Dutch Touch Rome 2001 – The project Dutch Touch was a chain exhibition together with a series of fashion shows, bringing a select number of fashion designers in the spotlight that were invited by The Fashion Agency in Rome. Also in the picture were a group of contemporary photographers under patronage of the Dutch Embassy in Rome and the Mondriaan Foundation.
Between the 10th till the 20th of July 2001, Rome found itself in the grip of avant-garde fashion design and modern photography showing how the Dutch have a taste for combining severity with extravagance.
Through their curious use of quirky and unusual elements, this generation of Dutch artists conducted a unique investigation of the output generated by a rigid and purist education. The artists highlighted two facets of Holland through their subtle balance of order and disturbance.
Synthesis is one of the most relevant characteristics of Dutch culture. It is the ability to combine a limited number of elements and assemble them to create a unique form. Nothing is haphazard or excessive; the form serves as an efficient vehicle. Minimalism, Calvinism and functionalism are words often associated with the Netherlands. However they are not far removed from the reality of the youngest generation of artists, photographers, designers and fashion designers whose creativity has been recognized across Europe and the rest of the world.
All images © Alta Roma
Curators: Angelique Westerhof, Marianna Vecellio
Participants: Maurice Scheltens, Freudenthal/Verhagen, Anuschka Blommers & Niels Schumm, Marie-José Jongerius, Wendelien Daan, Wojciech Dziedzic, Niels Klavers for Klavers/van Engelen, Oscar Suleyman, KEUPR/van BENTM, Bianca Pilet
With the support from the Camera della Moda Italiana, the Dutch embassy in Rome, the Mondriaan Foundation and the Agenzia della Moda.