Category: Fashion events

On May 14^th, only weeks after giving birth to her second son and launching her first collection, celebrity stylist Danie Bles opened her new, permanent vintage boutique supported by family and friends such as Anouk Smulders and Leontine Borsato.

A Dirty Habit

For decades wearing vintage clothing has been stigmatized, especially by the mainstream, as a dirty habit.  In the last few years though, as new vintage shops pop up everywhere we look, wearing unique, pre-owned pieces has become a huge trend.

 “Every time I tried to sell the concept of vintage fashion to my husband, he chuckled: Why on earth would you spend money on ‘dirty’ clothes? Only when we visited my favourite vintage stores in Paris, he understood”, Danie Bles explains.

Vintage Lovers

The godmother of vintage, according to The New York Times, can’t be anyone other than Barbra Streisand. The singer, who will perform at the Ziggo Dome in June, turned vintage into her signature style. Initially her love for vintage only translated into her personal wardrobe. However it did not take too long before her basement was a vintage shopping street. These days everyone from Sarah Jessica Parker to Kate Moss flaunt their eye for vintage. And while some struggle to incorporate their vintage treasures into their wardrobes, American stylist Rachel Zoe is constantly on the haunt for all things vintage and often shares her best-kept vintage shopping secrets on her website.

Mom Knows Best

Truce, the mother of Danie Bles, will welcome customers in the cosy boutique everyday and turn dreams into a reality by picking the perfect Chanel jacket or must-have Birkin bag for you. This is why we expect many high-heeled women to come knocking on this vintage heaven’s door soon. Especially since you can even hand in your own vintage designer items to sell here.

Address: Cornelis Schuytstraat 45, Amsterdam.

Queens Day on the 30^th of April has always been a special day in the Netherlands. This year, however, it was not your average Queens Day, but also the abdication of the beloved former Queen Beatrix. Her son King Willem-Alexander and his wife Maxima are taking over the reign and they did so in true royal style.

It all started early in the morning when the now Princes Beatrix and now King Willem-Alexander signed the official documents to pass on the crown. Alongside the new King was, of course, the new Queen, Maxima. Dying to see what dresses Maxima would wear, Little Soho surely wasn’t disappointed. Not by a long shot.

First Maxima appeared at the abdication ceremony wearing a champagne coloured outfit designed by Belgium fashion house Natan. A special detail is that the fabric used in the dress was a gift from Princess Beatrix to her daughter in law. After the long-awaited balcony scene – where we saw a mother proudly presenting her son as the new King and a father supporting his daughter as the now crown princess – it was time for a change of clothes.

And with a new look also came a new location. ‘De Nieuwe Kerk’,was the perfect setting for Willem-Alexander and Maxima to present themselves as the new King and Queen. The first Dutch royals to walk in, were Amalia, Alexia and Ariane accompanied by their grandmother; Princess Beatrix. Their adorable royal blue dresses were a great pre-show for the real show stopper, Queen Maxima. In a stunning dress by Jan Taminiau she looked just how a queen should look like. As a finishing touch, the matching cape added some regal flair to the dress. And let’s not forget about the jewelry. She wore the Mellerio sapphire tiara that was created by Parisian jeweler Mellerio, with 655 South African diamonds set in platinum and thirty-three Kashmir sapphires that are nestled at the bottom of the tiara. Extra sparkle came in the form of a giant oversized sapphire that belonged to Queen Anna of the Netherlands. The tiara was a present to Queen Emma from her beloved King Willem III. Maxima surely set the tone for the rest of her career as Queen.

And just when you think you’ve seen it all, Maxima makes her final appearance at the ‘Koningsvaart’ in a beautifully deep red lace and nude gown, also by designer Jan Taminiau. This last piece truly was the cherry on top of a royal cake and literally showed the world that a new Queen has risen.

Maxima, we at Little Soho salute you!

