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2019 Fashion Graduates aim to clean up fashion

On Sunday the 30th of June 2019 the Amsterdam Fashion Academy celebrated the graduation of its students from the Bachelor’s (Hons) degree programmes in Fashion Business and Fashion with Textiles Design, at the exclusive Andaz hotel in Amsterdam. The event included an open exhibition of some Final Major Projects of the BA (Hons) Fashion Business graduates and a fashion show presenting the final collections of the 2019 fashion graduates from the BA (Hons) Fashion with Textiles Design.

After an introduction speech by Cristiano Carciani, Head of Academic Affairs, the stage was set for a celebration of sustainable, highly creative and innovative fashion, as design graduates showed their final collections on the catwalk. This, together with the exhibited Final Major Projects of Fashion Business graduates, was the crowning glory of three years hard work, a culmination of skills, knowledge and creativity. Following on from this came the formal ritual of recognition: the graduation ceremony. Where tradition set the tone as student’s clad in caps and gowns came forward to accept their degree from Cristiano Carciani and by doing so accepting the recognition for their endeavours and walking away as graduates. This new generation of 2019 fashion graduates are all determined to make their mark in fashion and change the industry into a more sustainable and humane one. One they can all be proud to be part of. We wish them all the best.

Photo: Ping Huang

“It’s the third year in a row that the Andaz hotel is hosting our Graduation Ceremony. The cosy, elegant and charming spaces perfectly represent the Amsterdam Fashion Academy’s characteristics. It’s the perfect location to celebrate our 2019 graduates who have been personally guided by our international teaching staff during the last 3 years. Finally, each one of them is ready for a bright career in the fashion industry with projects and collections addressing relevant topics in today’s society, from sustainable techniques to Japanese aesthetics and appreciation”, Cristiano Carciani, Head of Academic Affairs.

Photo: Maaike Daatselaar
Model: instagram.com/fridamvdw_
Make-up: Art of Colors makeup school

The 2019 fashion graduates arrived at our international fashion university three years ago full of the desire to learn and now, they are all highly-skilled and knowledgeable, not just in the practical skills they have acquired, but also as confident, self-assured individuals who are aware of how they work and of their own strengths and weaknesses. They have been followed by the teaching staff according to personal approach principle that runs this private fashion university.

Photo: Maaike Daatselaar
Model: instagram.com/happyasasquare
Make-up: instagram.com/super.cala.fragilistic

The Amsterdam Fashion Academy is a private international fashion school situated in the heart of Amsterdam; this state-of the-art academy has become a hub of student-centred learning with a high level of personal attention while also focusing on graduate employability. The Amsterdam Fashion Academy prides itself on being a, small and personal fashion academy putting quality before quantity. In 2017 it moved to its current location in an elegant townhouse in the heart of Amsterdam, which helps create a more friendly and informal atmosphere where students can get to know each other better and inspire each other.

Internship stories: fashion design BA students in New York and Copenhagen

While the academic year 2017/2018 is about to end this week with final presentations, and the countdown of the fashion summer courses has begun, most of the 2nd-year Fashion Business and Fashion with Textiles Design (Hons) BA students are still doing their internships around world. Few weeks ago we reached out Evelina Anglickaite, who told us about her job at Essentiel Antwerp. Today we want to introduce you our fashion design BA students Isabelle Wildenburg and Myrthe van der Leden.

Isabelle Wildenburg is currently in New York City as intern a global, luxury street wear brand Nomad VII by Anne Bowen. Isabelle is telling her experience in the United States on her website d1rt.nl, where she also collected all the projects she did at the Amsterdam Fashion Academy during the last three years. Indeed, she started in 2015 with our Fashion Foundation programme, before continuing her studies in the Fashion with Textiles Design (Hons) BA programme in 2016.

Myrthe van der Leden is currently in Copenhagen, Denmark, doing an internship at Tobias Birk Nielsen. This is what she told us: “When I started my internship on the 1st of February 2018, the collection AW18 was already finished, but I had the big opportunity to work in the main photoshoot and in the preparation of the look books. After that we started to design the SS19 collection, for which I worked with showpiece patterns, creation of hoodies and short cords from scratch, as well as fabric dying, styling and mood boards”.

We can’t wait to welcome back our 2nd year fashion design BA and fashion business BA students in September and know more about their internships all around the world. If you want to follow Isabelle and Myrthe’s steps into the fashion world, you can still apply to our Fashion with Textiles Design (Hons) BA, Fashion Business (Hons) BA and Fashion Foundation programmes and start in September 2018. Please, send us an email to info@amsterdamfashionacademy.com and we will be more than happy to schedule a personal appointment with you at the Amsterdam Fashion Academy.

Sustainable fashion symposium: well done to the 1st-year students!

