Revolution In Material Apparel - RIMA - an amazing finale for Salon/2

July 17th R.I.M.A. (Revolution In Material Apparel) sealed SALON/2, what has been an hugh succes. Salon/2 was the 6th edition of Salon/ in one year time. At one of the most beautiful location the city of Amsterdam has to offer, Huize Frankendael, SALON/participants, /fans, /initiators and /visitors could witness a spectacular installation of R.I.M.A. A long, knotted red ribbon guided us through the flours and salons of Frankendael, ending at the coach house where we walked between the creations of RIMA and all kinds of technical clothing patterns. 

The R.I.M.A designs are all about possibility and experimentation. Perhaps the lining of a jacket is more interesting than the outer. Perhaps a moving blanket, typically used to wrap furniture, is soft and warm enough to make a brilliant winter coat. Perhaps silk ties can be stitched together to make a brilliant blazer, or three pairs of jeans can be unpicked to make a dress. R.I.M.A uses dead stock and vintage garments and fabrics exclusively for their clothes. These fabrics are sourced from a wide variety of people and places. For instance, many of R.I.M.A's fabrics came from jobbers, small batch manufacturers who work for large fashion designers and brands. When the production run is finished there are often considerable amounts of these custom, one-of-a-kind fabrics left over. They also repurpose a variety of secondhand and vintage garments.

SALON/ would like to thank everyone who has visited, participated, believed, supported and put a light on SALON/2 on blogs, websites, newspapers and magazines...the exposure, the reactions and the attention was more than we could have expected.

Salon/ hopes to see you again in January 2012 for our second winter edition: Winter/Salon! 

If you want to know more who's behind R.I.M.A., do look at the video: 

www.r-i-m-a.com

YOUASME MEASYOU openen eerste virtuele flagship store tijdens Salon/2

De knitwear en jersey labels youasme & measyou hebben afgelopen week hun eerste winkel in het Vondelpark Amsterdam geopend. Met de opening van hun ‘Park Store’ lanceren zij een volledig nieuw concept: virtuele flagshipstores op een echte locatie. De winkel is te zien als virtuele laag ('Layar') die over de werkelijkheid is geprojecteerd.  De mooiste knits en jerseys zijn tussen de bomen van het park te zien en te koop. 

De Park Stores van youasme measyou zijn virtuele flagshipstores op echte locaties - bekende parken in grote steden over de hele wereld.  Kleding is er via smartphones te zien en te koop. 

De eerste Park Store opent in het Vondelpark in Amsterdam, in september opent de tweede in Palais Royal in Parijs. Zoo in Berlijn en Echo Park in Los Angeles volgen snel. Twan Janssen, art-director van youasme measyou: "Met de Park Stores willen we winkels openen op plekken waar andere zintuigen worden aangesproken dan in een winkelstraat. Parken over de hele wereld worden door ons 'gekraakt' en voorzien van onze virtuele flagshipstores." De eerste Park Store is te bezoeken rond het Picasso beeld in het Vondelpark Amsterdam. 

De augmented reality van youasme measyou is toegankelijk via de gratis te downloaden app ‘Layar’. 

De labels youasme en measyou specialiseren zich in hoogwaardige knitwear en jerseys voor zowel vrouwen als mannen. De doordachte ontwerpen van Mark van Vorstenbos hebben een seizoensoverschrijdende waarde en worden in mooie Italiaanse garens geproduceerd. Bijzonder is het financieringsconcept. De labels worden opgericht met behulp van een ‘family of founders’, een groep van 500 mensen die elk  €500,- investeert in het oprichten van de labels. Aanmelden als founder kan via www.youasme.com. De eerste collectie van youasme en measyou wordt vanaf deze winter via 10 verkooppunten in Nederland verkocht. 

Bron: www.nieuwsvannederland.nl 

YOUASME-MEASYOU at SALON/2

SALON/2: On friday 15 july, from 17:00 - 19:00, youasme measyou will organise a happening at the legendary Vondelpark in Amsterdam. Their second collection 'MONO' for spring/summer 2012 will be presented in collaboration with the brand's Family of Founders. Also, the presentation will feature the launch of the first youasme measyou Park Store, in which the debut collection 'Closer' for fall/winter 2011 will be sold. The clever designs are made to last and created with the finest Italian yarns. The collections clearly complete each other, but are also available separately.  

