Amsterdam Fashion Week premieres under new direction and at new location

By

Shomara Roosblad

Published
Sep 5, 2018

Amsterdam Fashion Week will premiere its first edition under the direction of its new owner, stylist Danie Bles, running for three days from Thursday 6 September. It will take place at a new location, Museumplein in Amsterdam.

Dutch designer David Laport will open the event on Thursday evening. Other highlights of the week include: Lichting 2018, collections by graduates of Dutch fashion and art schools, on Friday; a runway show by department store Hudson’s Bay on Saturday; and shows by designer Zoe Karssen and supermarket chain Lidl on Sunday, the closing day.

In contrast to previous years, AFW’s fashion shows will only be accessible to industry professionals. However, the organization also announced an off-schedule program, which includes a public pop-up cinema that broadcasts a live stream of the collections; various fashion talks and workshops; and fashion tours in collaboration with the Rijksmuseum.

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During the week, AFW will also premier its ‘See Now, Buy Now’ formula aimed at the consumer, who will be able to immediately purchase the collections during the livestream.

On 28 August, only a week before the launch of AFW, the City of Amsterdam granted a permit for the event. When the organization first announced the Museumplein as the venue, residents opposed its arrival at the square,  arguing that the event is too elitist. AFW, however, claims that with the addition of the off-schedule program, the event is now open to the public.

AFW launched in the Netherlands in 2004 and was staged in previous years at the Westergasterrein. In 2010 owner Pieter de Haan sold the company to Brand2Event Group and Maussen Group. In 2016 Telegraaf Media Groep purchased AFW, and the group announced a year later that the company was on sale again. At the time, the media company argued that it did not yield enough from the event.

In November 2017, stylist Danie Bles acquired the event and changed both the dates from editions in January and July to February and September, and the location. Bles said previously that she hopes that fashion week becomes an industry event again, that should be experienced throughout the city.

AFW will run until Sunday 9 September.