amsterdam fashion week: winde rienstra
(images via team peter stigter)
as we’re relentlessly reminded (by me!!), opt is in fast-forward mode, thanks to a crippling backlog of design houses to speak of, and as a result, i don’t have the time to research the collections and speak of these designers, as i would like. anyway, this is rather killing me when it comes to favourites like winde rienstra, whose work (see s/s 2012 & a/w 2012) i’ve joyfully yammered on at length about in the past.
anyway, according to lancia trend visions, “the latest collection by Winde Rienstra is inspired by C.P. Cavafy’s poem ‘Ithaca’, conceived like a journey through different cultures in the search for a personal identity…For the floral compositions on the fabrics Rienstra used various embroidery techniques: from the Turkish oya method to the French dentelle. The designer thus evokes new images of cyber nomads, that travel the meanders of the internet to join their tribes, founded on a common cultural identity.”
meanwhile, describing how the shoes were constructed of legos (of all things, and demonstrating the designer’s wonderful creativity, which is part of the reason i love her so), the dutch site modeblog went on to say that (trans.) “(t)he dresses were so incredibly beautiful, exemplary long silk dresses in shades of salmon, light blue and white. Edited to include crochet wool, sequins and faux fur combined with embroidery in wood in the form of pointed and round accents on the shoulders, chest or hips.”
and elsewhere, according to the dutch site fashion addict, “(t)he new collection of Rienstra mainly consists of pastel colours. The transparent silk fabrics are decorated with silk screen printing or embroidery. In her collection she has more than eight old handicraft techniques.”
finally, the blog dam style informed us that “(w)hen we interviewed Winde a few months ago she already told us of her part in the multicultural project ‘Spinning a Yarn‘, where she held workshops with women from diverse backgrounds. Winde translated the handicraft traditions and techniques of these different cultures into a new story.”
“The show opened with a video showing in kaleidoscopic detail the various techniques used and was soundtracked by another ancient tradition: a live ‘whistler’. The presentation consisted of a lot of the modern geometric shapes in wood and white silk that keep the continuity with her previous collections. But instead of being minimalistic these are now adorned with pastel coloured embroidery or are made from crocheted material creating a slightly more romantic look,” they concluded.
it was beautiful, beautiful. and i love watching the designer gradually evolve over time in the creative/artistic way (ahem) i was hoping for with iris van herpen (and which never really manifested). but that’s a conversation for another time, and i don’t want to end on a negative note here, so i’ll say it again: ms. rienstra’s show, as ever, was magnificent, stunning, and i can’t wait to see what she has in store for us next season.