As part of the Project Management course, the 1st-year Fashion Business (Hons) BA students worked hard to organise this symposium about sustainable fashion. “Our focus was to encourage sustainability to the next generation of fashion professionals. Together we empower to take action for a more sustainable fashion industry”, says Phillip Roessen, project manager.

“I was one of the two project managers. I really enjoyed the experience to work in a team and realise a real event. Furthermore, I am really interested in sustainability and I’m glad that we were able to inspire our design students to work in a more sustainable way”, says Katja Gerber, project manager.

Marijne Weegemans gave us an overview on how sustainability developed in the fashion industry, becoming one of the most important aspects to consider for brands. Lisa Windels focused on sustainable materials and presented alternative materials, such as leather made of mushrooms. Last but not least, Liana Weber talked about new business models by providing case studies of companies with sustainability in their DNA. “The Dutch Sustainable Fashion Week is a great way to get inspired and to inform yourself on how to become more sustainable. Their website gives great facts on the fashion world and gives interesting tips on how to get started. The fashion library Lena (located in Amsterdam) is a good idea if you want to keep switching up your closet and not have to throw away anything and MUD Jeans is an international success that allows you to get jeans by subscription and switch them for a new pair every year””, explains Liana.

“Organising the design2sustain symposium was a great way for the students to implement whay the learned during the Project Management course and to learn more about sustainable fashion. Every student was assigned a specific role, which gave each of them the opportunity to participate and develop their skills”, says Rosie Martinez, lecturer of the course.

Intake 2018: did you miss the last interview day? Don’t panic. You can still apply!

On the 26th of April we held the third interview day at the Amsterdam Fashion Academy for intake 2018. It’s a day when we invite a group of potential students to come and work with us. An important day for all concerned. The day is designed to give our team the chance to spend time with potential students and work with them so they can get a real feel of what it is like at our international fashion academy, meet other would-be students and also see Amsterdam.

The countries represented by the third group of 12 potential students were France, Italy, Sweden, The Netherlands, UK and Zambia. A really creative and talented group, perfect for our international boutique academy. They worked from 10:00am to 4:00pm with our lecturers Laura Malone and Laura Lepre in a fashion styling workshop. We divided them into groups of 3 (the stylist, the photographer, the model) and asked each group to organise and work on a photo shooting (a face close-up and a full-body photo) to tell a story or express a concept. After working on mood boards in the morning, a walk in the city around stores and canals was the right excuse to have a break, enjoy Amsterdam and find more inspirations for their projects.

In the afternoon the groups took action and used the whole building for the photo shootings. We loved seeing these young fashion lovers walking around our fashion school looking for the perfect spot and mixing with our current students.

Although this was the last interview day of intake 2018, applications 2018 for our Fashion with Textiles Design (Hons) BA, Fashion Business (Hons) BA and Fashion Foundation Diploma are still open. Don’t wait too long. Check our three fashion programmes validated by Bucks New University and schedule a personal meeting on the 1st of June 2018.

New international student Harry Chai starts the 3-month fashion course

Although the Fast-Track Fashion Design & Business course will start officially on the 30th of April, Harry Chai is already in Amsterdam to study our 3-month fashion course. We asked him to share his first thoughts about this Fast-Track fashion course, the Amsterdam Fashion Academy and how it’s like living in the Netherlands.

“Hello, my name is Harry, I am 22 this year and I am from Malaysia. I’m a mass communication graduate. I’m currently doing a Fast-Track Fashion Design & Business course at the Amsterdam Fashion Academy. I chose this 3-month fashion course because I want to make a career in the fashion industry. This is my second week at the Amsterdam Fashion Academy and I’m enjoying all the classes. I don’t have any knowledge in this field, but the lecturers are really friendly and experienced and I’m learning a lot from them. I really like how things work in the Netherlands and how everywhere you go streets and parks are clean. Amsterdam is cosy and full of fresh and exciting opportunities. My plan is to gain as much as knowledge/ experiences I can to then work for fashion houses in the future.”

This 3-month fashion course is dedicated to exploring and deepening students’ creative qualities and skills. The participants will follow artistically visual lessons and learn skills such as pattern drawing and fabric processing. They will work on various assignments and projects as well as receiving tuition in business studies including research, theory formation on international marketing, fashion branding and fashion communication.

Applications to the Fast-Track Fashion Design & Business course are still open. Non-European students do not need a student visa to enter The Netherlands for the Fast-Track Fashion Design & Business programme as they can enter on a normal tourist visa, which is valid for 3 months.