YOUASME and MEASYOU specialise in high quality knitwear and jerseys for both men and women. The driving forces behind the labels are designer Mark van Vorstenbos and art-director Twan Janssen. 

Remarkable is the label’s financing concept: 500 people each invest €500,- in the setup of YOUASME and MEASYOU.  Members of this ‘Family of Founders’ receive their investment returned in 5 years with a single interest of 5% and additionally are privileged with a 50% discount on garments and invitations to exclusive previews. 


www.youasme.com

Verslag One Man Show Koos van den Akker: een 'LIVE' demonstratie hoe Koos verft met textiel

Door: Marij Rynja 

Afgelopen woensdag logde Koos van den Akker in om live te  demonstreren aan Salon/2 bezoekers hoe hij zijn 'paintings' van textiel maakt. Derde jaars studenten van het AMFI, stylisten, kunstenaars, fans en nieuwsgierige bezoekers zagen hoe Koos zittend achter de webcam in zijn workroom in New York City aan de slag gaat. Ingezoomd op zijn tafelblad zien we de handen van Koos, zijn kruin en zijn onderbuik werken. Ja, zijn onderbuik, niet zozeer doelend op de bourgondische omvang van deze kunstenaar als meer zijn intuitive aanpak. Want Koos gaat zonder voorbedachte rade aan de slag. Enkel de stoffen die hij om de hoek heeft gekocht in een straat vol textiel boetieks vormen zijn leidraad. 

Koos begint met een paar zwarte repen te scheuren en deze als tralies vast te spelden. Vervolgens belsuit hij een stofje met zwart-witte ruiten te pakken, knipt een cirkel en knipt weer een cirkel uit deze cirkel. Als een kind dat op de kleuterklas geconcentreerd loopt te plakken en te knippen, is Koos bezig. Hij twijfelt nauwelijks, gaat vastberaden voor dit of dat stofje en knipt uit wat hem grieft. 

Met spuitlijm en een paar kranten om de stof te beschermen legt hij zijn collages vast om deze tot slot onder de naaimachine vast te stikken.  

'Zo simpel is het', zegt Koos zelf ook. 'There's nothing to it!'  

Over zijn werkwijze en eigen stijl zegt hij dat het een fijne lijn is tussen eenvoudig en geniaal, tussen spuuglelijk en kunstzinnig. En dat is zijn unieke stijl, zijn kracht, zijn eigenwijze kenmerk waar Koos in de jaren 70 en 80 in Amerika mee opviel tussen de hippe New Yorkers. 

Op 28 jarige leeftijd wist Koos bij het zien van de film Breakfast at Tiffanies dat New York zijn plek moest zijn, want het ingetogen Den Haag en normale Nederland kon zijn fantasievolle, vrije ontwerpen niet waarderen. Maar ook in Amerika konden ze zijn ontwerpen en stijl niet altijd begrijpen: 'De pers vond het maar een vreemd gedoe', vertelt Koos. 'What the fuck is that', riepen ze. 


Maar nu krijgt Koos de waardering die hij altijd al hoopte: de jonge mensen vinden hun weg naar hem en staan open voor zijn manier van textielbewerking en werkwijze. 'Het is voor mij weer een leuke tijd om te werken, ik ben nu weer 'in''. Zo vertelt hij dat Marc Jacobs bij hem langs kwam en het 'amazing' vond wat hij deed. En gezegd moet worden, de hedendaagse catwalk toont af en toe een Koos van den Akker revival, want de jaren 80 zijn erg in de mode. De fameuze Bill Cosbey truien duiken op tijdens mannenmode shows van o.a. Raf Simons en Versace. Of in ieder geval iets wat erop lijkt. Want van het werk van Koos bestaat geen tweede en is niet te kopiëren.  
Koos vertelt dat hij niet kan voldoen aan een massaproductie, ondanks dat hij het wel heeft geprobeerd door zijn 'collage doeken' in China na te maken. Maar toch had dat niet hetzelfde effect en gevoel.  'Ik geloof niet in massa', zegt hij, 'but I absolutely love H&M and all that shit, I think that's just very great!'.  

Momenteel is hij bezig aan zijn najaarscollectie. Maar in hoeverre passen de geijkte modeseizoenen bij zijn onconventionele, intuïtieve manier van werken?  

