spijkers en spijkers at london fashion weekWednesday, 19 September 2007 Hello lovelies, as much as I hate Fashion Weeks (the pretentiousness, the disorganised shows and the trawling-all-over-town) today was a wonderful day for Spijkers en Spijkers unveiled their spring/summer 2008 collection. I'd like to show off at least a little bit and tell you that I 'helped out' at the show, but truth be told the girls are always so well prepared that they don't need help...
 This was a beautiful summer collection that light up a grey day in town. Edie Sedgwick was drawn upon for inspiration. Her artsy style, gamine beauty and Bambi-esque big eyes cast a spell on anyone she ever met. But Edie wasn’t just a bit of eyecandy, her self-knowledge and witty wisdom made her the toast of late 60s New York.
A good decade after Edie’s reign over the Big Apple a design collective formed in Milan, which had a similar view on life and style. The Memphis movement reacted to the clean modernism of the 70s. Designers such as Ettore Sottsass threw out old rules and all-too-serious designs, mixed and matched fresh ideas and painted them in pastel colours.
For both Edie and the Memphis movement, fun followed function. Their naïve look was an informed reaction to a strict surrounding. Truus and Riet Spijkers have adopted this attitude for their spring/summer 2008 collection.
Pastel shades such as light yellow, pistachio, lilac and rose are alternated with primary colours red, blue and yellow plus the monochromes. Clean H-shapes and big spring pleats are executed in silk dupion, georgette and satin as well as double wrap organza and bamboo. Silk lurex is added for a sparkling effect, and selected pieces feature hand-made Memphis style applications.           
(last picture: Truus and Riet Spijkers, great desginers but not huge fans of being photographed) | 
