It’s a wedding dress that’s also meant to be worn on the day your soul mate passes away. The wear and tear in the fabric symbolizes a full life lived together. Most women keep their wedding dress their whole lives and never wear it again. This wedding dress, that I designed, can be worn to celebrate the life you had together. From a beautiful beginning to a beautiful end. Till death do us part,…

While working on a fashion project I tried to incorporate many elements of my home country, Suriname, in one garment. I tried to incorporate many fabrics from different cultural origins represented in the melting pot that Suriname is. While designing the garment I made sure the fabrics came together in a knot that symbolizes the strength cultural diversity and unity creates.

While strolling through the streets of Amsterdam regularly, where I was living at the time, I noticed that the large groups of Asian tourist are hard to miss. Everywhere you go in Amsterdam you will find large groups of Asian tourists strolling along the streets, taking pictures of the local architecture and trying the local cuisine.

I have always been interested in Asian culture, and the Asian tourists in Amsterdam were smitten with Dutch culture. I wanted to create something for the Asian tourist in Amsterdam that would feel familiar but at the same time present them with the many elements of Dutch culture. 

One of the first things I came across, while researching Asian tourists in Amsterdam, is that more often than not they couldn’t comprehend the fact that the majority of Amsterdam was below sea level. Somehow they didn’t feel save. In order to create a space that Asian tourists would feel safe in Amsterdam I would have to create something that would be safe on water. That is just what I did.

I created a floating tourism experience. Influenced esthetically by Asian Architecture and combined with Dutch elements. A place where Asian tourists could enjoy Dutch cuisine in a restaurant that serves typical Dutch delicatessens. At that same floating venue they can buy typical Dutch souvenirs like porcelain figurines made in Delft, a small Dutch city known for its Porcelain. That same venue would also allow them to watch and purchase documentaries about Dutch culture.

And for obvious reasons I called it, The Mill.

The fashion scene is in the media spotlight as New York fashion week is in full swing. Model Coco Rocha is making headlines stating that she’s not in demand anymore because of her size. Rocha is a Size 4 and most of the sample pieces designers send out on the runway are size 0.  It’s the same reason Victoria Secrets’ model Doutzen Kroes said she decided not to do any other runway shows besides the Victoria Secrets fashion show.

Coco Rocha used to weigh 108 lbs when she just started out with modeling 6 years ago. Now 21-years-old Coco Rocha weighs a healthy 125 lbs standing 5 ft 10 inches tall. According to the Huffington Post, Coco Rocha would rather just eat a Hamburger instead of starving herself to death.

Rocha, who walked for Diane Von Frustenburg last Sunday and in Zac Posen’s show on Monday, is a vocal advocate for healthy body image in the fashion scene. She regularly visits schools and talks to girls and says she feels the need to tell these girls that what appears on the cover of magazines is not entirely based on the truth.

Alexander McQueen Spring 2010

Alexander Mc Queen, one of the most influencial fashion designers of our time, was found dead today in his apartment in London at age 40. This happened exactly a week and two days after his mother passed away. According to the UK Daily Mail Alexander Mc Queen, whose real name is Lee McQueen, hung himself and his body was found on the morning of February 11th. T, the fashion magazine by the New York Times writes: “The news of Alexander McQueen’s suicide is as sad as it is tragic; the fashion world is poorer without him.”

Alexander McQueen was known for his extravagant designs. The news of his death coincided with the start of the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in New York where Anna Wintour, Editor-In-Chief of American Vogue, was attending the BCBG Max Azria show when she heard the news.  Although McQueen usually doesn’t show at New York Fashion Week and wasn’t scheduled to show at London Fashion week, he was due to show his ready-to-wear collection at the Paris fashion shows in March.
 
McQueen obtained a Masters Degree in Fashion Design at the very prestigious Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. His graduation collection was purchased entirely by British fashion stylist Isabella Row. It has been said that Row was the one who convinced McQueen to change his first name, Lee, to Alexander which was his second name at the time. 

Alexander McQueen Fall 2006

In 1996 the president of LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton, Bernard Arnault, appointed McQueen the head designer position at Givenchy. McQueen held this position until March 2001. But McQueen parting ways with Givenchy didn’t come as a surprise because in December of 2000 the Gucci Group bought 51 percent of McQueen’s own company while he remained serving as the Creative Director. This led to stores opening in almost all the fashion capitals of the world, London, Milan and New York.
 
Queen Elizabeth II made McQueen a Commander of the British Empire for his fashion leadership in 2003. McQueen also won the “British Designer of the Year” award four times between 1996 and 2003. He was also one of the youngest designers ever to receive this honor.
 
