Fashionably Dutch

Dutch designer, Maaike Mekking will present her new collection next week during the Off-Schedule programme of London Fashion Week. Her designs have been named by high profile publications such as Wallpaper* and Nylon as a designer to watch, and American even Elle is flying in the see her show. Reason enough for us to zoom in on her background.

Inspired by a Dutch song from the singer Ramses Shaffy, Mekking’s collection is about experiencing emotions, which Mekking feels you sometimes miss living in a big city like London. The song sticked in her head one time, when she was en route to the airport. "Fashion is visual medium and I hope to reach out to people by using that", Mekking comments.

After finishing the Fashion Academy in Arnhem, she interned at Alexander McQueen and finished her Masters at the Royal College of Arts. There after Mekking joined the design team at Alberta Ferretti in Italy for a little while, after which she return to the British capital. Back in London she designed for directional boutique No-One in Shoreditch. Mekking got involved in the creative scene of the East-End, where she started to host events and exhibitions. She says: “I was looking to do something that turned around quicker then a catwalk show.”

Being well connected, it was easy for Maaike to host her shows at trendy places such as Sketch. For this season she’ll be presenting her AW08 collection at 93 Feet East. “I’d like to give the venue a Coco Chanel feeling. And create an intimate affair by using the stage instead of a catwalk”, she comments on her upcoming show.

Maaike Mekking's AW08 show will take place on Tuesday 12th February at 8.30pm.