Last week we had a special event in Amsterdam; Karl Lagerfeld’s brand store, named ‘Karl’, opened its doors. The grand opening on Wednesday the 23^th of April truly was a red carpet affaire. The store in Amsterdam is the second store in Europe after Paris, and the plan is to have a Karl store in every big city in Europe.

De Negen Straatjes

The place to be in Amsterdam right now is ‘de negen straatjes’, these are nine little side streets with hot and happening restaurants, coffee shops, hair salons and of course clothing stores. So where else would ‘Kaiser Karl’ open a store? The store is 150 m2 big and covers two floors. The main floor is designated for the women’s collection, which include stunning bags, amazing shoes and eye-catching fashion. Always wanted denim shorts with the profile of Karl Lagerfeld? Well, don’t look any further, because the Karl store has them!

The digital age

Karl is a keen photographer and social media-user which also shines through in the Karl stores. By having iPads in the dressing rooms, you can take pictures and share these with your friends and family via social media and email. Downstairs in the men’s department you can scroll through the look book on an iPad that is attached to the clothing rail. You can immediately see how to combine the clothes and pick your favorite styles. Another digital feature is the guest book. Take a picture (again with the iPad) and post this on the Facebook page of the Karl store. You can leave a personal message to let everyone know you were there.

A Little Karl

You can also buy the amazing Toki Doki dolls in the Karl store. These limited edition collector’s items offer you a b-bopping Karl. If a soft and cuddly Karl is more your style, you should check out the Mua Mua dolls. Mua Mua Dolls are little mischievous monsters that protect and love its owner by absorbing all the negative energy and transforming it into love.  According to the label you can take little Karl where ever you go, but you have to make sure to treat him with love.

Besides clothes and dolls you can buy eye-catching coffee table books, stunning moleskine note books and quirky iPhone covers. With its high-end interior, heartwarming sales people and one-of-a-kind items, the Karl store really is a great addition to ‘de negen straatjes’.  Therefore, make sure to pay a visit to Karl and give the Kaiser himself Little Soho’s regards.

Remember those annoying days when you would hear a song, have it get stuck in your head, but just couldn’t remember its name? The brilliant app Shazam has put an end to that agony and gave us a new verb in the process. Whenever you hear a great song, just record or Shazam a fragment and like magic, all the info you need is right there on your smartphone.

Now imagine that same principle could be applied to fashion.  That’s right, Shazam is taking the next step by extending their app to fashion.  Sadly, it’s not yet advanced to the point where you can snap a  picture of your co-worker’s outfit and instantly find out where you can buy that cute blouse, but hopefully that will just be a matter of time.

CEO Andrew Fisher explains that Shazam will have the ability to identify a product in a TV show when somebody ‘Shazams’ it. Like when you’re watching a television show and want to know what dress the presenter is wearing, where you can buy it and what it costs, identifying it is just a matter of one easy step.

The mechanics behind the new app feature aren’t as advanced as you would think. The app doesn’t use image recognition software, but instead uses the same technique that it uses to recognize songs.  When Shazam tags a song it takes a fingerprint spectrogram of the audio and matches it to a vast music library. When you want to tag an item of clothing, Shazam uses the same technology and applies it to the sound the TV broadcast admits and matches it to their library of information, like the brands used and the clothes featured in that TV-program. That way users can find the information they are looking for, like where to buy the outfit. The downside is that Shazam must have a agreement with the TV channel for the extra information to be provided. This means you can’t just ‘Shazam’ every piece of clothing you see on TV.  Fisher does hope that image recognition is possible in the near future. So who knows? In a couple of years we might by ‘Shazaming’ our butts off while taking a walk outside.

Splash at the Conservatorium Hotel Amsterdam

How does water taste? And how does it smell? You will find out at the ultra-exclusive, uberfashionable event Splash at the Conservatorium Hotel in Amsterdam.

