Dylan Westerweel wins Lichting 2019 at Amsterdam Fashion Week

On Friday the 6th of September, Lichting 2019, the debut for up-and-coming fashion talent took place at the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam as part of Amsterdam Fashion Week. The fourteen best graduates of the seven Dutch fashion academies presented themselves to an international professional audience. Dylan Westerweel, who graduated from ArtEZ University of the Arts, was chosen by an international panel of fashion professionals as the most promising talent in the Netherlands. He won the Lichting 2019 award of 10,000 EUR-made available by the Meester Koetsier Foundation. In addition, Dylan received the NJAL+ award that gives the designer visibility on leading online fashion platform Not Just A Label. Lichting is an initiative of Amsterdam Fashion Week and HTNK fashion recruitment & consultancy and is supported by the Meester Koetsier Foundation.

The collection

Dylan Westerweel presented a men's collection entitled "Jack Saul," inspired by the beauty and problems of the homosexual prostitute of the same name from the Victorian era. Dylan sees this beauty and sexuality as a weapon - the male counterpart of the femme fatale. Classic masculine garments have been rebuilt and accentuate body parts in an unexpected way. Soft and seductive materials are hand-painted or combined with embroideries and 3D structures of flowers and anatomical hearts. The colour palette is pink, magenta, white and blue ranging from pastel-coloured cotton to eye-catching magenta wool.

Winner 2019

This year, the international panel consisted of Kim Bekker (Freelance Creative Direction for Isabel Marant), Eva Losada (Fashion Photographer), Jo Simpson (Curriculum leader at Fashion & Textiles department Central Saint Martins) and Rolien Zonneveld (Editor-in-Chief of i-D Netherlands). The panel unanimously agreed on Dylan Westerweel's talent. The jury report read:

Dylan’s collection was a refreshing take on what that masculine sexiness means in 2019. We are very excited to see what Dylan will do next. An honourable mention was given to Iris van Wees who not only tackled the issue of sustainability but also showed us a glimpse of what fashion might look like in the future. Another honourable mention goes out to Armia Yousefi, whose vast collection drew us into his raw, emotional universe.

About Lichting

Lichting was created to bridge the gap between the academies (their alumni) and the fashion industry. The aim of Lichting is to provide a springboard for promising talent towards a viable career. It is an initiative of Amsterdam Fashion Week and HTNK Fashion recruitment & consultancy and is supported by the Master Coachman Foundation.

Photos: Aygin Kolaei for FashionUnited