Interview ESTHER DORHOUT MEES

Designing for Tommy Hilfiger, Bruuns Bazaar and Eksempel have shaped her career. Fashion designer Esther Dorhout Mees, a graduate from ArtEZ, is a promising new name in Dutch fashion. Before building up her own fashion label DORHOUT MEES, she presented her work at New York fashion week and Kopenhagen fashion week. Her intriguing work is exposed at Oude Kerk.

Why did you join SALON/KANT?

I always thought that SALON/ was great initiative. I am very happy to participate this time. I have great interest in the process and development of a work of art. I like to demonstrate how things are made.

What did you make for  SALON/KANT?

I created two dresses which hang from the ceiling in a little room at Oude Kerk. I only used Gutterman yarn to make the dresses. On the wall hangs a screen showing my film 'Unfolding'. 

How do you feel about kant (lace)?
The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about lace is nostalgia. Old times where women were decent and did what they were told. I also think about my dress when I was baptized, it had a tail of 2 meters. I realized that lace is all about connection. Connecting pieces of thread together.

By Martino Bidotti

DORHOUT MEES | 'Unfolding' from Dorhout Mees on Vimeo.

SALON/Kant: JW Kaldenbach

Diptych, digital prints, 90 x 2,50 cm. Photography by JW Kaldenbach, Styling Lonneke Démoed, hair and make-up Maison Manous, nails & assistance Niko Démoed. On exhibit at The Oude Kerk, Amsterdam.

Interview ROBIN KOLLEMAN

Robin Kolleman graduated from the Academie van Beeldende Kunsten Rotterdam in 1988 specialized in sculpture and mixed media. After her time at the academy she has worked as a curator for the Erasmus gallery in Rotterdam. She is more than happy to be exhibiting as part of the SALON/KANT event. Her work is demonstrated in the beautiful Oude Kerk. “I really like and appreciate the set up of SALON/, with its different art disciplines showcased at unexpected location. I’m very happy to exhibit at the Oude Kerk.”

How did you get involved with SALON/KANT?

A friend of mine asked me to send pictures to her to transfer to Gijs Stork. She thought it would really fit with the concept.

What’s your connection with kant (lace)?

It’s not lace in general; I’m more connected with textile.

What do you exhibit at SALON/KANT?

Two works, one is ‘Epos 1, an ode to daily life’. It is a complex work of art build up out of four parts: an old Dutch blanket case, an old wooden iron board, on top of that a mannequin doll dressed in a short wedding dress with a lace under skirt on ice skates with a blind fold shaped as an African veil. On the head of the doll, supported by one of her hands, there is a coffin attached which is made out of a knitted bedspread. From lace.

All parts are white, accept the skin tone of the doll and long skin lace gloves. I waxed the iron board to give it a more icy feeling.

What has been your process?

The beginning has been a test of finding stuff of Internet. I had to find the right parts to begin with. They are all second hand. After finding them the technical part started. How do I fix the parts together with maintaining the balance? Making the coffin, altering and stiffening the dress, moulding the blindfold, making the lace gloves: all part of the technical process. I found it very exciting when I had to put it all together; would it fit and stay put without using a safety thread?

What’s the connection between the work and lace?

Lace means transparency, for me. It comes back in different ways. In the under skirt, the lace gloves and of course the coffin. I use transparency to give my work a sense of light. Death is always there, but it doesn’t have to be heavy.

By Martino Bidotti

SALON/Kant: Anne-Grethe Filtenborg

‘I enhance my dress with my skin’ is a knit-couture lace project by Anne-Grethe Filtenborg. The title reflects the concept in which lace is seen in its essence of transparency, creating a dialogue between skin and dress/cell, pixel and stitch, reflecting the eternal fascination and obsession with skin.

 The body of work consists of a series of delicate dresses and tunics. The essence is to be found in the textile development; light yet rich in tactility, interacting with graphics and optical effects. It includes mesh-lace and the designer’s innovation of 3D jacquard knits in which the graphics become optical, ever changing contrast and color intensity in accordance to the wearer’s movements as well as the angle from which perceived. Silhouettes and details are kept minimal and pure, taking their cue from the textile aspects in terms of drape, floating aspect, plasticity or sculptural effect. Each model incorporates a graphic design which enhances the inner and outer silhouette. The pieces are crafted in the finest Italian luxury yarns. The fibers used are silk with metal, a viscose composition with an extraordinary matt/luster effect and extra fine cashwool.

KNITWEAR FOR PEOPLE AND PLACES © by Anne-Grethe Filtenborg is a pop up label which deals with knitwear design for various settings, including projects addressing the body as well as space and interior projects. Anne-Grethe Filtenborg is a Danish Amsterdam based fashion and textile professional. She has a BA in Textile Design from Danmarks Designskole in Copenhagen as well as a BA in Fashion from Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam.

Next to her work for her own label she has a standing career as a design tutor and leader in Art en Design education within several of the Dutch academies, including AMFI, ARTEZ Fashion Masters and the Gerrit Rietveld Academie where she was also head of the Fashion department.

SALON/Kant: Mimi Berlin

Mimi Berlin’s Fashion-Fest #2. Digital print 4,50 x 2 M. On exhibit during SALON/Kant, at Kabinet, Amsterdam

Mimi Berlin’s Fashion-Fest #2. Digital print 4,50 x 2 M. On exhibit during SALON/Kant, at Kabinet, Amsterdam

Mimi Berlin’s Fashion-Fest #2. Digital print 4,50 x 2 M. On exhibit during SALON/Kant, at Kabinet, Amsterdam

Mimi Berlin’s Fashion-Fest #2. Digital print 4,50 x 2 M. On exhibit during SALON/Kant, at Kabinet, Amsterdam

Mimi Berlin’s Fashion-Fest #2. Digital print 4,50 x 2 M.
on exhibit at Kabinet in Hotel Droog, Amsterdam (July 2013.) From left to right: Mimi Berlin.
Mimi Berlin’s Fashion-Fest II is a photo collage. The women are wearing VintageDeluxe outfits designed in the 1970′s by Dutch artist Fong Leng. All the portrayed Mimi Berlin are Style Engineers in art and/or fashion.
We really would like to thank the following people very much for their kindness, time and knowledge. Hair was done by Taco Stuiver for 1027 @ House of Orange. Make-Up by Vannessa Chan @ House of Orange using Clinique. The clothes by Fong Leng were collected by Ferry van der Nat.
Click for details concerning what Mimi Berlin is wearing in this photography collage.