Going to Amsterdam provided me the perfect opportunity to go and stalk Jan Taminiau, one of the earliest Dutch designers that I had heard about other than the obvious names. I like that he says he is resolutely Dutch whilst still being able to present his couture collections in Paris. So the HTNK agency in Amsterdam very helpfully set me up with a stalking opp by allowing us to venture into his studio in the red light district where Taminiau and his busy-bees were working away on custom orders for his clients. First we were confronted with a dress from his Check Check Mate collection which I've been meaning to post about but somehow in the back of my mind, I had predicted this predatory stalking opp so I've waited until now to talk it up. Tis' a good thing that I did wait because from the images, I didn't realise these silver embellishments were poppers and that they functioned to make the garments shaped differently dependong on how you snap them together. Basically what looks like a simple shift dress could ensue in hours of joy by just the snap of a button... and the noise is of course a joy in itself...
I did some snooping around his moodboard too... I have an unhealthy obsession with designers' moodboards and was pleased to find an array of visual references... the Elizabethan paintings of course directly led to Taminiau's huge checked ruffs...
Taminiau and his team were also working on these fabric experimentations with cut-out silk petals...
He also created a fragrance specifically for this 'Check Check Mate' collection... took a wee sniff... quite a heavily sweet scent...
This collection was actually presented online through a 360 degree-view video which is the perfect medium for looking at these giant dress/ruff structures. Now I can actually spot the snap buttons, which leaves me with an unhealthy urge to snap the ruffs into different shapes...