International fashion internship at Essentiel Antwerp: Evelina’s story

We have reached out our 2nd-year Fashion with Textiles Design (Hons) BA student Evelina Anglickaite to know more about her international fashion internship experience at Essentiel Antwerp in Belgium. Evelina is one of our many international students. Born in Lithuania, she is already expressing a very good talent in fashion design. Check her last work here. This is what she told us:

“Essentiel Antwerp is a fast-growing, vibrant fashion brand based in Belgium. As a fashion design student, I was given a great opportunity to gain greater knowledge of the fashion industry and the design process as an intern at the headquarters of the brand. Working side by side with the designers and stylists, I have so far experienced various steps of the design process – choosing the right fabrics, creating a color story, receiving first prototypes of a garment, fittings, quality checking and of course the thrill of a collection presentation show. As only a third of the internship has passed, I am excited for what it’s yet to come, because the best way to learn about a specific field is to witness it all firsthand”.

All 2nd-year students of the Fashion with Textiles Design (Hons) BA and the Fashion Business (Hons) BA are spending the semester doing interesting and exciting fashion internship experiences in the fashion industry. “We are very proud to have students working all over the world, from London to New York, from Stockholm to Amsterdam and Curaçao. As international fashion academy, we encourage our students to go out their comfort zones and benefit from an international fashion internship in the real world”, says Cristiano Carciani, Head of School ad interim.

If you are dreaming of an international fashion career then send us a message and book a personal visit to the Amsterdam Fashion Academy.

Visit us at the IamExpat Fair and win a place on a summer course!

The Amsterdam Fashion Academy looks forward to meeting you at the IamExpat Fair. Please, drop by our stand for a chat and find out more about who we are and what we offer including our wide range of fashion courses for those who wish to develop new skills and stay abreast of the latest trends in the fashion industry. We are also happy to let you know more about our free MeetUps and our role as part of the international community in Amsterdam and the Netherlands as a whole. The cherry on the cake is our photo challenge where the winner can choose a free place on the summer course of his or her choice. Taking part is simple and our students will choose the winning photo. So come along and find out how to take part.

The IamExpat Fair has been running since 2015 and is the meeting place for expats and local businesses. It aims to support internationals in the Netherlands, connecting them with local businesses and service providers. It is a great opportunity for internationals to meet each other and find out how to do things in the Netherlands, all under one roof, so to speak. All you need to know about careers, housing, education and expat services, including family, health and leisure. Free workshops and presentations will also be held throughout the day: whatever you want the IamExpat Fair has it covered!

Our Head of School ad interim Cristiano Carciani explains: “We are very pleased to announce that the Amsterdam Fashion Academy is taking part in the IamExpat Fair 2018, for the first time. As an international fashion academy, this fair represents a good opportunity for us to connect with Amsterdam’s expat community and engage its members with our activities and events. We will be more than happy to answer your questions about our fashion courses, show some of the students’ works and schedule personal visits to our boutique academy. We will also brief you about our photo challenge to win a place in one of our summer courses”.

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday April 7, 2018, 10am – 5pm, at the Westergasfabriek, Amsterdam.

First 2018 fashion students shortlist: 15 people and 9 nationalities

On the 9th of February we held the first interview day at the Amsterdam Fashion Academy for 2018 intake. It’s a day when we invite a group of potential fashion students to come and work with us. An important day for all concerned. The day is designed to give our team the chance to spend time with potential students of our three fashion programmes validated by Bucks New University (Fashion Business (Hons) BA, Fashion with Textiles Design (Hons) BA, Foundation Diploma) and work with them so they can get a real feel of what it is like at our international fashion academy, meet other would-be students and also see Amsterdam.

Last week our first group of 15 potential fashion students came from all corners of Europe: Netherlands, UK, Italy, Poland, Greece, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Germany and Norway. This to underline once again the international value of our boutique academy. They worked from 10:00m to 4:00pm with our lecturers Laura Malone and Laura Lepre and created mood boards based on their own taste and personality and in the meantime each student had an interview with Cristiano Carciani, Head of school.

We are holding two more interview days: March 23rd and April 26th. So if you missed out on this one but are still interested in studying fashion in Amsterdam, then please contact us as soon as possible. We will more than happy to inform you how to be shortlisted for the next two groups of potential fashion students.

Fashion styling in the real world!

Last semester, as part of the Fashion Styling course, second year Fashion Business (Hons) BA students worked in groups with real business clients. One group composed of Avalon Olivier, Aziza El Wanni and Robin Broekhuizen worked for the Salamon Art & Design concept store (created by our alumna Olga Salamon).

Avalon shared her thoughts with us about her personal experience: “I have recently done a photoshoot and look book for my styling course of the Fashion Business (Hons) BA. My client was Salamon Art & Design concept store located in Amsterdam. It was a lovely experience to work with a real-life client which also had such good products to work with. This project taught me a lot about working in a team and also about all the planning and responsibility it is to do the work of a stylist. It was a great pleasure to work with everyone and was pleased with the outcome”.

Below, the work of Aziza and Robin:

Photographer: Ping Huang
Models: Karlijn Groenendijk, Richelle van Norden, Wess Blok

Fast-Track Fashion Course in Amsterdam!

