The monthly second-hand market in Amsterdam (IJ-hallen) is a good place for great finds! Over the years I bought some real treasures there, this doesn’t mean it’s a sure thing to go home with some exclusives every time, but it is worth going…

A few years ago I was wandering on the market and saw some nice handbags hanging above one of the market stalls. I went over there and saw a real Saddle Bag by Dior hanging between the others bags… I asked the girl behind the table if she knew what she was selling (not the best thing to do at a second-hand market, point out to a person about what they’re selling, but this time it felled right). She told me all her friends wanted to buy the bag from her, but in the end not one had the money to pay for it. She was so tired of the selling/not selling this bag, she decided the first person on the market, who recognized the bag, could buy it for € 7,50. And I was the lucky one!!!

Another time I was at the market again with Astrid (we try to go every month) and we were almost ready to go home. It was cold and we had bought so much stuff, we could hardly carry all of it. Astrid even called her husband asking to pick us up… On our way out of the building I saw something interesting in the corner of my eyes, a pair of shoes. I walked to the stand and saw they were brand new Gucci shoes in my size. I tried them on and they were a perfect fit. The lady behind the stand tried to sell them all morning and that didn’t went very well so now she was willing to sell them for only €15,-. Astrid bought them for me… I have great friends!

Last weekend we went to the market again and we spotted a pair of beautiful vintage Dior shoes. The lady behind the table explained they came from a museum in Paris and were worn at the first Dior fashion show. I got really excited and asked the price; € 150,-. I doubted what to do and the lady said I could also make an offer. I had to think about it because soon I will go on holiday to Japan and therefore it’s not a good time to spent so much money. We walked on, but the shoes stayed on my mind. After we finished our rounds on the market Astrid asked if I wanted to go back and get the shoes. I decided not too, but I’m sure I will regret this decision one day….

One of the most significant appearances of the Glamrock period is Ziggy Stardust, the stage persona David Bowie created for the Ziggy Stardust tour, promoting the albums Aladdin Sane and Ziggy Stardust. David Bowie (born David Robert Jones) didn’t create Ziggy all by himself ,he had help from different people like Pierre Laroche, Suzi Fussey, Kansai Yamamoto and Angela Barnett/Bowie… 

The Ziggy Stardust make up  (by Pierre Laroche)

Pierre Laroche was born in Algiers ,moved to France and then to England. He became a make-up artist for Elisabeth Arden, but quit after 5 years because the company insisted he became more conservative. He then became a freelancer and make-up artist for the rock stars and celebrities of those days. He went on tour with Mick Jagger/Rolling Stones and became responsable for some of David Bowie’s most famous looks.

The astral sphere make-up on Bowie’s forehead was designed by Laroche for the Ziggy Stardust persona. Ziggy’s make up on stage also had a lot of Kabuki influences. Another very wellknown make-up design of Laroche is the lightning bolt motif on Bowie’s face for the ALADDIN SANE (1973) album cover photo. Bowie and Laroche also worked together on the Pin-Ups album cover, which also features Twiggy and on some video’s.

The Ziggy Stardust haircut   (by Suzi Fussey) 

There are two different stories about what inspired the haircut…..

1. Hairdresser Suzi Fussey from the Evelyn Paget salon on Beckenham High Street who gave Bowie his trademark Ziggy haircut – the famous bright red mane. The haircut was a combination of different hair styles selected from Vogue magazines. Fussey became Bowie and the group’s full-time hairdresser and wardrobe assistant on the Ziggy Stardust Tours. She then became Mick Ronson’s personal assistant and later married him.

2. David Bowie says: “The Ziggy hair came lock, stock and curler, from the cover of a magazine and was sported by a model doing a shoot for Kansai Yamamoto’s first London show. I couldn’t afford the clothes but I could get the hair. Suzi Fussey (later to marry Mick Ronson, gitarist) did a straight forward copy. The cut and colour were both Kansai’s – Schwartzkopf red was the colour. “I had her cut my hair short in early January 1972. No dye. Layed flatish. I believe that it went red and stood up between the 20th and 25th of January 1972, therefore that’s when the Kansai show must have been given maximum press.”

“When you’ve had red hair and no eyebrows you’ve got to have a sense of humour!” – Bowie (1993)

Since I seriously started playing around with jersey, I’ve fallen in love with the fabric. It takes some hard practice to get to know the do’s and don’t, because it is a knitted fabric, not woven and therefore needs another way processing, but you can achieve the most beautiful results because of its texture, elasticity and the way the fabric drapes down. Ofcourse I’d made many t-shirts and dresses from tricot, but jersey is thicker and therefore also suitable for pants, skirts, suit jackets, coats and many other designs which you can’t make out of tricot.

