxima and the princesses by Erwin Olaf

Erwin Olaf presented some amazing portraits of the Royal family of The Netherlands. For the first time Queen Maxima is captured in such a close up. Not only the Queen also her daughters, Amalia, Alexia and Ariana.

The queen and princesses are looking straight in the lens, with in their pupils a refection of the well-know portrait photographer Erwin Olaf.

Total relaxed, with a fresh breeze and a smize. All for the fiftieth birthday of their father and husband King Willem-Alexander. And I think he is very proud of his four girls!

The photos are courtesy of the Royal House and the RVD.

Queen Maxima

Crown Princess Catharina Amalia

Princess Alexia

Princess Ariana

Comme des Garçons Spring 2018 - Artistic, voluminous and colourful

Rei Kawakubo’s Spring 2018 collection for Comme des Garçons was an expression of art.  Using art from the early 16th century until today.

Colourful, surreal and cartoonish with voluminous crinolined ball gowns. The prints of still life by the Dutch Old Masters caught my attention. As you can see in the first photo.
Giuseppe Arcimboldo's portrait of Rudolf II, a free interpretation of Vertumnus, Stefan Marx' black and white illustrations and Manga princesses were part of Kawakubo's collection.

As the collection was called "Multidimensional graffiti" it was a mix of colours and fascinating constructions.
The total white tweed look was very impressive and also for me very wearable!

The total collection exists only out of 15 looks but each one of it, is a joy for the eye. Visit Vogue.com to watch the entire collection.

Source: Vogue.com/Photos Yiannis Vlamos

Givenchy Fall-Winter 2017 - We love cats!

As you already know, I love cats! And I love the new campaign of Steven Meisel for Givenchy Fall-Winter 2017 collection. The black and white photos featuring adorable cats are artistic and a joy for the eye!

Elias Bouremah, Kolton Bowen, Meghan Roche and Saffron Vadher are lensed by Steven Meisel. The models are holding lovely cats wearing a collar designed by the new designer of Givenchy: Clare Weight Keller.

On the 1st of October Clare Waight Keller debuts for Givenchy and I can't wait to see her spring-summer 2018 collection for this fashion house.

Enjoy the teaser of this new campaign: Transformation Seduction

Credits:
Clare Waight Keller - Designer
Photographer - Steven Meisel
Christopher Simmonds - Art Director
Joe McKenna - Fashion Editor/Stylist
Guido Palau - Hair Stylist
Pat McGrath - Makeup Artist

Mary Katrantzou Spring Summer 2018

Idealised infancy at Mary Katrantzou's Spring-Summer 2018 collection "the ‘youth’ of a year". The collection is full of colours, with flower prints, Vichy checks, polka dots and Lego effects.

Mary Katrantzou uses childhood art forms, playthings and pastimes as inspiration for silhouette, textile development and decorative motifs.
Voluminous balloon shapes and nylon rainwear are key words. Yellow, tomato red and cerise are combined with school uniform shades of bottle-green, navy and khaki.

Mary gave emphasizes the quote of Pablo Picasso, ‘Every child is an artist.’ This collection discovers the artistry in childhood anew. She has put a stunning collection on the London runway and red carpet ready!

My favourite picks of her collection.

See more at Mary Katrantzou

Source: Press release Mary Katrantzou - Photos by Luca Tombolini

Colour explosion @ H&M Design Award by Richard Quinn

A colour explosion with Richard Quinn at H&M. Richard Quinn is the winner of the H&M Design Award 2017.

“We believe that Richard’s collection is a great combination of creativity, technical skills and ethical thinking, which has beautifully translated into outstanding pieces that are fashion-forward yet wearable and desirable,” says Ann-Sofie Johansson, creative advisor at H&M and H&M Design Award jury chair.

Head-to-toe prints, exaggerated silhouettes and a fearless attitude are the main features of Richard Quinn’s H&M Design Award 2017 collection. When creating the collection, the London-based designer looked to traditional imagery of the 1950s and 60s, but wanted to put his own twist on it, so started playing with shapes and textiles in a new way.

A strapless ball gown in a multi-colored floral print echoes the New Look silhouette – built up with a corset and tulle inside, plus a balloon hem for even more volume – and is set against a voluminous metallic flower printed coat.

Meanwhile, a classic trench coat goes oversized with 1980s power shoulders and features a vivid rose print lining, which can then be paired with over-the-knee stiletto sock boots in yet another dramatic floral.