'Ik heb het geluk dat ik niet een jaar vooruit hoef te werken omdat ik niet te maken heb met inkopers of massa. Als het winter wordt, ga ik een paar maanden van tevoren een wintercollectie maken die ik direct in de winkel hang. Ik gebruik dan winterse, zware stoffen, zoals wol en in de zomer gebruik ik linnen en lichtere stoffen. Maar meer dan dat pas ik me niet op de seizoenen aan. Ook waag ik me niet aan modeshows, veel te duur! En waarvoor? Ik hang het gewoon op een hanger in mijn winkel, ik heb een vaste vriendenkring die mijn kleding kopen. Ik ben heel niche'. 

Opvallend is het gemak waarmee Koos over zijn carrière praat en zijn huidige leven. Aan een stuk door geeft deze spraakzame 73 jarige in goed Nederlands antwoord op de vragen van het publiek - met af en toe een jeugdige 'fuck' ertussen om meer expressie te geven aan zijn verhaal. Terwijl hij praat probeert hij zijn 'live creatie' te vorderen, maar geeft uiteindelijk op. 'Ik weet niet meer wat ik nu heb gedaan, want aan deze kant is het te donker en aan deze kant is het te licht. Ik laat het even liggen'. 

En zo bouwt een kunstenaar als Koos aan zijn 'paintings'. Als een schilder met verf, schildert Koos met textiel, laag voor laag tot hij tevreden is.  Ondanks zijn leeftijd werkt hij nog altijd met veel plezier, maar hij moet ook blijven werken zonder ooit een pensioen te hebben opgebouwd. Dat vindt hij niet erg. 'Ik hoop dood te vallen achter mijn naaimachine'. En in musea wil hij ook liever niet terecht komen. 'Ik geloof niet in mode in een museum. Kleren moeten door gegeven worden en door gedragen. Dat is het grootste compliment wat je mij kan geven'. 

Volg Koos op zijn facebook, waar hij erg trots op is. 

www.facebook/koosvandenakker 

TOMORROW is a unique MasterClass by Koos van den Akker to follow at DROOG, at 2PM

TODAY IT'S KOOS PREMIERE at SALON/2 & DROOG - "People in the 80s were like: what the fuck is this!"

Koos have a strong opinion when it comes to Fashion and The Netherlands back in the 60s. He said: "Holland was not set up for fashion [...] woman where like cows there (in The Hague, red.), all they want was a skirt with extra pieces in front so the knees would not wear out to fast." 

When he saw Breakfast at Tiffanies Koos new he would move to New York permanent and leave Holland and their dull fashion tastes behind. 

Further in the interview he talks about his famous Bill Cosby sweaters and said: "If you look at it now, it looks familiar, but when I did this in the eighties there was nothing like this! So people just freaked out and said 'What the fuck is that!' [...] There is a very thin line between that it's just really awful and really genius".....

Come to DROOG today and meet Koos van den Akker, who will be interviewed live...by you, by professionals, by students....

Don't miss: Alexander van Slobber's curated exhibition 'Shanghai Gesture' - Museum Willet-Holthuysen

Alexander van Slobber prepairing the photoshoot
at the Willet-Holthuysen. Picture by Willet-Holthuysen

SHANGHAI GESTURE

Shanghai Gesture (July 7 - December 7 2011),  a fashion exhibition curated by Dutch designer Alexander van Slobbe (designer of Orson+Bodil, red.), opens at Museum Willet-Holthuysen this thursday 7 July. 

The exhibition presents the results of a workshop that Van Slobbe held for Dutch and Chinese designers as part of the cultural programme for the World Expo in Shanghai last year. Later, students from the Rietveld Academie (Amsterdam) were asked to respond to the workshop by producing woven textiles, which were then passed on to four designers. These canon-collections co-created by the designers and the students can be viewed in the salons of Museum Willet-Holthuysen. The exhibition also features photos and drawings made in Shanghai and Amsterdam.  

Shanghai Gesture is part of the SALON/2 route and will be officially opened on the 7th of July at 1-5pm. Buy your passe-partout a 15,- at all SALON/2 locations or via our website. Do support SALON/. 

