Eric LeBon was called on stage, slightly confused, and handed a symbolic denim-award-cup by a representative of the Van Deursen Foundation, the beneficiary party behind this award. Pictures by Titus Brein.
On Thursday Amsterdam International Fashion Week was unofficially
opened with the Off Schedule event in legendary pop-temple Paradiso.
Off Schedule featured the first edition of the Amsterdam Denim Award,
an annual award for up-and-coming international designers which gives
the winner the chance to produce, sell and market a capsule denim
collection under their own label
Participants
in the 2008 edition of the Amsterdam Denim Award were an Austrian label
apparently called "House of the very island's royal club division
Middlesex klassenkampf but the question is where are you, now" (what's
in a name, eh?), former-Vibskov designer Patrick Mohr from Germany,
British rising talent James Long, daring Dutch darlings and Beyond
[sic], the self-made man from Paris Eric LeBon, and Parisian fashion
collective Andrea Crews. All showed their S/S 09 collections and two
more denim outfits made especially for the award.
The
international jury, which included Diane Pernet, Beams Japan buyer
Juhji Kamasaki, Sport & Street founder Sabrina Ciofi and Austrian
designers Helga Schania and Herman Fankhauser from Wendy&Jim (who
just launched their own denim label) had a tough job selecting the
winner. It turned out to be a close call between Eric LeBon and James
Long, who both skillfully translated their strong signature silhouettes
into convincing denim looks, bringing a fresh yet commercial fashion
edge to the denim industry. James Long got a special jury mention and a
complimentary bottle of champagne, which he popped backstage to share
with his models. Eric LeBon's winning denim collection will be
reproduced into a professional denim sample collection to be shown at
several trade shows like CPH Vision in Kopenhagen.