By Editor Design.nl /asdf 30-07-2008

Danny Cremers (23) has been awarded the Frans Molenaar Prize during the Amsterdam International Fashionweek.

The jury said that his designs were "idiosyncratic and clear". Six final year students were nominated for the prize, coincidentally, all of them from the Artez University College for the Arts in Arnhem.

The prize consists of a cash award of 10,000 euro and is provided by Frans Molenaar. The winner can use the prize money to develop a new collection. The other students nominated were Sanne Schrijver, Elsien Gringhuis, Lifu Hsiao, Maarten van der Horst and Nina Heo. The jury consisted of stylist/photographer Ruud van der Peijl, Volkskrant journalist Milou van Rossum, Parool journalist Jhim Lamoree, Boulevard panel member Fiona Hering, Jose Teunissen, lecturer at the Artez University College and journalist Loes Geerlings.

Danny Cremers was inspired by the film Female Perversion (1996), in which a neurotic lawyer is a career woman by day, while enjoying furious lesbian sex at night. The result was a collection of extreme suits with miniskirts.

The materials were conspicuous: strips of brocade sewn together, coarse white material rubbed with glue until hard. Pointed breasts and extended buttocks ensured a conspicuous silhouette. Chains made of chicken bones painted black and white added a lugubrious effect. Meanwhile, strings of pearls on collars and sleeves reflected the career woman. 'The collection was perverse beyond measure. Whether you liked it or not, it was extreme and I liked that,' Cremers commented of his own designs.

'The collection was extreme, maybe too extreme', said jury chairman Jhim Lamoree. 'But it was certainly idiosyncratic and clear. We could see Amy Winehouse in these outfits. And, well, some adjustments might also be possible later.'

Molenaar himself said that he was surprised. 'Innovative couture, that's good. And the collection reflects my liking for women's business suits.'

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