More info on Shanghai Gesture:  

The Dutch Golden Age as inspiration 

After being asked by Amsterdam Municipal Executive to contribute to the cultural programme for last year’s WorldExpo, Alexander van Slobbe set up a workshop for Amsterdam and Shanghai designers with cooperation as the theme; more specifically, the exploration, use and exchange of Dutch and Chinese arts and crafts. The Dutch Golden Age formed the inspiration for the workshop and the emphasis was on technique. 

Textiles and coats

Later, in the spring of 2011, Van Slobbe invited third-year students from the Rietveld Academie to design woven textiles using the same starting points. He then held another workshop where he presented the textiles to various designers and set them the task of making coats. 

Contributing designers 

Martine van 't Hul, Elja Lintsen, Eric NG, Iniy Sanchez, Margreet Sweerts and Xiaojing Xia, Ellie Duinker, Caroline Lindo, Jasmin Koschutnig, Isa van Gool, Eveline Keijser, Elisabeth Leerssen, Sylvia Wozniak and Nadine Gupfert amongst others.  

Platform for creativity


Museum Willet-Holthuysen and its collections are managed by the Amsterdam Museum, which aims to spotlight distinctive Amsterdam values, such as entrepreneurship, creativity, free thinking and citizenship. Shanghai Gesture, curated by Alexander van Slobbe, reflects the mission of the museum to be a platform where young artists can develop and showcase their creative and entrepreneurial talents. 

About Alexander van Slobbe: 

Alexander van Slobbe (1959) is one of the pioneers who put the Netherlands on the map in the international world of fashion. Already celebrating his 20th anniversary, this fashion designer has remained a best kept secret in the Netherlands. Van Slobbe is a master of refined, minimalist design and also front runner of the Dutch Modernism that is characteristic of Dutch fashion design. More about his label Orson+Bodil & his shop NL=NewLuxury, click here.

Koos van den Akker's 'live': "Hey, i would sure beat those fashion reality shows. Get the money together and I'll do the work! "

As special guest SALON/2 presents “Koos van den Akker” live from New York City. Using a live feed, from his workroom in New York directly to Amsterdam, the viewer can gain insights into Koos’ daily world and work, starting July 7^th. You are invited to peek over the shoulders at how he thinks, works and how he creates his unique pieces. Koos participates directly with the audience. Please come and enjoy this direct dialogue. Koos van der Akker ‘LIVE’ is generously supported by AFK - Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunsten.

In 2009 Koos van den Akker was interviewed by W-Magazine and he told that one day he would have a one-man-show as a reaction on the bad quality real life fashion shows on television. He said: "Hey, it would sure beat those reality shows. Get the money together and I'll do the work!

" 

Now, in 2011, he gets his one man show he wanted at SALON/2. Come to DROOG to meet Koos in person. Maybe he is out, maybe he is working, maybe he is drinking coffee with you.  

Read the interview below:

W-Magazine's interviewed Koos van den Akker in 2009 (by Vanessa Lau)

"[...] His name is practically synonymous with patchworked clothing. He's the guy responsible for Bill Cosby's colorful collage sweaters from the Eighties, after all. W-Magazine hunted him down to his Madison Avenue store, where Van Den Akker continues to deliver on his crafty creations. We're happy to report that the designer, at age 70, is as feisty, droll and engaging as ever.  

W: Where do you think the fashion industry is nowadays (2009, red.)? 


KOOS: Right now, everything in the kitchen sink works. And very often, it's not pretty. But that is just the freedom that people have today. There's all this craziness, and a lot of it is done for the "do-ing" of it. But I have nothing to do with this. I mean, I'm totally out of the loop. I'm very much a one-man band.



W: What about collections that get their inspiration from you? For example, there was Balenciaga from spring 2002 and, even this season, the Marc by Marc Jacobs line was partly inspired those old Bill Cosby sweaters you did.


KOOS: What I like is that the designers give their own version, which is so much freer. I'm a 70-year-old man; I come with that era. But the kids today can see this and out comes something completely different. That's delightful. 



W: OK, what about celebrity designers? Did you see Lindsay Lohan's debut at Emanuel Ungaro?


KOOS: Oh, that's bullshit. That is total commerce and total, total bullshit— and you can write that down too. No, I don't go for that. That's a waste of time. The only one that does it well is [Gwen Stefani of] L.A.M.B. Not Lindsay Lohan. I mean, who the f-ck cares?



