fall|winter 20 preview
In January, I presented my newest FW20 collection during a show full of dance and entertainment in Rotterdam. All my work as a feminist designer is inspired by muses, powerful female icons from past and present. And for FW20, my muse will be crime writer Agatha Christie. A few months from now, you will get to discover the collections, and see how they tell stories like Agatha’s thrilling books do..
This fall, we will unravel the magical mystery of Agatha Christie. Forget the image of the elderly, grey-haired lady, married to her typewriter. “Very few of us are what we seem,” Agatha warned. The Queen of Crime was a feisty, freedom-loving feminist who used her imagination to become the most popular author of all time – outselling even the bible and William Shakespeare! – while living the most adventurous life. “I had the firm conviction that, if I went about looking for adventure, adventure would meet me halfway,” she explained. A great lover of plot twists in her novels, Agatha also orchestrated several in her own life, from her mysterious 11- day disappearance to her spontaneous solo trip to Baghdad on the Orient Express. The message: it’s never too late to (re)write your own story.
For Agatha, writing was a feminist act. How she delighted in turning one-dimensional female stereotypes such as the femme fatale or the sexy secretary into multi-layered manifestations of feminine empowerment. Long before Madonna would launch a new feminist wave by playing with iconic feminine identities, Agatha planted the seed of self-reinvention in several generations of women.
From ‘Death on the Nile’ to ‘Murder on the Orient Express’, Agatha’s fictional worlds will always have the power to unlock the doors to our imagination. With her high-glam style and exotic locations, she dares us to dream; with her bad-ass female characters she dares us to grow. Murder, she wrote, but in the end, Agatha’s story was all about embracing life and daring to be.
My newest Couture Collection is an ode to Agatha’s sharp-dressed sleuths. Channel your inner Queen of Crime in a spectacular combination of form-fitting finesse and timeless tartan. The clues are in the trench coatinspired details; the leather-look buttons, wide ‘lapels’ and snazzy belt. Wear my ‘The Detective’ and use your powers of deductions to discover your deepest desires.
Dare to use your imagination!
— Marlies Dekkers
Photo by Puck Kors
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MD Friends
Building bridges
From the Erasmus Bridge and the Mercedes-Benz Museum to Qatar’s metro network; Ben van Berkel’s iconic landmarks bring people together in rapturous beauty, again and again. I talked with the Dutch architect and educator about sensuality, ‘healthy’ buildings and the remarkable parallels between our designs.
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MD Friends
More than a feeling
Don’t ignore your emotions; they are much more powerful than you can imagine. By linking the magical world of emotions with hard science, Dutch scientist Pierre Capel, professor emeritus in experimental immunology, shows us the consequences of our feelings and the power of our minds. The message: we can do much more than we think. “Meditate. It’s the single best thing you can do for your health.”
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Marlies Says
Keto curious?
The fact that I feel bikini-confident all year round is, of course, a nice bonus. But for me, the biggest payoff of following the keto diet is the way it optimizes my health and gives me tons of energy.
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Marlies Says
Super (skin) food
‘If you can’t eat it, why put it on your skin?’. I pretty much live by this beauty adage. After all, with your skin being one of your body’s largest organs, anything – and I mean anything! – you put onto your skin will end up in your bloodstream.
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