I made a fantastic suit for my friend out of  grey jersey with knitted in stripes. It came out great and some of his friends asked where he bought it or if I can make them a suit like that too, but the fabric was a unique piece of cloth I couldn’t find anymore … Jersey like that is very expensive nowadays and hardly produced anymore.

After the suit I started experimenting with other jersey fabrics. I made some classic pants and the result was sporty pants with a non-sporty cut and they’re heavenly to wear, because they’re stretchy. I’ve also boiled some jersey fabrics. You have to get an extra-large piece of cloth, because its shrinks about 30% to 50%. The boiled jersey is a lot rougher and great for a coat!

Coco Chanel was the first designer to use jersey for outerwear…! During the WWI Chanel left Paris and stayed in Deauville where she opened a new shop. Fabrics were getting hard to find, most were produced for soldiers uniforms. The luxury fabrics became rare. When Chanel went to a fabric store, they were out of stock except for jersey. Jersey was used for underwear only until then. Chanel saw an opportunity, jersey was inexpensive and a lot more comfortable to wear. She started experimenting and got inspiration from fisherman’s sweaters. With the use of jersey she found a new way of dressing women which was not excepted immediately by everybody. Though some of her clientele loved it the moment they put it on and it became Coco’s first real success in fashion.

Madame Gres (full name Germaine Emilie Krebs) is considered the maître of couture. She was formally trained as a sculptress before becoming a couturier. She first opened her fashion house ‘Gres’ in 1942, in Paris. Madame Gres had considerable success and was mostly known for her beautiful gowns, but also for her criticism on ready-to-wear, a lot of the haute couture houses turned to during her time in the fashion business. She considered ready-to-wear to be ‘prostitution’. However, in the end she did turn to launching her own ready-to-wear line. She worked from the 1930s trough to the 80s. Most of her fabulous gowns were made in jersey.

Her sculpture training is easy to recognize in her draping work or call it draping art! Musée Bourdelle honoured Madame Gres with an exhibition where eighty pieces were presented. Those from the ‘Alix’ period from 1934, works that were commissioned by Givenchy, as well as hundred sketches and fifty original pictures. I saw to the exhibition last year and was very moved. Not only because I never saw so many pieces of her work in one place, but also by her extreme talent and incredible art in fashion.

Interesting to notice, the designs by the maître of couture do not seem to be dated at all. Some pieces look so familiar and modern, they could have been designed yesterday.

Watch the promo video for the exhibition, it gives a great view on the dresses and the beautiful environment they were exposed in!

.

.

                                                       Madame Gres, have to love her!

One necklace has a very special meaning to me, it is a silver crucifix made with ox-blood red coral beads I wear it every day for more than 10 years already.

At my mother’s funeral my brother gave a beautiful speech and one part stayed with me especially. He quoted a philosopher who wrote: ‘People die twice. Ones when you pass away and ones again when you’re forgotten’. That second one hit me hard! I didn’t want to forget my mom for as long as I live and decided I needed a reminder. I would have loved to wear her wedding ring, which was melted together with my father’s wedding ring (my father died when I was only 11 years old), so they both would be with me every day, but sadly it was stolen at the rest-home, after it was taken of her finger when she passed away.

Then I remembered the little box she owned, with the red coral beads which had belonged to her grandmother as part of the traditional Dutch folklore outfit she used to wear. My mom only had inherited one-third of the traditional necklace the beads came from. I asked my brother and sisters if I could have these coral beads. For a little while I didn’t know what to do with them, how to wear them. Then I designed a silver crucifix with the coral beads incorporated in it and had it made by a jeweller. The beads are sealed in like in a counting frame. By now ofcourse I know I don’t need some item to remember my mom (and dad), I will never forget her anyway, but the necklace represents my love for her and I will always keep it with me.

This story took place in Italy. I was on holiday with my friend in northern Croatia and one day we made a trip to Trieste. Around lunchtime we looked for a restaurant. It was truffle-season and my friend found this fantastic little cafeteria were they served pasta with truffles. We sat down at one of the tables and enjoyed the food ánd the Italian drama that was going on down there.

At one point an elderly man walked in who obviously knew the people there. He looked like a chique vagabond with a passion for life and all good things it brings, like good food. He set down and ordered a coffee. I looked at him and saw the beautiful red coloured beaded necklace he was wearing. My friend saw it too and said he could try to buy it from him, because the man probably lived of  finding and selling stuff and would like to earn some money (for the great pasta down there). We discussed the ultimate price I was willing to pay for the necklace and my friend went over. He knew how to play the game and started with offering the man a drink.

A little later my friend came back and told me he bargained down to €90,- for the necklace  My ultimate price was a hundred, so deal! I bought the necklace and the man immediately ordered a plate of the pasta with truffles and a beer… Every time I look at the necklace I smell the magnificent truffle dishes in the cafeteria and think of that fantastic afternoon in Italy.