W: Fashion reality shows? 


KOOS: Forget that. They're poison. That f-cking [Project] Runway thing—that is the worst thing in the world. Those reality shows do nothing for the kids. The thing is that all the people are making money on them, except for those kids. 

W: You had your own line on QVC for a long time.

KOOS: I loved that, and I was good at it too. I was good on camera and all that. I'm not very good with customers, face to face.



W: What was it like working for Dior? 


KOOS: Those were my most difficult customers, in Paris. Those French women, they had you by the balls. 



W: You really should have a one-man show of your own. Your career's packed with terrific stories. 


KOOS: Hey, it would sure beat those reality shows. Get the money together and I'll do the work!



www.wmagazine.com/w/blogs/editorsblog/2009/10/15/where-are-they-now-koos-van-de.html

PREMIERE : 7TH OF JULY AT DROOG - AMSTERDAM 

Salon/2 presents: Lizan Freijsen - 'Utopia at the table' - Museum Van Loon

Salon/2 presents: Pauline van Dongen - Kinetic Landscapes S/S 2012 - Galerie Diana Stigter

"This collection tells about the forces of water and air and the abstraction I find in nature’s eroded appearance. I tried to capture the effect of wind and water on our surroundings. The visible result of wear, resulting in lines and undulations of the earth's surface. It is about the unremarkable changes in nature which only after decades becomes visible".

"I find it very interesting how our surroundings are changing shape under influence of processes like erosion. The extraordinary shapes that nature creates by itself: Desert winds sculpt smooth and gentle swirls out of rocks and sandstone hills. It’s Impressive what kind of patterns and protruding surfaces are created by the forces of nature. Undulations, holes, waves, curves..."

"The gesture of movement you find in rigid and massive rock formations is astonishing. For instance 'The Wave' in Arizona, a small ravine between eroded sandstone domes, is formed of amazingly beautiful rocks containing thin, swirling strata. I translated these wavy patterns into my designs. The orange copper-like glow of 'The Wave' can also be found in the color palette, along with a bright blue and stony shades of gray between the bright white and deep black.

The reflection and the flowing nature of water is represented in the use of a reflective fabric and supple leather that is stitched into a sculptural pleating. This collection comes from a play with fluid form language in combination with abstract constructed shapes, offering an aesthetic of graphic lines and undulations with striking materials around the body." - Pauline van Dongen, 2011

Shoe design: Anna Korshun for Pauline van Dongen

About Pauline van Dongen:

In 2008 Pauline graduated with a BA in Fashion Design from the renowned Artez, Academy of the Arts in Arnhem, the Netherlands. It was there that she first developed an interest in developing her designs by draping fabrics directly on a mannequin. This is how she could translate her conceptual approach into a visual aesthetic around the body.
During her Master Program at the Fashion Institute Arnhem she was offered a shoe design course. Here she discovered a love for product design and also further developed her personal signature that has been described as “organic science”. Working with unconventional or new materials triggers her to explore and research the processing and finishing in a garment and allows her to work like a researcher. 

Her fascination for the relation between human and their surroundings is something that keeps feeding her inspiration. By working with sculptural shapes, forms like capsules floating around the body, she examines the space between the garment and the body and tries to emphasize that void in her designs. This has not always been a point of focus within fashion. In that sense she wants to present a unique proposal, since her designs don't refer to the classic Western tradition, whereby clothing casts the body in a certain form. Pauline prefers the idea that the body is what gives the clothes a certain volume.

Pauline’s work focuses on the surface, she uses fabric as a starting point.Tactility, texture and no-frills modernity are the essence of her work. As she continues to explore the use of unconventional materials and new ways of construction she wants to create “a proposal for the future”.

www.paulinevandongen.com

SALON/2 presents: BAS KOSTERS - Free Work 2010/2011 - Droog

"My exhibition is a collage of my free work from 2010 and 2011. Next to my latest dolls it contains a series of drawings made as communicative gestures sent into the world through my blog. Characters are an important part of my universe and I am most passionate about creating new individuals.   

Strings Attached is a new addition to a project that I started during my master at FIA (Fashion Masters ArtEZ Arnhem, red.)  There I designed an item called sliertie animeaux, and it is the inspiration for a technique that I now and then use.

