Klavers van Engelen

http://www.klaversvanengelen.com/
Niels Klavers (1967, Raamsdonkveer) and Astrid van Engelen (1970, Harmelen) are the creative tandem behind the label Klavers van Engelen. Klavers graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy and worked for three years as an independent designer before enrolling at the Fashion Institute Arnhem. Astrid van Engelen also studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy after first taking a course at the Institute for Fashion Management and Design (currently the AMFI). 1998 was a top year for Niels Klavers. It saw him win not only first prize at the prestigious French Festival des Arts de la Mode in Hyères with his own collection, but also a NPS Culture prize back home.

Klavers and Van Engelen’s designs vary from pure conceptual to very wearable. The duo literally and figuratively searches for different perspectives. They mislead the eye with duplication and applying functional pattern components in new ways. In the collection 'Show me your second face' for example, a shirt collar has taken on the function of an arm-hole. 'Je t ‘embrasse', was a new interpretation for the concept of embracing; a scarf made up of multiple sleeves hugs the wearer. Also by using material treated and fixed in a certain way, they can give the impression of a garment crumpled in places or ruffled by a breeze.

The design duo also looks for fresh alternatives in presenting their collections. A tableau vivant was chosen to highlight a collection for which a ball of paper had served as inspiration. Not models but skinny schoolgirls – plucked from the streets of Paris – sat at desks wearing Klavers and Van Engelen’s latest creations. The Centraal Museum in Utrecht has purchased several of their designs and their work has been shown at exhibitions in England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Japan and Taiwan.

awards:
1998 - Festival des Arts de la Mode, Hyères, France
1998 - NPS Culture prize, the Netherlands

teaching activities:
Niels Klavers and Astrid van Engelen teach at the Fashion Institute Arnhem, AMFI in Amsterdam and the Design Academy in Eindhoven.

see:
http://www.contemporaryfashion.net