By Gabrielle Kennedy /asdf 22-07-2010

Lichting continues to be one of fashion week’s most popular shows: fourteen designers – the top graduates from Holland’s seven fashion academies – together on the catwalk.

Some disagreement between the judges clearly came into play over who would be the recipient of the “G-Star Raw Talent Award” - the 10 000 euro prize given to the best graduate designer in Lichting 2010 (Class of 2010).

“Concept for concept’s sake is not interesting anymore,” said fashion journalist and judge Sarah Mower.  “I am more interested in seeing what these young designers and their friends actually want to wear.”

Last year Ann Boogaerts of ArtEZ won the top prize with her poetic exploration of the young Queen Fabiola of Belgium.  This year it went to Marije de Haan from The Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague.  Her collection - called “Flatliners” -  showcased the strongest concept backed up with exquisite detailing and fine workmanship.

But “what she and her friends actually want to wear” it was not.  Shirts with necklines extending up over the face and extra but empty sleeves draped around silhouettes that seemed to blur the boundary between clothing and sheeting.

“I was inspired by early twentieth century crime photography,” De Haan said backstage after her win was announced. “There is a certain anonymity that those pictures created, a certain distance that makes it possible for me to judge them on an aesthetic level.”

De Haan’s five men’s wear pieces in monochromatic tones with an abundance of white seemed to be all about twisted torsos and bodies with missing limbs.  Crime scenes met the autopsy bed with decapitated bodies draped in stiff cotton to create an intense sense of anonymity.  

“I don’t admire death,” said De Haan.  “I don’t embrace the killer, but my teachers did often find my subject difficult.  Some found it hard to look at my inspiration book.”

Joseph Quartana, co-founder and buyer of Seven NY was impressed with all the designs he saw. “[These graduates] all showed a strong, unique and outspoken perspective,” he said.  

The most critical of the judges was Professor Louise Wilson from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London.  “I am very used to seeing student work and I must say I saw good texture, colour and newness,” she said.  “But the shoes were all dreadful.  That shop should be bombed!”

When asked about how this batch of Dutch graduates stack up against the likes of the best in Europe, Wilson remained diplomatic: “The Dutch are as ambitious as everyone else,” she said.  “But I will say this.  The Dutch are better educated in the arts than in other countries.  They know about art, theatre and dance.”

Another of the designers, Mariko Ferrier, from Utrecht School of Arts said backstage that deciding on a winner must have been very hard for the panel.  “There were so many different styles and perspectives being shown,” she said.  Her collection focused on capturing the beauty of that moment when everything starts to fall apart.  “To hold on to something you once were or to let go and discover who you are now,” she explained.

Ferrier’s next plan is to move to London to earn her Masters at the Royal College of Art.

“Furthering my education was never my plan due to financial constraints,” said winner De Haan.  “But now I have this prize money it’s definitely something I want to pursue.”  

The audience – gasping for air by the end thanks to Amsterdam’s current heat wave – mustered up a last hurrah of energy for judge Wilson’s final parting words.  “Education should not be linked to industry,” she said.  “Education is about being free, you shouldn’t be commercial until you really have to be.  There is already too much branding and not enough creativity in the fashion world.”

The Lichting 2010 show can be seen here.

Lichting is an initiative of the Amsterdam International Fashion Week, HTNK – Fashion Recruitment and Consultancy, and Premsela – Dutch Platform for Design and Fashion, in collaboration with G-Star Raw. 

Images:  small from top Marije de Haan, Mariko Ferrier and images from De Haan's winning collection. Two small from top and final image by Claire Rogers.

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