Throughout this whole experience, I’ve been encouraged by H&M to really hold true to my aesthetic and not water it down. I wanted to create intelligent pieces that people would want to wear – and I think we’ve done that.                                    Richard Quinn. 

Born and raised in London, 26-year old Richard graduated from the Central St Martins MA course in 2016. He was awarded the H&M Design Award 2017 by a jury that included Ann-Sofie Johansson (Creative Advisor at H&M), Imran Amed (Founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of the Business of Fashion), Margareta van den Bosch (Creative Advisor to H&M), Yasmin Sewell (Fashion Director of Style.com), Pernille Teisbaek (Founder and Creative Director of Social Zoo) and Zanita Whittington (Creative Director of Azalle and Zanita Studio).

The collection will be available in selected online markets and at the London flagship store in Oxford Circus on the 5th October.

About the H&M Design Award 
The H&M Design Award was founded in 2012 to support young designers. The annual prize underlines H&M’s strong commitment to the future of fashion, encouraging young designers as they embark on their careers, as well as inspiring the next generation to choose fashion as their future path.

Source: Press release H&M

Unseen Amsterdam - My impression

It was a beautiful sunny day to visit Unseen Amsterdam. At the Westergasfabriek in the capital of the Netherlands it was all about contemporary photography.

So scroll down and enjoy my review on Unseen.

What is Unseen?

Unseen focuses on what is new in the photography world. Unseen is a platform for up-and-coming talent to showcase their work throughout the year with their main event Unseen Amsterdam.

Unseen brings together the international photography community to discuss and debate the directions in which the photographic medium is evolving. It was its sixth edition at the Westergasfabriek from the 22nd to the 24th of September 2017.

The first photo I enjoyed watching was by Asami Kiyokawa. A street style photo from the Tokyo fashion scene with embroidery.

About Asami Kiyokawa

Asami Kiyokawa is an embroidery artist from Japan who creates colorful designs over photographs using a needle and thread.

She created her Tokyo monsters.

The mini collages from Laurence Aëgerter in black and white gave my a new view on her photos.
In her work she examines the archive that shapes our collective memory, displacement and translation.

Laurence Aegerter at Unseen Amsterdam

Alexandra Lethbridge is one of the five finalists of the ING Unseen Talent Award 2017.

Alexandra Lethbridge - The Path of an Honest Man

Andrea Grützner has been awarded the Jury Prize. Grützner’s work, titled Hive addresses how architecture often acts as a metaphor for orientation or alienation.

Andrea Grutzner, photos courtesy of UNSEEN

Japanese photographers explored there possibilities, sponsored by Lumix.

Grolsch sponsored The Currency of Idea by Lana Mesic. In the pyramid, reminding my of the Louvre in Paris, she had some embroidered portraits on display.

The currency of ideas by Lana Mesic

Zoe Karssen explores analogue photography back in to fashion.

All the venues were decorated with lovely flowers!

And last by not least, you had the opportunity to throw with wooden blocks at a photo of this wall at the Smash Gallery at the Photo Pleasure Palace.

So I did and won this photo of the Smash Gallery by Thomas Maileander and Erik Kessels.

Thank you Happix for the passe-partout! It was an inspiring event!

Dior goes blue for fall-winter 2017

Fifty shades of blue are coming to me when I see in the fall-winter 2017-2018 campaign of Dior. It is not a campaign of the elegant fashion house I expected but I am impressed and I like it!

Looking closer at the images taken by french photographer Brigitte Lacombe you see the new elegance of Dior. Creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri puts again her unique stamp on this Dior woman collection for coming season.
Karl Templer as fashion editor did the styling, Guido Palau was responsible for the hair styling and Diane Kendal for the make up.

The line up of models are Ruth Bell, Grace Hartzel, Adwoa Aboah, Selena Forrest, Fernanda Ly, Ellen Rosa, Jing Wen, Aira Ferreira and Camille Hurel.

The styling by Karl Templer in this photo with the leather look berets and the chokers makes the elegant dress and skirts look more casual and daring. The comfortable knitted pullover worn by Adwoa Aboah completes the look.

With Ruth Bell in the middle wearing a boyfriend jeans and high heals, it completes this look.

Velvet, raincoats and jeans in one photo, Karl Templer really dares to combine the creations by Maria Grazia Chiuri and makes it look great.
Don't forget to look at his choice of shoes! Three styles in one photo.

This campaign of Dior is worth looking and studying at! More on Dior.