Amsterdam, world famous for its unique heritage and unsurpassed art, but also modern Amsterdam at the forefront of creative innovation and international trendsetting. A truly out-of-the-box mentality which inspires all visitors to this cosmopolitan melting pot, a fantastic place to come and get inspired, not only broadening your travel horizons but also your personal ones. And now you can come here for a fast-track fashion design and business course lasting 12 weeks. The perfect way to combine travel, culture, creativity, learning and laying the foundations of your future and all in 12 weeks, which also happens to fit the validity of a 3 month tourist visa to the Netherlands. This super opportunity to get a taste of a possible degree and career in fashion in all its facets, is now being provided by the Amsterdam Fashion Academy a highly personal and friendly boutique fashion school situated in the heart of Amsterdam.

Finished school but what now?

Maybe you have completed school but are daunted by all the possibilities open to you? The international fashion world appeals to you, but it is a real risk to commit yourself to a three year degree course when you are not completely sure if this is what you want. Even one year is a long time, especially when you are young, and a one year foundation course is also a major commitment. Now you can get a great insight and experience in fashion in just 12 weeks with the new fast-track fashion course. Long enough to learn the basics and experiment, so that after completion you will know whether fashion is for you and if it is whether you are more inclined to the business or creative side of the industry.

Fill your gap year.

‘So much to do and so little time to do it,’ a common complaint of young people embarking on a gap year. One year to enjoy freedom from commitment, broaden your horizons and grow as a person and hopefully get a better idea of what you want to do in life. Here is the ideal opportunity to combine travel, culture, creativity, learning and laying the foundations for your future. This Fast-track course fits the bill perfectly. Short, intensive and geared to the future this 12 week fast-track fashion course is shorter than the duration of a 3 month tourist visa. After completing this course you will not only have acquired considerable skills and knowledge but you will have a much better idea of which direction you want to go in life. More the tendency towards business or creative design or something else?

Drop back in after dropping out.

Maybe you’ve discovered the course you had chosen is not for you. Well don’t wait until September to try something else, you can start right now. That’s the benefit of a fast-track course. It gives you the opportunity to try something and see if it fits. It will give you skills and knowledge to build on for the future and it will give you enough time to discover if there is a click between you and fashion, helping you make the right choice for a new study next September. So get something positive out of this year and fast-track your future in fashion.

Fashion is a seven letter word.

Fashion is communication, on the part of the wearer and designer. An array of non-verbal messages, on different levels. This fast-track fashion course lets you develop your practical design skills, research your field and gain a critical view of your profession. This will give you what you need to take on the challenge of reshaping the future of the fashion. If you are more inclined towards the business side you will be able to extend your knowledge and grasp of both the theoretical background of international marketing, styling and branding, as well as its practical implementation including, for example, communication surrounding a particular brand or organising a styling shoot. By the end of your course you will have found out how to tap into an inexhaustible source of creativity, gained considerable knowledge of the fashion industry along with design skills you will be able to rely on for life and you will know the direction of your future in fashion.

This 12 week fast-track fashion design and business course will get your fashion career off to a flying start. Not just to work as a fashion designer or stylist, but also as a fashion marketer, journalist, trend forecaster, visual merchandiser, buyer of Women/Menswear. You will be given the freedom to experiment and explore where your true talent lies and so help you choose the right career path after completing the course, be it a follow-up programme or working in the industry.

Fashion is a seven letter word covering a multitude of directions, skills and knowledge. Why not find out which direction is closest to your heart and talent? Send an email to info@amsterdamfashionacademy.com to know more about the fast-track fashion course.

Melissa’s fashion career will shine after her internship in Barcelona

The second-year Fashion Business and Fashion with Textiles Design (Hons) Bachelor’s students are starting, or are about to start, their internships in the fashion industry. Whether they will be working in Amsterdam, London or New York, it is a really good opportunity for them to experience the real world outside the Amsterdam Fashion Academy and make the first steps towards a bright fashion career.

Before Christmas we asked three of them to tell us about their feelings and expectations: please, click here to read about Isabelle, Avalon and Lene’s fashion internships. Today, we asked a third-year student to tell us a bit about her experience last year:

“My name is Melissa Joyce, I am a 3rd-year Fashion Business (Hons) BA student and I am half Spanish and half Dutch.

Last year I went to Barcelona, Spain to do my internship at Model Management where I had to take care of their social media. I mostly worked with Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and their blog; in order to increase brand awareness and engage consumers. Modelmanagement.com is an online platform, operating internationally, connecting models with reputable photographers, agencies, stylists and other industry clients.

During my internship I learned a lot and I got to know some amazing people who knew about the industry and helped me throughout. I also got to know how things work in real life and how to manage the stress that everyone feels when pursuing a fashion career. All in all, I enjoyed it and met amazing people during this wonderful experience.