The ever-stylish Conservatorium hotel (check out our upcoming magazine for the ultimate guide to this hotel – Little Soho is in love with it) has done it again: after partnering with Amsterdam Fashion Week and Vogue’s Fashion Night Out, the hotel is giving us an ultra-stylish, exclusive fashion event that is a must-go for everyone who loves good food, beautiful surroundings and fashionable company.

On Sunday, March 10^th, the hotel hosts Splash – a culinary fashion event involving water, food and perfume. Head chef Schilo van Coevorden – renowned for his exciting Dutch fusion cooking – partners up with world famous Master perfumer Angelo Orazio Pregoni. In a never-before seen event at the hotel’s Symphony Room , both the master chef and the ‘Nose’ will take on the challenge to give water a taste and a smell by transforming it into a gastronomic menu and a fragrance involving the same ingredients. At the end of the night, you will not only be entertained by slow cooking that will tantalize your taste buds, but you will also have seen and smelt how exclusive perfume is created.

Seatings for this event are by invitation only. For information and bookings, contact SCHILOMEETSANGELO@CONSERVATORIUMHOTEL.COM

Splash, Conservatorium hotel, Van Baerlestraat 27. 1071 Oud-Zuid, Amsterdam

Last December, Chanel showed their Métiers d’Art collection in the birth place of Mary, queen of Scots, the Linlithgow Palace in Scotland. Titled Paris- Edinburgh, the collection presented a look that was a hybrid between Scottish heritage and Chanel.

When Coco Chanel had a love affair with the Duke of Westminster (whom she met in 1923), she adopted a more outdoorsy style. After all, a lady can’t go fishing and hunting in her prettiest dress, and it was her need for more practical clothing that made her start wearing the woolens and tweeds that up until then were reserved for men, but not without adding her own special twist them. This essentially evolved to become the style Chanel is known and revered for. In the Métiers d’Art collection, Karl Lagerfeld magnified that heritage by dedicating it to Edinburgh and by appointing Tilda Swinton, a true, redheaded Scot, to be the face of this collection.

Lagerfeld summed up the collection, that had a lot of Scottish influences like tartan prints and kilts, as followed: ‘It’s the idea of Scotland, the mix of Coco Chanel and Mary Stuart, two queens of fashion’.

According to Lagerfeld, Tilda Swinton is also a queen of fashion. With her unconventional look, her apparent Scottish heritage and her timeless elegance, he describes her as a true, modern woman. Chanel’s new campaign will hit the shelves in June.

As the frenzy surrounding the Oscar’s started to peak, last night was quite a busy night in Los Angeles. Stars have been preparing for this night weeks in advance. Getting facials here, having a little nip/tuck there (the trick is to look fresh and not over-botoxed)… And of course dozens of stylists have been working themselves into a near- nervous breakdown with what is probably considered the most important part of the evening: ‘The Dress’.

As it is, choosing an Oscar- dress is not something to be taken lightly. Pick the right one, and your stardom can soar to unexpected heights. Unfortunate enough to choose the wrong one? Rest assured that the humiliation will haunt you for years and years to come. Now that Oscar-night is over, we take stock of how all these efforts have paid off. Which dresses were the most beautiful of the evening? Who was the belle of the ball?

Metallics were hot. Nicole Kidman en Naomi Watts both appeared in beautiful liquid sequined gowns. The dramatic shoulder detail on Naomi Watts’ dress stood out and looked absolutely beautiful. The coloring of Nicole Kidman’s dress matched her hair beautifully. Naomi Watts’ wore a gown by Armani Privé, and Nicole Kidmanwent for L’Wren Scott.

Selma Hayek en Charlize Theron both looked like ethereal queens. Both wore beautiful structured dresses. Charlize Theron’s dress was by Christian Dior Couture and Selma Hayek wore Alexander McQueen.

Rene Zellweger and Jessica Chastain went for nude metallic. They were both fabulous, fitted dresses. Jessica Chastain went for a sweetheart neckline with a small train, whereas Rene Zellweger went for a more square and structured shape that accentuated her physique. Rene Zellweger wore Carolina Herrera and Jessica Chastain wore Armani Privé.

