There’s beauty in oil stains, in their dark blue nuances with iridescent reflections, and in their fluidity. At least this is what Dutch Niels Klavers and Astrid van Engelen think and what they explored in their latest designs. Dutch duo Klavers van Engelen’s A/W 09 collection presented at Milan’s White Show featured fluid tops and skirts, dresses that effortlessly flowed on the body, sensually wrapping it in relaxed and flattering silhouettes. The pleats that characterised the duo’s Spring/Summer 09 collection seemed to have been ironed out in favour of draped motifs, one of Klavers van Engelen’s finest trademarks. The designers reinterpreted their draperies in this collection using them to delineate swirling motifs, soft curves and gentle waves on their garments.

Dazed Digital: How do you feel about being back in Milan?
Niels Klavers: For us this is a big opportunity and it’s really important to be back to the White Show as these catwalks allow us to establish a sort of continuity in showcasing our collections in Italy.  

DD: Last time you presented a collection inspired by curtain draping, what inspired your A/W 09 designs?
NK: We didn’t go for crazy inspirations this time, but we focused on organic forms and on the shapes of the clothes moving on the body. The starting point for us was an oil stain on the water, we liked its colour as it had these interestingly floating forms. We came up with designs characterised by draperies and organic fluent forms, made in soft woollen materials, silks and comfortable jerseys. We love it when the clothes “dance” around the body and that’s why we chose such fabrics. Fluidity is always one of our main priorities in our collections, for example in our Spring/Summer 09 designs we had a few dresses in which pleated motifs created a dynamic movement and when the model walked you could really see the flowing quality of the designs. For what regards the palette of the new collection, we opted for all the colours you usually see on an oil stain, like blue and greenish nuances, blackcurrant, gold and black of course.    

DD: Your designs will be featured in the exhibition “Gone with the Wind” at the Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen, can you tell us more about it?
NK: The exhibition will open on 21st March and it will display work by over fifty Dutch fashion, jewellery and accessory designers, stylists, photographers and illustrators. We are going to do a special installation for this event. Our installation is about water, the rain, the sea and the wind, very important elements in Holland. We do not see ourselves as artists, but doing an exhibition is just another part of our work. Besides we like to present our designs in other ways, rather than just showing them on a dummy as we want people to actively interact with our garments while looking at them. We want people to be able to see every part of the clothes and grasp the idea or the concept we had in mind in the atmosphere that surrounds the exhibited designs.

DD: What is the situation of Dutch designers in the current financial climate?
NK: I really can’t say. We are constantly in touch with the shops where we sell our designs and, until now, luckily for us, we’ve sold quite well. We are halfway through the crisis, though, so you never know what will happen later. Yet what I think is that designers shouldn’t go for safe creations just because there is a crisis out there. The recent menswear shows for example were quite safe, but I think that consumers will definitely be looking for something less safe, opting for special garments they will be able to wear for a long time.

DD: Do you still teach at the Design Academy in Eindhoven?
NK: Yes, I do and I find it really exciting as the department where I teach combines fashion with style and design and that’s really what I like to do. This allows me to keep a fresh approach to things and an open mind because we talk about various topics and issues and not just about clothes. When you work in the fashion business you often risk of living in your own world, but teaching helps you being aware of what goes on around you. Besides, though the students are sometimes a little bit crazy, they are young and open minded, so they come up with interesting ideas and solutions. Sometimes we collaborated with our most talented students developing accessories. One year ago for example we developed sunglasses and shoes with dripping plastic motifs in collaboration with Anna Ter Haar, one of the Design Academy students.