IKKAI by Gerda Postma - The aura of fashion

The name IKKAI, which is partly used as a pseudonym, emerged from a fascination with old family traditions and gender issues. It is a combination of the characters Gerda and Kai, also occurring in a story by H.C. Anderson, and used as a tradition to replace the name Gerda for Kai. The work ´IK´ means ´I´ in Dutch, the name KAI represents the male side of the twofold personage. IKKAI turned into an alter ego of neutral gender.

Please introduce yourself:

My life started on the countryside in the northern part of the Netherlands.

I make installations related to fashion. Within the installation, I use several disciplines like illustration, animation and film where clothing and accessories function as a communicative device within the concept, aiming to redefine fashion ideals.

Where are you based?

Amsterdam.

What inspires you in general?

Films, music, social developments, design art, stories, museums.

What is it like to be a young designer in your city/country?

There are a lot of opportunities in our country when it comes to art and design.

When it comes to art and design the quality level is high, it is progressive and the Dutch are open to new initiatives.

STRIKKS - knitwear made in Maastricht

Please introduce yourself: 
STRIKKS is a design studio and label for the development and making of designer knits, located in Maastricht, The Netherlands. It is a lab for researching the possibilities of knitting and production processes. We offer a collection of clothing and interior products that are knitted, or that have a clear link to the knitting technique. Knitted pullovers, cardigans, scarves, pillows, throws or bags. Each product you buy, is not just one of many. We produce limited editions and special requests made to measure. 

What inspires you in general? 
Textures. That could be anything, from a microscopic image of paper and soap to the hesitating lines from a pencil or a marker. Just as long the image gives us enough information to create interesting constructions we can experiment with. 

Aimee Matthew-John: Integrating female and male attributes into fashion

Please introduce yourself: 

Aimee Matthew-John, from Milton Keynes, specialising in Womenswear.

What inspires you in general?

One of the most interesting things for me is talking to people with stories to tell. I love to listen to tales of travels and experiences and to see the ways in which these things have informed a person’s style or outlook.

I’m fascinated by the idea of clothing as disguise- becoming something/someone else by stepping into a garment or outfit, choosing a character to wear each day.

And clothing that builds history, memories, meaning over time.

Fashion aside; artisan bakers.

Where are you based?

In London

What is it like to be a young designer in your city/country?

Perhaps the best thing is having so many people around to work with, go over ideas with, be motivated by... There are many creatives and opportunities to collaborate as well as resources and inspiration. Most encouragingly, people are excited by design and want to see what you have to offer.

In professional terms, again, there are plenty of places to start however it is demanding and difficult to sustain yourself. It can be hard to sustain a business in fashion for several reasons- keeping up with the rate of consumption and expectation, competition with larger players on the highstreet who are able to produce 'cheaper'/ faster clothing, as well as contending with the widespread perception of ‘value’. I think that designers have to try to spread an appreciation for skilled work and clothing that will last beyond trends.

Meet fashion designer Maddalena Mangialavori

Please introduce yourself: My name is Maddalena Mangialavori and I'm a young Italian fashion designer. I've always had an inexplicable but visceral passion for fashion, and after my BA in fashion design in Florence I decided it was time for me to do a more "international" experience. So I came to London. I just graduated at a Master Level, after 17 months of hard work, in Fashion Design Technology at London College of Fashion.

What inspires you in general? I'm a traveller. I've always been since I was a kid, and I'm used to absorb as much as I can from the places I visit, from different cultures, different traditions. I would say inspiration comes from opening yourself to a certain reality and let some of that reality touch your chords. But inspiration is just the beginning of a journey, it just points me a direction and once I find it I usually spend a loooot of time researching and digging on a certain topic, and THAT really feeds my creativity.

Where are you based? I now divide myself between London and Italy.

FASHIONCLASH Maastricht 2013 Nomade

FASHIONCLASH Maastricht celebrates its 5th edition and therefore the fashion event will last for nine days this year. 

As it is the 5th edition we are in a nostalgic mood and are looking back to turbulent years. Five years ago no one considered Maastricht as a place where you can find avant-garde fashion. We created FASHIONCLASH with a strong desire to create a clash with fashion as a starting point. ‘Clash’ stands for an inspiring encounter of different designers, disciplines, cultures and audiences. 
Today, Maastricht is a place where once a year emerging talents from all the world gather to show their visions and dreams.

FASHIONCLASH Maastricht 2013 - temporary settlement for Nomads from all over the world

Fashion is a discipline that like no other captures the spirit of time and manages to translate it to form. The world is in crisis and more than ever, the upcoming talent needs a stage. Not only to show their beautiful creations but mainly because it tells us something about our contemporary world. As nomads the young talents are traveling through countries and cities, driven by hope and uncertainty and looking for venues to tell their story. Based on this concept we have created the 2013 campaign image. We created a symbolic persona as a statue for the young talent.
More than hundred emerging designers and artists from all over the world will gather during the 5th edition of FASHIONCLASH Maastricht.

Looking back to 5 years of FASHIONCLASH Maastricht

In between time we are working very hard to make everything possible.
Here are some 'in between snaps' from our office.

show participants wall

 collaboration with Studio Stad

expo 

Sign Up for FASHIONCLASH Maastricht 2012

FASHIONCLASH Maastricht 2012!
We would like invite you to sign up for the 4th edition of the fashion event “FASHIONCLASH Maastricht, an inspiring fashion event that shows the art of fashion around the concept of “fashion clash” .

8, 9 & 10 juni 2012 in SAMdecorfabriek
Maastricht

FASHIONCLASH Maastricht is an successful international and interdisciplinary event where upcoming designers/artists from various disciplines get the opportunity to present their work to a diverse audience. The program includes fashion shows, exhibitions, theatrical presentations, the Clash project, party, etc. You can sign up for the fashion show program and/or for the exhibition.
 Sign up quickly, at least before January 29, 2012!

FASHIONCLASH MAASTRICHT 2012 Application forms: Download here!