Unquestionably, there exists only one Venice in this world: the Queen of the Adriatic, the City of Bridges, la Serenissima—the most Serene.But all around the globe, enchanting cities of water can be found like Bruges in Flemish Belgium—the “Venice of the North”—and Zhouzhuang of China, otherwise known as the “Venice of the East.”
Undoubtedly no one can forget Amsterdam, also nicknamed the “Venice of the North,” which started as a fishing village in the 12th century and has flowed into a city with 90 islands, 100 kilometers of canals, 1500 bridges, and 1 million inhabitants. "
I lived in the Netherlands for exactly one year when I was training to coordinate the European network for a multinational corporation. I used to love travelling to the “Venice of the North” just to walk along the canals.
Home to prominent menswear labels like G-Star, Amsterdam has been rising to international notoriety for its own citywide fashion week.
Kicked off in 2004, the Amsterdam International Fashion Week takes place in the Westergasfabriek, a gas factory built in 1883 that was closed in the Sixties upon the discovery of natural gas and, since, has been converted into a cultural park.
In conjunction with the event and collaborating with local museums, galleries and shops, Fashion Week Downtown organizes a series of parties, lectures, public catwalks, and expositions for the public.From July 22-26 this year, several menswear labels exhibited at the Amsterdam International Fashion Week, including Replay, Ontfront, Cold Method, Hyun Yeu, and NōN by KIM.
Stay tuned for more coverage on these labels.
Photo top left Copyright by Massimo Catarinella at Wikipedia.
Photo bottom right 2010 s/s collection Copyright Peter Stigter.
