Ronald Van Der Kemp has just launched their latest couture collection: Wardrobe # 13. This couture fashion house is known for innovating in their creative and production processes. It's finding more ethical and sustainable ways to produce great couture cuts and designs.
Unique, because the idea of recycling or upcycling is usually synonymous with messy patchwork. In his hands, material scraps from past seasons are transformed into attractive displays and don't look like patchwork.
In lieu of a catwalk, this Dutch designer brought crazy-looking couture to the almost abandoned Hotel de L'Europe in Amsterdam. In it, he imagines the various fantasy worlds that lie behind every door.
From party suites lit by strobe lights and luxurious rooms upholstered in Day-Glo colors, to lifeless lobbies featuring only brides without grooms. Everything feels a little bit American Horror Story: Hotel. Like hotel guests, no two appearances are cut from the same fabric.
Whether it's a party dress with a splash of paint that resembles a big brush you find in a car wash, or a patterned bodice that looks like melted lava purple, Ronald van der Kemp's creative vision is simply extraordinary. Leveraging what exists was a new approach for many designers last year. Ronald van der Kemp built his brand on the concept, but that doesn't mean he wasn't affected by the lockdown.
With the fewer recycled items he could collect, the challenge was higher, even though it hardly seemed like a hardship to him. The passion and creativity that defined her past work is evident here in the dress which is put together from three different fabrics that look different depending on the angle.
This concept is also evident in the show's opening ball gown, which is a patchwork of pieces of various sizes and shapes, including small rectangles made to look like strips of tape that glue one material to another.
There's also a crépon silk ruffled blouse made from Wardrobe 8 scraps, paired with jacquard plaid silk trousers with a kilt belt. Ronald Van der Kemp calls the process "ethical Dada," referring to the flow of Dadaism, a description that has taken on a new meaning since he started repainting and assembling collages from the piles of canvases he found.
The new collection features artwork cut and couture dresses, each of which is centered around a unique art-aesthetic concept. A statement and imagination seem to be the driving force behind the collection. This is an exploration of garment construction that is not only focused on achieving the couture level, but also how to do it sustainably.