McQueen married his boyfriend, George Forsyth, in 2000. Forsyth is a profession documentary filmmaker. The ceremony took place in Ibiza on supermodel Kate Moss’ yacht and was immensely covered by the media. Kate Moss was also one of the bridesmaids.
 
McQueen was known as someone who always sent shockwaves through the world of fashion. With his controversial designs and fashion shows. Nobody would know that he had one of the most fashionable creative minds in world by looking at him and yet he did. He will be missed. May he rest in peace.

Photos taken from Flickr Creative Commons Users 10corsocomo and cristee12

Some designs just have that certain something that’s unique and you can’t quite put your finger on it. All you know is that you’re mesmerized by a simple elegant line or an intriguing fabric with texture so sweet it makes your mouth water. This bowl designed by Gewoon, an interior product design firm based in Amsterdam, does just that. It’s simple, elegant and the material is delicious. Like many of Gewoon’s products, this bowl called Tom, is made out of felt.

Gewoon is Dutch for ordinary. But even though I know the designer behind this amazing brand, Loes Wagemans, prides herself in creating ordinary pieces there is nothing ordinary about her or her pieces. Loes graduated from Artemis. Artemis is one of the most excellent institutions dedicated to the visual arts in Europe. It’s also the same Academy I graduated from, only Loes graduated years before I did. The high standard in esthetic excellence that is expected from an Artemis alum is clearly represented in Loes’ work.

When I was a student at the academy, Loes was one of the brilliant talents who guided the students and during her first introduction she showed us this bowl and I fell instantly in love with it. I followed Loes to Milan later that year where I had the honor of being her press representative at the Salone Del Mobile 2005 where Loes’ products, including this bowl, were of great interest.

It won’t be a surprise if the Queen of The Netherlands ate an apple that she got form this bowl because this bowl is part of the interior decoration of the Lounge for the Royal family and V.I.P lounge at Schiphol, the Dutch International Airport. This unique design has many interesting tales connected to it and it is still very young. That is why this ordinary bowl is so super.

Photo taken from flickr user myuibe

The iPad, another great invention by Apple, was introduced at an event in San Francisco today. CEO Steve Jobs talked about all the features of this new product. It was designed for people who want to have their movies, TV shows, games and books wherever they may go.

The most notable aspect of this new member of the apple family is the iBooks application. This application has the iBook Store fully integrated. I think the iPad will definitely give the kindle something to think about.

The iPad will be available starting at $499. Connectivity to the Internet is possible via WiFi and 3G. At&t will be providing the services for the iPad and there will be no contract necessary. This is a new pricing system for At&t which I very much enjoy. Technology should become cheaper and more affordable with each passing day and this is yet another little towards the cheaper availability of technology.

It’s half an inch thick, has very sleek esthetics and fits in perfect with the rest of all of apples other products. It looks great! But that has never been one of apple’s weaknesses. If it weren’t for their determination to esthetics and design I don’t think apple would’ve been what it is today. Apple has always shown that esthetics and design matter and I solute them for that.

I don’t want to start the year out on a sad note but I if I want things to change I should start doing something about it.

Jasper Morrison was born in London in 1959, and graduated in Design at Kingston Polytechnic Design School, London and The Royal College of Art for Postgraduate studies. After years of successful designs and an amazing career including setting up an office for design in London in 1986, Jasper Morrison Ltd now includes a design office in Paris.

In 2002 Jasper Morrison created corks for one of the most prestigious interior design product brands in Europe elegantly named Moooi. This simple and sophisticated design is a sight to behold.

The cork seat has been added to the collection of the MoMa in New York City and is a very appreciated piece of art in the design industry around the world.  Somehow this piece of art made its way to American University. I don’t know how long it has been part of the interior decoration of the Mary Graydon Center but as long as I have been student at American University this piece of design art has been sitting in a corner without any significant purpose.

It’s obviously neglected and sometimes there’s trash around it. Sometimes the cleaning staff uses it to put their equipment on it. That’s a very expensive piece of furniture to put your equipment on. These corks are sold on stardust.com for $409 a piece.

My apologies to Jasper Morrison, I’m sorry this is how your brilliant designs are being treated. At least now I know how my tuition is being spent.

Have you ever been on a road trip with your friends and all of a sudden, there it is, in the distance. You know what it is but you hope you’re wrong. As you come closer you realize that you were right. It’s road kill. You want to look away but at the last second your curiosity gets the best of you and you sneak a peek. You think; disgusting! But you still looked.

That tension between attraction and repulsion is what Studio OOOMS attempted to capture with their brilliant carpet design. The soft material is very inviting but the image of a car-flattened fox and its blood surrounding it is less desirable. Being Dutch educated in the arts definitely left its mark as Dutch Designers continue to dazzle me with their unique and innovative creations.

Photos taken from the Studio OOOMS website

 www.oooms.nl