By Branko Popovic. It’s Graduation time, each year an exciting season of future dreams and promises. On 2nd and 3rd of June the Fashion Design department of ArtEZ Institute of the Arts Arnhem presented its new generation of fashion students. The show started with the first year project ‘Magnum Opuz’, and the second year students project “Ceci n‘est pas une robe, followed by ‘Collectie Arnhem 2016’, the collection designed by the third year students. Eventually, perhaps the most anticipated graduation show in the Netherlands, the Bachelor graduates of ArtEZ unveiled their collections.
The class of 2016 contains a large number of 24 graduates, frankly I do wonder why there is such a large number of students graduating. Although none of the collections really blew away, certainly a display of promise was there in most of the collections. Designers that intrigued this year where Liesbeth Sterkenburg, Alissa Nicolaï, Ailene van Elmp, Johannes Offerhaus and Liesbeth Sterkenburg
In particular the menswear proposals where mostly strong such as the collections by designers Rosanne van Wijk, Boaz van Doornik, Leonie van Balen, Jorieke Tenbergen, Johanna Bas Backer, Max Beets and Marina van Dieren.
Johannes Offerhaus and Liesbeth Sterkenburg are nominated for the Frans Molenaar Couture Award. Ailene van Elmpt and Johanna Bas Backer are selected for the Lichting 2016, which will take place during Fashion Week Nederland in Amsterdam. www.artez.nl