My current plan for the future is to get to know more about the fashion industry and get more work experience before doing a Master’s and getting qualified in a specific area.”

Also read about Linda and Lexie’s internship stories and their fashion career dreams.

Part-time fashion courses: enrol and get 2018 off to a flying start!

New part-time fashion courses are on their way at the Amsterdam Fashion Academy. We offer a wide range of part-time courses covering different topics for those interested in fashion design and fashion business. These part-time fashion courses will give you the chance to study one day a week for one semester.

The new year has started. Maybe it’s time to take a part-time fashion course and make yourself smarter, more knowledgeable and gain new skills and experience? And that’s where we come in! Our excellent, enthusiastic lecturers are happy to share their high-quality fashion knowledge along with their experience in the international fashion industry. These are passionate, qualified professionals with many years fashion industry experience, rooted in the international fashion industry, who will be passing on their first-hand knowledge and experience to you.

Fashion Business part-time course

This part time course Fashion Business aims to give you all the marketing and communication skills you need in order to be a successful business professional in the fashion industry. You will not only gain knowledge and expertise in fashion, but the emphasis of the course lies in acquiring the marketing and communication skills needed to understand, promote and convey the unique design and style of a fashion collection or brand.

2 March 2018 – 29 June 2018
Every Friday from 9.30 a.m. till 5 p.m.

Pattern Cutting & Construction part-time course

Technical production areas of fashion play an important part in building subject specific knowledge. Although European garment production has now largely moved overseas due to the globalisation of the industry, employers are still looking for staff with a sound knowledge of technical production areas, specifically production methods, fittings and effective cost management. This part time course will provide you with opportunity to sample, understand garment construction, fit and alter toiles and to produce a garment to a professional standard.

February 2 till June 8 2018
Every Friday 9.30 am till 4.30 pm.

Forecasting, Marketing & Buying short-course

A multi-faceted, exciting course from which you will gain both proficiency and understanding in forecasting, marketing and fashion buying. Within this course you will have the opportunity to study the marketing environment, apply research to inform future probable consumer needs and trends analysis, and will gain an understanding of fashion buying motives.

6 February till 27 March
Every Tuesday evening from 6. p.m. till 9 p.m

Collection Design & Realisation part-time course

There is also the opportunity to join the Collection Design & Realisation part-time course for one semester. The Collection Design & Realisation part-time course will run from end of January until June. If you are dreaming of designing and producing your own collection then register as soon as possible, there are only a few places available.

Starting 30th of January 2018
Every Tuesday from 9.30 am till 5 pm.

At our international fashion academy, we are proud of our small classes which give a high level of personal attention in an extremely creative environment. So take advantage of this once in a life-time opportunity. Don’t miss the boat! Our teaching staff is not only enthusiastic, supportive and accessible, but is also given the time and space required to adapt to the specific learning needs of individual students.

To find out more about our part-time fashion courses click on the links and visit the website pages. You can also email us to info@amsterdamfashionacademy.com and we will be happy to schedule a meeting or a call with you.

Fashion internship: from classroom to the real world

Finally our second year Fashion Business and Fashion with Textiles Design (Hons) Bachelor’s students are about to be unleashed on the fashion world. Yes, next semester they will be embarking upon their fashion internships experiences. We have asked two of them about how they feel about this future experience.

Avalon: “My name is Avalon Olivier and I am currently studying the Fashion Business (Hons) in this international fashion academy in Amsterdam. My next chapter will be doing my fashion internship here in Amsterdam and I am very excited. The company where I will be doing my internship is Suitsupply, working in the Buying Department. It is a Dutch company that makes suits for men and women and has grown globally. The lectures we had in school have made me very interested in buying and that is why I’ve chosen to go for this field. Also I believe I will learn a lot in different departments in the company. The experience of being in a global company will also teach me new job skills which will be useful for future opportunities. I cannot wait to start and learn as much as possible”.

Isabelle: “My name is Isabelle Wildenburg and I am a second year Fashion with Textiles Design (Hons) BA. On the 1st of February I will go to New York City, United States, for a seven-months internship at Anna Sui. I’m going to work in the sample department doing different things, from photography to sample investigation, from patter cutting to sewing. I am very excited about this fashion internship, not only because I will have the opportunity to work at the New York Fashion Week, but also because I really wanted to do an experience in a non-European fashion industry, which I already know”.

Lene: “My name is Lene Vindenes and I am a 2nd year Fashion Business (Hons) BA student at the Amsterdam Fashion Academy. I was so lucky that I got to work with Noumenon. For those who don’t know, Noumenon is a vegan clothing brand located in the heart of Amsterdam. I will be working there as an assistant office manager and will learn all about the business behind the brand. I have also been given the opportunity to join them at the trade show in Berlin in January, which is something I am truly looking forward to. I have the feeling the next half year will give me a lot of good knowledge and experience within the fashion industry”.

