Odoya, Yemanjá!
This season, we celebrate the 30th anniversary of marlies|dekkers with a joyful trip around the world to explore the multi-sensory, multidimensional delights of dance, from samba to street dance, from ballet to Bollywood. Ancient goddess cultures honored female sensuality as the source of all life, expressed by dance. Today, dance is as important as ever: a way to reconnect to our femininity and our natural physical intelligence. A blissful expression of self-care and self-love. A radical act of feminine feminism. Time to reawaken the ancient muses of dance, starting with Yemanjá.
Odoya (greetings), Yemanjá, Goddess of Samba! The epitome of mestiçagem – racial and cultural mixture – samba is a Brazilian phenomenon with roots in West Africa’s Yorùbá culture where goddess Yemanjá once ruled supreme. Associated with peacocks, the full moon, the stars and sea, creativity and female fertility, Yemanjá loves to dance, her movements reflecting the rhythm of the waves. Together with enslaved West Africans, Yemanjá travelled to Brazil, where her rhythm and sensual powers became the soul of samba. And her journey didn’t end there. Every day, she is empowering women all over the world by helping them unlock their hips and unleash their sensuality, one shake at a time. Yemanjá’s message is clear: let’s move out of our heads and into our bodies. Let’s groove to the rhythm of our hearts. Let’s get down and dirty, sweaty and sexy. Let’s dance!
For this season’s Couture Collection, I created a wearable ode to Yemanjá and the sensual soul of samba, combining vibrant pastel shades with a fluid interplay of lines. A clever placement print creates the illusion of panels wrapping themselves around your gorgeous curves while the all over gold lurex piping gives you that carnival sparkle. Hidden wiring creates a smooth silhouette and allows the transformation from innerwear to outerwear in a matter of seconds. Just add a flirty skirt!
Dance to the beat of your deepest desires. Dare to celebrate life!
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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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