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Fashion designers are competing in a global market that spans from Shanghai to Los Angeles, from Stockholm to Durban. Veerle Windels takes a look at six talented players, each hailing from a European capital. Fly with us, and meet fashion’s new crop
Is he a drummer, a filmmaker or a fashion designer? Born in Jutland, in the West of Denmark, Henrik started playing the drums at the age of ten. He won a break-dancing competition at the age of 12 but the fashion bug bit him and off to London he went, where he studied fashion design at Central Saint Martin’s. His graduation didn’t go unnoticed: The Danish national television station DR2 ran a six-week programme based on it in August 2001. His work appeared in magazines like The Face, Dazed & Confused, even ID. He was one of the finalists of the Smirnoff Fashion Award and started his career as designer for the Danish brand Bruuns Bazaar.
Launching his collection soon after that, Henrik Vibskov was picked up by trendsetting stores such as Colette in Paris, Pineal Eye in London, Midwest in Tokyo and Traffik in Moscow. But the Dane didn’t neglect his other talents. He has been making films and documentaries, working with Thomas Jessen on projects like ‘The Monk’ or ‘The Egg’, and with Japanese artist Mitsunori Asakura on ‘Pigs in Tokyo’. Henrik Vibskov is a regular during men’s fashion week in Paris, where this season he has shown his down-toearth view on menswear. www.henrikvibskov.com
“Every collection starts with a story,” says Gabriele Colangelo, the designer of Amuleti Joy, the young designer collection of the Muriela Burani Group. “It can be a painting, or the scene from a book I’m reading.” Thus, his universe stretches from Art Nouveau to Oscar Wilde, from past to present. Colangelo’s path to glory began when he won a scholarship to the European Fashion School in Via Manzoni, in Milan. His work experience started in 1998 at Ittierre, the top Italian manufacturer, where he stayed for five years, in the meantime he designed an underwear line and a womanswear collection. In 2002, he joined Versace, followed by Just Cavalli. Being offered the opportunity to start his own collection at Muriella Burani World was a gift, says Gabriele. “The Italian fashion system is quite conservative, and not many manufacturers give young designers the opportunity to build a universe of their own. Mariella Burani gave me that opportunity.”
Gabriele is the son of furriers, so fashion was always part of the family DNA. Still, he feels pretty much a self-made man. “At school, you try to be as creative as possible. But once you’re working, you’re managing a product, and forgive me for saying, but it’s not just art.” Yet, Gabriele’s style is pretty arty. He goes for ultra-feminine looks, working with lots of colours, embroidery and pearls. Precious materials are often the basis of a collection. “I’m truly a dreamer,” says Gabriele, who sketches like a real artist. “I would like to have lived in the 19th century. The shapes of Victorian style in combination with a bohemian feeling – it pretty much sums up how I see fashion.”
The world of cinema has inspired plenty of fashion designers, and Meritxell Miras Abella (or Txell as her friends call her) is no exception. Txell grew up in Sabadell but moved to Barcelona to study fine arts at the University, where she graduated in 1999. She made her debut on the catwalks of Gaudí fashion week in Barcelona in September 2003, using the atmosphere of Ingmar Bergman’s film ‘Persona’ as the basis for her first woman’s collection. “I’m very much into construction and deconstruction of form”, Txell says. As for colours and general impact on stage, Txell’s work mostly comes in black, in combination with an understated colour palette.
Her work was soon noticed. In June 1999 she took part in ModaFad in Barcelona, and in November 2001 she won the ‘insideouting’ competition organised by Milan’s prestigious Domus Academy and in July 2003, the Camera della Moda in Italia called her ‘the most promising newcomer’. Around that time she was picked up by the British designer Neil Barrett, to produce a womenswear line, working from his studio in Milan. Every season, Txell Miras presents her women’s collection on the Pasarela Gaudi in Barcelona. During the latest fashion show in July, she clearly showed us her view on the feminine body again: clothes were wrapped and twisted around the models, reminiscent of the conceptual work of designers such as Helmut Lang, Comme des Garçons or even Hussein Chalayan. Look for Txell Miras on www.moda-barcelona.com
One could call Belgian designer Romy Smits a special case. She never studied fashion, and she didn’t start her own collection until she was 35. However, Romy has always had good taste, even before she started working at the studio of Dries Van Noten. But in the Morocco souks, she became fascinated by the glamour of viscose threads, “It made me want to become a fashion designer,” she says. Ever since, Romy Smits has made very special collections. ‘Radiance’ was small but made it into the windows of Barneys New York. Most of Romy’s work is unique and handmade. She loves painting on textiles, giving each garment a unique character, and maximising the crafted feel.
Last year, Romy opened a studio annex shop in Antwerp’s Sint-Jorispoort. She bucks the fashion trend of short termism; “My collection is certainly different from what you normally find. I would like to go back to the traditions of the metier. To an artisan way of working, to knowing what a material is all about. I also take time to work on any new collection. I hate the six months schedule that is so typical of fashion. As if a collection can get old-fashioned after half a year.” www.romysmits.com
Yiorgos Eleftheriades is far from a beginner. Over the last 15 years, working from his studio in the centre of Athens, he has designed over 36 collections for women and 18 collections for men. Yiorgos goes for an easy-going glamour; he loves different textures and neutral tones.
Yiorgos has presented his work during Athens Fashion Week, but has also showed in Paris, London, Milan and Berlin, making his audience very international. Aside from his fashion work, he has closely worked with theatre directors, working on costumes for plays and dance. And needless to say, high profile Greek actors and actresses and socialites know him well. “I love an urban style, but always with a very classic base”, he says. “I’m very interested in three dimensional coupes, and I love tailoring.” He likes playing with the masculine/feminine side of forms, and combined with neutral tones, often integrates glitter into his collections. www.yiorgoseleftheriades.gr
Born in Arcos, Anadia, Dino Alves studied painting at the Oporto Art Polytechnic, going on to study photography at the INEF Institute. After working at the Portuguese Cinema Archives, he first exhibited at the 1994 ‘Manobras de Maio’ and began designing costumes for the theatre.
Still, Dino Alves is a fashion designer pur sang and is one of the highlights of Moda Lisboa fashion week in Lisbon, where he first mounted shows for Ana Salazar, before starting his own collection.
Alves is a busy man, a regular participant in exhibitions and fashion contests. In 2000 he took part in the Arkhetypon exhibition at the Portuguese Design Centre and the Cosmopolis catwalk show, along with such luminaries as Azzedine Alaia and Jean Paul Gaultier. In November 2004, he was invited to participate in the ‘Biennale Internationale du Design’ in St Etienne, France.
He often takes on consultancy projects and is the man behind the HOSPITAL DA ROUPA S.O.S. DINO ALVES, a sort of Emergency Fashion Clinic. A great idea, given the fact that Portuguese fashion is not always taken seriously outside Lisbon. Perhaps with designers like Dino, this is set to change. Look for Dino Alves on www.modalisboa.com
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