By Savi Kuruppu /asdf 17-06-2010

On a boat that is now a motel, known as the Botel in Amsterdam, the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) transformed what is an otherwise inelegant establishment into personal showrooms for the graduating fashion class of 2010. Visitors had the opportunity to meet the polite and professional designers one-on-one in an intimate and sometimes undulating environment. Just days before, the students had presented their graduation collection on the runway for the first time and their next stop during this busy succession of events was 'Textile en Mode Parcours', where they have been given pop-up showrooms in locations around the city center of The Hague. 

This year's crop of young fashion talent presented a graduation collection which definitely had that 'something special'. Gone were the over-exercised themes which characterise most student collections, the minimal-monochromatic tones were dropped in favour of colour and avant-garde fantasy was kept to a minimum. By contrast, they delivered a progressive collection full of new energy and chalked up extra points for their original experimentation with textiles.  

Firstly, Amber Anthe Scholten - who was born to Dutch parents and grew up in Germany in the Black Forest - pays homage to the process of mourning for a place once loved. Her collection aptly named 'Liebgewonnen' falls into two parts. First, fluid femininity with a flirtatious silk dress which was cut to catch the air and billow wildly in the back. Then a more structured and symmetrical silhouette was created with an update of Vivienne Westwood's 'mini crini'. Scholten reworked the 19th century-style crinolines, by cutting it short and placing the emphasis solely on the hips. She then crafted the skirt from a heavyweight wool and hand adorned it with a fiesta of colorful cutouts. The exaggerated hips, explains Scholten, creates distance for the wearer, a kind of personal space maker.

Old fashioned Dutch sensibility is what moves Susan Polman. Her sober and pragmatic approach can be mistaken as simplistic, however her collective efforts of precise tailoring and the ingenuous repurposing of basic materials such as polar fleece proved that her craft is a difficult one to master. Polman's aesthetic which can be described as unfussy elegance, plays with silk overlays and uses a sensible supply of sequins to pack some punch but never to detract from the purity of her designs.

Marije de Haan, the only student to present a menswear collection this year, explained she was inspired by the anonymity in crime scene photography. Her men's shirts have a romantic yet austere feel; while cut to perfection, the unexpected elements happen above the collar line. The shirts button over the head, protecting the wearer's identity and they indeed look fantastic when pulled down into a voluminous cowl around the neck. De Haan's sense of drama continues by playing up feminine characteristics in her work. She uses antique lace inlays throughout and to be purely theatrical, she has elongated the back of the shirts, to create an elegant cathedral style train, as traditionally seen in bridal gowns.

Natasja Admiraal's collection 'what to do when feeling bored' suggests that boredom, in her case, is not such a bad thing. Her not-so-idle hands have painstakingly taken to slicing fabric into delicate ribbons, which she then manipulates to create volume and shape. Janneke Lemmer's collection brings us 'down to earth' with a sumptuous collection featuring delightful details like fossilised buttons on suede pants. There was an obsession with foil application which featured heavily in Tessa Wagenvoorts romantic multilayered garments and also made an appearance in the stratified layers of fabric designed by Bertina van Nieuwenhuizen. Another textile designer, Bianca Heinis through random experimentation discovered an ethereal light pattern that can be created with three simple parts: a marker, water and light. Patti Fonseca Monterio, has a confident grasp on what it means to be a good tailor. Her impeccably constructed jackets are classic cut with a twist and her hand printed fabric added that extra wow factor. Leslie Esinger has taken a more whimsical route with her love for fairytales by experimenting with pleating in knitwear to add another dimension to the humble knit.

As the students are dismissed from the academy for the last time, they can be confident in knowing that their first steps into the professional world will be, with both feet firmly planted on the ground. It was encouraging to see students more interested in creating wearable clothes rather than making shock waves. Perhaps, it is the perfect coming of age story; giving less to extravagant youthful whims, playing down the superfluous details in favour of superb tailoring and putting into practice years of experimentation. 

Main image and image 1: Amber Anthe Scholten
Images 2&3: Marije de Haan
Images 4: Susan Polman
Images 5&6: Janneke Lemmers
Catwalk photography: Peter Stigter

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