Amsterdam Preview: Seduction of Fashion

Amsterdam’s cultural identity is one of complex introspection: legalised vice casts a shadow over any significant cultural contribution as if Rembrandt’s grittily honest self-portraits symbolised an everlasting quest for identity between lowbrow and highbrow. This introspection lives on in the stream of urban art and fashion arising from the city’s subculture: the sweet aesthetics of the lowbrow movement are an outlet for revealing darker depths. And in September Streetlab, a poppish utopia of street culture, fashion, design and clubbing, takes place at the margin of the very highbrow Design Month. The festival brings together more than 150 movers and shakers of the fashion and design world, in the brand new Blijmer ArenA station (the area has an up-and-coming Caribbean food and music market, Kwakoe, every summer weekend).

It must be a challenge to rebel as a young fashion designer when vice is such an integral part of the city landscape so it makes complete sense for the emerging fashion scene to instrumentalise cheesy neon signs, sex shows and coffee shops as part of this year’s Fashion Week. January saw the launch of the year long Redlight Amsterdam project: fashion consultancy HTNK made the controversial purchase of a number of brothels at the hub of the Red Light District, transforming neon-lit working-girl booths into showrooms for Amsterdam’s talented young designers. This is an interesting move because previous collections have been almost too prudish but now Amsterdam designers are going head to head with the sex of the city. It could easily look like sensationalist propaganda and graceless PR but on closer inspection this exemplifies artists reconnecting to their city. “Blinded by the Lights”, the previous collection by label …and beyond, professed to catch the instant when utopia disappears and reality bites when the lights go on. Maybe 2008 is a landmark moment in Amsterdam’s subculture.

Kate Bloomfield

Welcome to the Turnleft Guides Blog

This is the inaugural post for the Turnleft blog. We are currently primarily a print company with a keen eye for the faster-moving world, but it didn't make sense to publish a blog until there was something worth saying. From now on, there will be.

We just launched a revamped version of the Turnleft site. The newsletter subscription and better areas for interacting with us are the main changes, and as a small addition you can now also order and pre-order our guides from the site. We will only make a small number available like this, and when they are gone, they are gone. Right now the cost is 3.00 UK pounds per guide, which enables it to arrive at your door in the good old mail.

For the community of people helpful and interested in the product we decided to go with Facebook. Here's the Turnleft Facebook Page. We're there all the time anyway, and even for the people who are not, the Page is visible even if you don't have a login. Come join us, for updates from us and tips from other city-aficionados if nothing else.

The Helsinki guide, our first guide and acid test, has been received very well - too well in places as it has flown off the shelves to the dismay of some people we've told where to go and pick one up. There's a few left for mail order if you are interested on the main site. Helsinki is of course a slightly off-beat destination on the grand scale, but it has the creative buzz and impetus we look for and love in our cities. We are already updating that guide for a new summer release, while we're finishing Amsterdam and Berlin and working on London, New York, San Francisco and a couple of other cities. It's busy but good!

In the future, we'll use this blog to air updates, discuss new cities and alternatives, post cool new finds or developments around guides we've already launched. Subscribe or come back often. It's good to have you.