Old Hollywood beat out young Hollywood. Dear young actresses, take note: this is how you dress for the Oscars. In bright neon colors that were completely on trend, two of Hollywood’s grande dames weren’t afraid to command some attention. The dazzling and ageless Jane Fonda (75) looked gorgeous in canary yellow Atelier Versace. Another ageless beauty, Sally Field, looked stunning in red Valentino. Sally Fields’ dress had a light see trough effect that showed skin in the right spots. They both covered their arms and looked striking and age-appropriate.

The fabulous curvy women Adele and Octavia Spencer stole the show by wearing elegant dresses and accentuating their curves. Adele chose a dress by Jenny Packham, a black creation with lots of beading. Even though she looked absolutely stunning, Adele did complain that the dress weighed 15 kg. Octavia Spencer chose a shade that complemented her radiant skin color. The dress was from designer Tadashi Shoji, and is characterized by amazing draping around the shoulders. She embodied old Hollywood with the ball gown.

Classic France design house Hermés is known for making amazing scarves. Their beautiful prints are a longtime favourite among people around the whole world. So what would happen if this classic France designer collaborates with the edgy Japanese designer Rei Kawakuba of Commes des Garçons? Well, you get this amazing, drool worthy scarf collection with the beautiful name: Comme des Carrés.

Busy little bee

Rei Kawakubo designer of Comme des Garçons has been busy this year. Aside from opening a New York office she has collaborated with Hermés to launch not one but two special silk scarf collections, or carrés as they are affectionately known.  The collection has the beautiful name Comme des Carrés and will be launched at the Comme de Garçon stores this week. The collection morphs prints, by the two design houses, together to create a beautiful new image.

Comme des Carrés

The scarves will surely be collector’s items. They combine the history of Hermés with the edgy prints of Comme des Garçons. A beautiful Hermés marine print from the 1950’s combined with black polkadots, creates a wonderful new image. Rei Kawakubo says the following about the prints: “I was looking forward to the change that would happen when I added something to the beautiful paintings of Hermès scarf designs”. According to her, they created something new through the addition of abstract images.

They really did create something special and it is really interesting to see such a unique collaboration. Let’s face it, if design house Hermés calls us, we would be delighted to create such beauty with them.

Source: W magazine

Fashion designers have proved themselves yet again during the Amsterdam Fashion Week. Their incredible creative minds have translated into their awesome designs and spectacular shows. But move over AFW, it’s time for New York Fashion Week!

Fashion Week is New York’s city single largest media event, and provides top designers an international platform to showcase their collection to more than 100.000 industry insiders from around the world, including buyers, editors, retailers, celebrities, VIP’s and more. With more than 80 designers shows over 8 days, it is known as the premier event worldwide where style, beauty, supermodels and celebrities come together to celebrate the best in fashion. Fashion Week New York, sponsored by Mercedes Benz, knows how to take this event to a whole other level.

Get ready for top designers, such as Rebecca Minkoff, Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste, Vivienne Tam, Zac Posen and last but not least the queen of wedding dresses, designer Vera Wang, who will surely blow your mind during their shows.

If you want to find out more, click here for the complete schedule of this event.

Last Saturday shopaholics and fundraisers came together@ the Fashionbash. Fashionbash by ShopVIP.com is an initiative of actress Carolien Spoor and was organised for the second time at the MASTERS OF LXRY at the Amsterdam RAI.

It was the opportunity to score a Dior bag for less or clothes of Dutch celebrities like Ferry Doelen, Hanna Verboom and Jennifer Hoffman. Jennifer even donated her Unielle Couture dress which she wore at the Gouden Televizierring this year.

All the money of the sold items went to GET IT DONE, a foundation by Hanna Verboom. This non-profit organisation uses social media to stimulate people to ‘get it done’ and start off their projects. From poverty reduction to building toilets in Zambia, everything is possible. Check out www.getitdone.org to see all their projects.