Keep following us on social media and the blog to know more about our student’s fashion internship experiences.

Create garments from above: new perspectives at the Amsterdam Fashion Academy

The 2nd year Fashion with Textiles Design (Hons) BA students are busy creating garments as part of the course Fashion Cutting & Construction, under the expert instruction of senior lecturer Cristiano Carciani. The theme is “top view” meaning they need to design and create garments as seen from above. We asked Myrthe van der Leden, Evelina Anglickaite, Silvia Porru and Alexandra Poláková to tell us more.

Evelina Anglickaite: “To some it’s a dangerous pseudoscience, to others it offers unique insights. The Rorschach psychological test consists of inkblots challenging a person’s perception. The piece, inspired by the controversial test and made from leather, showcases strong individual minds”.

Silvia Porru: “This project is all about shapes, forms, geometry and chrome colours. I wanted to express these elements giving a three-dimensional effect to my garment. Inspired by the universe and the stars, I have created a spacey, star-shaped collar”.

Alexandra Poláková: “The most important part of the garment are the three-dimensional spikes placed on the shoulder. When the final garment will be completed, these elements will design a black hole when seen from above. I’m enjoying working on this piece, because it gives the opportunity to balance details and simplicity”.

Myrthe van der Leden: “For this project we had to create garments as seen from above. My inspiration came from the veins in the human body and by using see-through plastic and red felt I wanted to create the effect that if you looked down from above you could see the veins going down the arms and the body. Working with the plastic was a real challenge but with some help I still managed to achieve the look I was going for.”

The Fashion with Textiles Design (Hons) BA offers a nurturing environment where you our students develop industry standard skills in both fashion and textiles. The course is taught through a series of practical project assignments, with key emphasis on quality of products and innovative design. The practical modules are delivered through a variety of workshops, demonstrations, lectures and seminars, but the most important aspect of this programme is that each student becomes an individual designer. Thanks to our small classes and commitment we can achieve this together by providing each individual student with one to one tuition time every week.

At the Amsterdam Fashion Academy we pride ourselves on our commitment to our students. We recognise that giving each student substantial personal support is key to helping them get the most out of the course and themselves and help them successfully enter into the international world of fashion and textiles.

Would you like to study at our international boutique academy in Amsterdam and create garments like these? Then sign up to one of our open days and we will be happy to schedule for you a personal meeting with us.

Alumni Story: how did Olga set up a new fashion business?

One of the most frequent questions we hear is “How do I set up a new fashion business”? The answer is complex with many variables which need to be taken into account. This is why we met up with one of our former students who has recently started a new business in the Jordaan. This area was once the underbelly of Amsterdam’s working class but now it is famous for its cosy and unique boutiques, cafés and restaurants.

Olga Salamon, originally from Poland has decided to fly the flag and bring Polish art and design to Amsterdam. In doing so, she is also continuing Amsterdam’s cosmopolitan allure, maintaining its tradition of being an innovative cultural melting-pot. We went along to her Salamon Art & Design store where she shared her experiences with us about her time at our international fashion Academy, how she managed to set up a new fashion business and just how much our course contributed to making this a success.

We are very proud and happy for her and wish her the best. We recommend everyone to go and explore the delights of the Jordaan and of course visit Salamon Art & Design on the Rozengracht 75.

Read another alumni story: Monica is bringing Brazilian colours in Amsterdam.

Fashion brands and more: which three came out on top at the Academy?

Being small and offering personal attention to our students is very important to us. We want to get to know each student personally and make them feel at home during their time at our international fashion academy in Amsterdam. With this in mind, we asked each first-year student to tell us their top three favourite brands, not just in the fashion world but generally, to help us find out more about their tastes and the business models of this generation.

As expected, answers varied greatly, but there was an undisputed winner: Gucci is our students’ top brand. They don’t just love Gucci’s products, but also the branding and marketing strategy; an interesting case study for both Fashion Business BA and Fashion with Textiles Design BA students. Gucci is an Italian luxury brand of fashion and leather goods founded in Florence, Italy, in 1921. According to Forbes, as of May 2017, the brand value was around $12.7 billion.

Second place is shared by Zara and Apple, while third place sees a wide group of labels. The list of favourite brands changes when we separate the outcomes between the Fashion Business BA and the Fashion with Textiles Design BA programmes. While the top-three list of those who study fashion business is again composed of Gucci, Zara and Apple, the Fashion with Textiles Design students have a different taste: Dior, Balmain and Comme de Garçons are their favourite best brands.

Logically, fashion brands dominate the whole list, with some exceptions like Jeep, Tasty or Costa Coffee. It is also interesting to underline that Iris van Herpen was mentioned by many students. And speaking of this innovative Dutch fashion designer, did you see the photo we took at the Johannes Vermeer Prijs 2017?

