Loving the Lichting

When you graduated from university, did you have that moment when you said, ‘Now what?’ I know I did. For many students the gap between what they learned in school and what they needed to do to get a nice job, was confusing and at times overwhelming, particularly for those who studied anything remotely creative. In 2007, Lichting was founded to bridge the gap between students with the fashion industry. Each year they pick the best graduates from the 7 Dutch fashion academies and hosts a fashion show with people in the industry in attendance and an award of €10,000 and a trip to New York Fashion Week to help G-Star Raw with their denim couture show. Among the panel of judges were Susie Bubble, Garance Dore, Lucas Ossendrijver and Wendy Dagworthy.

This year 14 designers were selected for the show, and each of them was completely unique from each other. The show itself I felt to be a bit more substantial than your average runway show, as the 14 designers each had their collections, which ranged from grungy to eloquent, inspirations ranged from financial crises, to royalty, to window crystals. There were a few designers who really stood out, but most of them had that one piece that made your mind sparkle a little bit. I was really surprised how differently the clothes presented themselves in real life, some collections I thought were interesting in pictures and in theory like Aida Sarancini who designed a collection based on dreams, on the runway the unfinished edges appeared messy. While Ratna Yo’s collection appeared to be something I might have seen someplace before on the web, in real life the pleating and sculptural quality of the pieces were crisp and well formed. There was the Jordan de Kok collection, an androgynous take on the suit, I absolutely did not like it when I first saw it, but a few days later, I’m obsessing over the misplaced collars and half trousers. And as much as I loved, loved, loved Erna Einarsdottir’s work, before the show, something got lost on the runway, as her handmade textiles are really something I’d like to see close up, and have some time to really take it in, though, after the show, many people raved about her collection, I had a feeling they also wanted to see more.

The winner, Ann Boogaerts (shown top image)  created a collection inspired on the young Fabiola, a Belgian queen from the 1950’s. The dress were crisp, dramatic and boldly colored, with an exaggerated, yet elegant silhouette. To be honest, I was surprised she won, as of all the collections hers, seemed the most conservative, but she had the most interesting back story, and she conveyed it the best. Of course we love our queens… so how could she not win? I was also intrigued by the fact that the high waisted, exaggerated silhouette was also a strong theme with Designer for Tomorrow winner, Sam Frenzel, another designer who had also taken the more classic with a twist route rather than the science fiction/rocker chic. Perhaps this is a cue that the fascination with spikes and neo-gothic androids are fading for something playful, yet a bit more real (for those of us who aren’t badasses).

Last but not least, as part of the show, but not… I was really delighted to finally meet Susie Bubble for the first time after reading her blog practically every day since 2006. Of course I was gushing like a school girl, but when have ever been able to keep my cool? That’s right, never.

Here’s a slide show for you, because there’s a lot to see here!