Bending the rules

Viktor and Rolf
Rolf Snoeren and Viktor Horsting met while studying fashion in Arnhem. As is fitting for Holland’s most renowned fashion label (they have collaborated with such big brands as Shu Uemura, H&M and Samsonite), the duo were noticed from their very first collection, Hyères, launched in Paris in 1993.

Their now exotic signature was visible in the wide use of reconstruction and layering and they have since become famous as much for their extravagant clothes as for their over-the-top conceptual fashion shows. Their most recent show (main picture) saw models emerge from curtain-like 20-metre-long skirts worn by models on stilts.

The clothes were criticised for being uninspiring (pretty cocktail dresses and wearable skirt suits), downplaying their famous motto of fashion being an antidote to reality. We do hope this is only a temporary blip. Until they recover, fans can console themselves with the designers’ first book, a collection of 12 beautifully illustrated fairy tales, set to release next month.

Marlies Dekkers
Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and Victoria Beckham are just some of the famous women who have helped build Elisabeth Maria Johanna Dekkers’ reputation. Credited with inventing the innerwear-as-outerwear trend, the Dutch designer is best known for her lingerie line Undressed, although she has since extended that into an underwear line for men as well as beachwear, accessories and evening lines.

Forty-five-year-old Dekkers sees the female body as her canvas and uses her garments to accentuate the female shape. The designer creates clothes inspired by her own vision on life and aims to give women more self-confidence with her motto, “Dare to Be”. Little wonder she’s as much a favourite of men as she is of women.

Lucas Ossendrijver
Metallic pants are equally part of the Lanvin menswear designer’s collections as is sharp tailoring. “Fashion gives freedom”, the 42-year-old Arnhem graduate Ossendrijver believes.

He says men must be unafraid to try new things. It is a philosophy he has had a chance to develop at Kenzo and Dior Homme under Hedi Slimane before joining Lanvin. 

“I think, sometimes, for a guy it can be fun to try a tuxedo jacket. Play around with it — mix it with a sweater or dark jeans. Try what works for you and see how people react. It’s really about playing around,” he has said in explanation of that philosophy. That casual libertarianism is so very Dutch!

Jan Jansen
Jansen’s footwear can be seen as very Dutch in its use of bright, pop-art colours and unexpected materials. However, there is a lot more to this veteran designer. The 70 year old has broken boundaries all his life and set new trends by treating the shoe as art.
The son of a shoe factory sales executive, Nijmegen-born Jansen knew from the time he was a teenager that he wanted to design shoes for the rest of his life.

Since he first focused on the sole in 1964, the designer has created a variety of unforgettable styles for both sexes. He made his name with the 1969 Woody Clog (the now commonplace clog featuring leather fastened to the wooden sole with nails), he cemented his reputation by popularising the platform shoe in the seventies and inventing the heelless high-heel or floating wedge (now being trended by Lady Gaga and Victoria Beckham) as far back as the ‘80s.

Other famous designs have been The Clump (1969), the Bamboo Shoe (1975), the High-Heeled Sneaker (1977), the Floating Heel (1989) and Steely Snake (1993). His creations have seen him being called one of the entertainers of the shoe world. To have such a reputation and be seen as an artist with collections on show in stores and museums all around the world is enviable in itself.

Spijkers and Spijkers
A brand that will soon become a favourite with fashion-forward women in the region next season is this one. Having launched their label in 2000, 41-year-old twin sisters Truss and Ret Spijkers have become famous for their blatant, graphic designs influenced by the Art Deco Movement.

An exhibition this year at Arnhem’s modern art museum firmly established any fashion credentials that might have appeared to be lacking, but consumers will be drawn to their Spring 2012 line, with its Arabic theme. It was in the clear geometric patterns and silk scarves around the models’ heads as well as in the use of contrasting, bright colours that could have been taken from an Arabic bazaar — lime yellow, ivory, black and oriental blue. Available in the UAE at Villa Moda.

Sjaak Hullekes
Yet another Arnhem resident who is making waves right now is men’s wear designer Sjaak Hullekes, winner of the Mercedes-Benz Dutch Fashion Award 2009. He has only shown for four seasons but the 30-year-old menswear designer has already made a name for himself with designs inspired by edgy androgyny on one end and classical Dutch Calvinism on the other.

Sjaak Hullekes truly is a label made in the Netherlands, as most pieces are manufactured within the country to guarantee precise knowledge and workmanship to the customer. From 2010, his clothes are being sold in Japan and also being referenced in Italy, France, Hong Kong, and New York.

FASHIONED FROM WOOD
How trendy can woodchips be? Evidently a lot if you ask Stefanie Nieuwenhuyse. The 24-year-old Kingston University London designer, who hails from Amersfoort, Holland, converted discarded woodchip off-cuts into sophisticated womenswear, receiving rave reviews at the London Fashion Week last month. The collection in woody brown and beige includes a corset, a full-length dress, trousers and shoes.

“I wished to mimic the look and feel of reptile skin, while trying to create an eco-friendly alternative to this high-end fabric,” she explains.