Haute Couture Meetup: an inspiring success and get together!

We love seeing our Boutique Academy full of people interested in knowing more about the world of fashion business or fashion design during our monthly Meetups. This is certainly what happened during our last Meetup on Tuesday, October 31. More than 60 people from our fashion community came along for the lecture about Haute Couture and also shared ideas, opinions and got connected with each other.

Our senior lecturer, Cristiano Carciani, offered a visual tour through Haute Couture’s history from Chanel’s Little Black Dress to Dior’s New Look, from Paco Rabanne’s Twelve Unwearable Dresses to Hussein Chalayan’s Airplane Dress and Iris Van Herpen’s Skeleton Dress: 100 years of top-quality materials, traditional craftsmanship and unbelievable experimentations. “Glad to know that Haute Couture could keep all these people on the edge of their seats for more than an hour! It was an extreme pleasure sharing my passion for fashion design, artisanship and technology with them at the Amsterdam Fashion Academy”, Cristiano Carciani says.

Here are a few of the comments we have received from our aficionados:

“Inspiring”

“Thanks for organising it, a great presentation!”

“Such a friendly atmosphere, a nice welcoming establishment and then very informative presentation over the history of Haute Couture. Thank you”

Our next Meetup is scheduled on Thursday, November 30, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. We will be talking about Fashion Management. The structure of the next Meetup will be slightly different from the last ones. As usual, there will be free drink and nibbles for all who attend and an opportunity to meet and mingle with the academy staff and other likeminded people. We will post more details soon. Meanwhile, mark the date in your diary!

Elegant up-cycling for our boutique academy’s interior style

On August 1, 2017 we moved to a beautiful townhouse in Amsterdam’s city centre. This is the story about how the new interior style has been conceived.

My name is Sandrine Botilde-Doré, I’ve been living in Amsterdam for 5 years. I’m a traveller at heart, a nomad. I moved here from the South of France, but have also lived in Mali, Guinea, Belgium, Switzerland and France. Before coming to the Amsterdam Fashion Academy, I was already working in the fashion industry, being mainly involved in PR and events. I realised I wanted to learn more about the business side of fashion and so I started studying for a BA in Fashion Business. Then my second child was born and I took a year off. Now I’m back again, this time studying Fashion Design. I decided that studying fashion business was really my comfort zone and that I wanted to explore the process of garment making. I can use my background in fashion marketing to build a brand which will be ready by the end of this year. It’s a big challenge and I am working hard.

I am grateful to the Amsterdam Fashion Academy for giving me the opportunity to decorate the building and design its new interior style. Interior design is something that I have always loved. I adore second-hand furniture. Furniture is timeless: if you buy the right pieces, they can stay with you forever. Most of the pieces I found for the library, for instance the chairs, already have a long history.

We have to learn to be more sustainable in the way we consume. There are so many things which already exist that we can re-use. The bookcase and the 4-meter long table now in the library were found in this way. It took me 6 hours to pick up the table, but I was really motivated to have that piece. I also didn’t know what kind of lamps to put in the library, so I thought “let’s create one”. I decided to use different kinds of lamps to reflect the diversity of the academy. Moreover, I didn’t want to use fixed lamps because I wanted a flexible space: one where the table can be made smaller and moved depending on the situation.

I don’t have a particular style that people can instantly recognise. What I did was mix and match styles. We could have gone for only using modern furniture, with the same colour, but then we would have turned this International Fashion Academy into a showroom. I wanted to give the Academy’s interior style a hotel-feeling. It is a boutique academy where people should not feel like they are at school. I wanted to give them a pleasant atmosphere conducive to developing skills and learning. I wanted personality.

The space that I am most proud of is the basement, the student lobby, even though it is not finished yet. It was a real challenge. The space was limited by its low ceiling, light wooden floor and low lighting. The opposite of all the other floors of the building. I didn’t know what to do with the space, I just knew I wanted to design a space where students could feel good and chill. I am particularly proud of the colourful chairs and poufs. I drove to an antique store at a riding school to pick them up and spent a whole day cleaning them! But now I am more than satisfied since it is these elements with their bright colours which light up the members lobby.

I am also proud of the library, although it was the most challenging space. It was extremely difficult to find the right bookcase for the 5-meter wall. I wanted one to fill the wall completely, with no spaces and, of course, it had to have a style which fitted with the rest of the library. An elegant mahogany table full of poise and purpose really needs an accompanying mahogany bookcase. We were really focused on this, as it was to be the central piece for the most central space of the Amsterdam Fashion Academy. And I can proudly say that the bookcase I found is perfect!

How would I describe the interior style of the Academy? First, with the word “second-life”, because I wanted to give antique but precious pieces a new use; then with cosy and sophisticated hotel-vibe, and finally I would describe it as a timeless style. One word that I didn’t have in mind was school. I wanted and went for quality.