This January I made three outfits for my fashion mutant collection, with the significant ripped fabric strings. 
I decided now is the time to go back to my original idea and create a major follow up that will be a starting point of a new series of works". 


Bas Kosters, 2011. 

image: 'Bas Kosters Salon/2' - Marij Rynja 2011         .

Bas Kosters (1977) was graduated from the Fashion Institute Arnhem in 2003, where straight after he got instand recognition winning the Robijn Fashion Award. During the 2009 edition of the Dutch Fashion Awards Bas Kosters won the Dutch Fashion Incubator Award 2009 and in 2010 he won the Dutch Fashion International Incubator Award 2010.

In 2005 Bas founded the Amsterdam-based Bas Kosters Studio as a platform to host all his fashion and fashion-related projects (including graphic design, music and art performances). Bas is well known as a multitalented, eclectic designer with a keen eye for innovation in both fashion and arts. His work is highly recognizable by his rich use of color, intensive embroideries, signature prints and a unique sense of humour, resulting in a multi‐disciplinary oeuvre, which evolves over time.

Bas Kosters is a strong and growing brand resulting in presentations of his work all over the world and collaborations with leading brands like Bugaboo, Coca Cola Light, Mattel, Heineken and Kiyichi Jeans.
www.baskosters.com
Bas Kosters fashion, dolls and drawings can be purchased at the SALON/2 Pop up Store - Oudezijds Voorburgwal 153, Amsterdam

ANOUK GRIFFIOEN, at Van Ravenstein - Keizersgracht 359

Anouk Griffioen (1979) studied arts at the Willem the Kooning Academy Rotterdam

Anouk prefers to draw at big pieces of paper or canvas and she draws with expression. In thick black lines and smudges and leaving white spaces, she exposes a woman, an emotion: fear, frustration, pain, loneliness, but overall emptiness, passiveness, maybe shame. But no cry for help or comfort. 

About the installation at SALON/2:

These ‘glamorous’ women seem to fade into the background, left alone in their own world. Through a collaboration in 2010 the background became more important and her work started to change. Women that were once so important are fading in a natural surrounding and are looking for shelter, a hiding place.  

Drawings become more abstract and layered.

(no title) 

charcoal, graphite and crayon on paper

150x180cm

(2011)

How to get your TICKETS for Salon/2

E-tickets can be ordered online at www.salon1.org/tickets/ or buy your passe-partout ticket at the VVV tourist offices as well at all SALON/2 locations across the city.

Exchange your e-ticket for a passe-partout ONLY at “Magazijn”, located at Oudezijds Voorburgwal 153. 

Ticket price: only € 15 for a single passe-partout which allows access to all locations during SALON/2 !

Over 20 locations can be visited. And there's more: visiting a SALON/2 location like Museum Van Loon, Huize Frankendael or Museum Willet-Holthuysen gives you the opportunity to see these traditional Amsterdam canal houses and it's original interiors dated from the 19th century.

Be sure to exchange your e-ticket for passe-partouts ONLY at the location “Magazijn” Oudezijds Voorburgwal 153, 1012 ES Amsterdam.  

Support SALON/2 and buy your tickets a € 15. 

Plan your tour at www.salon1.org and please share your comments, toughts, highlights and pictures with us, we would love to post these on this blog or facebook! 

1-17 july 2011 http://www.salon1.org/tickets/

salon/1: YOUASME-MEASYOU

Salon presentation "youasme measyou"

 http://www.youasme.com/

http://www.youasme.com/brands.html

Salon/2: Andreas Verheijen at Kabinet

Flower Engineer Andreas Verheijen has just completed his second work in Ferry van Der Nat's exquisite store Kabinet. Filled with antique one-off pieces and clothing from his archive of collectibles, Ferry was happy to share the Kabinet window with such beautiful artistry. Enjoy.

Salon/2 : Andreas Verheijen at the Gem Kingdom Flagship Store

Floral mastery is something Andreas Verheijen  can claim as his natural gift. Thanks to two locations, two sponsors (Just Chrysanthemum and Bloemen Bureau Holland) and several thousand cut flowers he has brought his gift to the nine streets of Amsterdam. Check out photos of both locations on the Salon/1 Facebook page or visit Gem Kingdom and Kabinet with your passport.