From the Beyond and Back

I'm weirdly watching BBC (yay for European cable…) in my hotel room, tired out from a day of walking around and around and around Amsterdam, scared of crazy taxi fares and bikes.  Whilst I'm contemplating bunions and Labour Party's demise, it seems the perfect time to post this very picture-heavy ode to And Beyond.  I really had the urge to post about themselves but thought it better to wait for a) their new, much-improved website to go live and b) their exhibition at Galerie Mr. de Wit to open today.  The urge came when we toured the Red Light District yesterday (more about that later…) and went to visit their studio… 

Jolanda van den Broek and Brigitte Hendrix really came to fruition with their label And Beyond then they presented their 3-D 'Spectacle' collection last year and has since taken it to numerous exhibitions, fashion shows and is still finding a fanbase with their 3-D prints (their new online shop is selling a piece at the mo..)

But it is their new collection "The Undaunted" which is their first full womenswear collection, taking them beyond installations and fashion concept pieces and I shamelessly want it all.  Inspired by being fearless, they initially looked to the carved figureheads on old ships as a symbol of strength but then used contemporary images of people burning flags as more direct references.  The flags and flames have been distorted and turned into prints and with the flame print in particular, I was a bit freaked out by the fact that no matter how I photographed it, the fabric looked like it was in motion, with a life of its own…

Still, whilst And Beyond have proved their solid fashion credentials, using other disciplines on their own terms is something that I think allows this young Dutch duo to add strength to the way their collection is portrayed.  The exhibition "The Undaunted II" which opened tonight presented pieces from their collection in installation form, with beautiful photographs and film by Barrie Hullegie… 

This is my favourite shot… a concealed one that opens up and…

…reveals more…

I've had a fascination with Sirens ever since my Homer/Ovid-reading days at school…I could think of nothing else when I was faced with this ensemble in the exhibition.  Beautiful apparition with an eerie undertone…

Looking back to their first conventional catwalk show which took place last month at the Arnhem Mode Biennale, of course the clothes become more of a hardened reality as opposed to an art installation.  Yes, there's digital printing but a sensitivity for shape and strangely enough an ease about them even if one or two pieces do have undulating wavy backs.  A few hardcore And Beyond fans at Amsterdam Fashion Week were wearing And Beyond very well indeed and that was just their 3-D collection that tested the waters of fashion.  This fuller and more comprehensive collection surely deserves to go the next step and go beyond the Netherlands…