Alumni Monica Fuentes brings Brazilian colours in Amsterdam

Hello, my name is Monica Fuentes, I was born in Costa Rica and studied in the United States & Brazil. I have been living in The Netherlands for almost four years. I am a wife, mother and owner and founder of Femiwear.

I graduated in Business Management in Brazil and wanted to bring a bit of the colour and vibrancy of beautiful Brazil to Europe. Therefore, I created my activewear line. Femiwear provides colourful, comfortable and different activewear that is made in a sustainable way by women for women. I have created the collections and have a team of three seamstresses that make the garments in Brazil. Our Fabric Supplier is in Brazil and follows sustainable practices in the process of making the fabric. In this way, when you buy a piece from our collection, you know exactly where it is coming from and how it was made. You should check the tall, regular fit and maternity collections at www.femiwear.com

How did this all come about? When I was 4 years old I made my first trip to Italy. I think that is when I began observing the beauty of clothing and fashion. My grandma sewed and my great-uncle was a tailor making suits. I grew up wearing and observing the making of beautiful handmade tailored garments. My mother was always very creative when dressing, she always taught me that it is not the label in your clothes that makes the clothing special, but how you wear it. As a teenager, I did some modelling, so I was surrounded by great creative designers and was always interested in one day owning a fashion business. In 2015, I studied the “Fashion forecasting, marketing and buying” short course at the Amsterdam Fashion Academy, which represented an essential step in the creation of my fashion business.

I am a big fan of the Amsterdam Fashion Academy MeetUps because of the great atmosphere at the academy where you truly feel welcomed. The lectures are very informative, the teachers and speakers are very knowledgeable and they always give you the chance to put into practice what you have learned. The meetups are very useful for my business because they are a way of staying up to date with trends, plus they inspire me and it is a great opportunity to brainstorm with people that share your fashion interests.

In my opinion, elegance is a mind-set, it is having confidence in yourself and the strong presence a person brings with him/her when they enter a room. It is a quality that a person can have. The label on a lady’s clothes does not make her elegant, her presence does. As Yves Saint Laurent once said: ‘Without elegance of the heart, there is no elegance.’

Internship story: Lexie returns from the City of Angels

Our 3rd year Fashion Business student Lexie Hingsen did her internship in Los Angeles last year at Lunya Co., top-end specialists in luxury sleepwear. Ashley Merrill launched Lunya in 2014 with a clear conviction that the time was ripe to give women’s sleepwear a long-overdue fresh, modern perspective. We had the pleasure of meeting up with Alexandra and finding out how she got on at Lunya Co. and living and working in Los Angeles.

“My name is Lexie Hingsen, I am a 3rd Year Fashion Business student. I am half German, half American and I went to Los Angeles, California, for my internship. The company is called Lunya, a southern Californian based sleepwear company for the “modern woman”. My role at the company was to cover all digital media and e-commerce work. I worked closely with their Instagram and Facebook platforms to ensure that the right brand message got across to Lunya consumers. Some of my tasks included collecting quantitative and qualitative data from marketing campaigns, performing market analysis and researching competitors, supporting the marketing team in their daily administrative tasks.

I learned many lessons and was able to apply these in a professional environment. It is important to always have a positive attitude and work on personal development. Constructive criticism really helped me evaluate myself in such a professional setting. I definitely feel like I have grown, developing my skills and knowledge whilst working with such positive, inspirational woman who really pushed me to my full ability. I look forward to staying in contact with the entire Lunya team and possibly returning in the future.”

Our international lecturers have a special message to send out

And so, the academic year 2017-2018 has started. The induction week was a big success and the students were involved in several activities: they had a tour around Amsterdam and its museums, they created decorative embroidery hoops on the theme “what does fashion mean to you?” and finally developed a critical analysis based on the exhibitions visited. Through the induction week, we wanted the students to get to know each other and feel at home from the very beginning, while we aimed to help the 2nd and 3rd year students to settle down after summer holidays.

“I immediately felt like home”, 1st year student Phillip Roessen says. “The induction week was such a warm and welcoming experience!”, 1st year student Frederique Hofman adds. “Not only did we get to know Amsterdam, but also bond with everyone from the other classes”. After one week, we can then say: mission accomplished!

On Monday, courses started and students are livening up our new boutique academy. We love seeing them working around the four floors of our elegant townhouse in Amsterdam’s city centre. To celebrate this new chapter, we asked some of our lecturers to send a message to the students, which you can read in the image below.

This year, our lecturers team has some new entries with people who will bring to our international fashion academy more ideas, new points of view and innovative visions. We can’t wait to see what fashion business and fashion with textile design students will create under our experienced teachers. Keep following the Amsterdam Fashion Academy on social media and this blog: amazing projects are on the way!

Tag: international fashion academy