Individuals A/W 2010

Fashion design

Sedate but sexy, Amfi student brand Individuals has come of age with a collection boasting garments that women from New York to Paris would love to own.

By Gabrielle Kennedy / 04-02-2010

It’s been an intellectual and emotional metamorphosis for the Individuals brand this past year and the word on the street was that the turmoil would show up on the catwalk. Last year Amfi decided to cease production of its full collections and to use its flagship store in Amsterdam more as a gallery space to exhibit ideas and process. Rather than producing the entire collection, the plan now is to stock classic pieces and a small selection of the current collection while focusing more on expanding markets outside of Holland.

So expectations were sober at best … at least until the show started.

Grown-up, feminine and oozing a sort of 30’s Paris street-chic, the looks possessed a refinement that was completely unexpected. Lush fabrics, flapper hemlines and plunging necks were a modest way to celebrate the body while retaining a cheeky and flirtatious modesty.

This is a decade beginning with at minimum an ambition to remove the excesses and unnecessary vulgarities of a more indulgent time – a time when fashion was proudly guilty of fueling our shared fetish to consume and discard while remaining blissfully oblivious of the consequences.

As if to contribute to that goal, this collection was timeless and exuded a quality rarely seen in a student collection. There were no gimmicky experiments or ostentatious statements. Stunningly styled models with wavy chignon hairdos and dark red lips walked out in pussy bow shirts, pencil skirts and refined lingerie in a colour palette ranging from rusty reds and mustard yellows to a classic Chanel black and champagne combination.

Jackets had an equestrian cut and were teamed with leggings or short tunics over opaque tights. There were long coats in fake fur and wool as well as sumptuous knits that piled up high around the neck and shoulders.

The collection is called “The Porcelain Papillon” referring not to the fragility or ephemeral nature of fashion, but instead to change, to accepting change and to making the most of a harsh reality.

Watch the runway show here.