Isis Fashion Awards: A new naked fashion show for accessory designer?

The fashion industry was taken by storm with the announcement of a new controversial fashion show in the Netherlands called the “Isis Fashion Awards”. The premiere edition of the Isis Fashion Awards (IFA) aims to revolutionize the fashion industry by presenting accessory collections in a unique, risqué and daring way. The event was held at Diamond Plaza in Rotterdam on Saturday, December 10, 2022.

According to the founder of IFA Jan-Willem Breure, accessory designers are the 'underdogs' of the fashion industry. Often all the attention and fame go to the clothing designers. Many accessory designers feel "undervalued" and "overlooked", but with IFA they hope to change this. They hope to create a unique platform to showcase accessory designs.

During the competition on the 10th of December, 9 designers showcased their designs on the catwalk in front of an audience and jury. Prizes will be awarded to the best three designers. The Dutch politician and diversity activist Sylvana Simons (Bij1) handed out the prizes to the three winners. During Isis Fashion Awards, designers showcased 12 types of fashion items: shoes, bags, glasses, jewelry, watches, stockings, socks, gloves, scarves, belts, hats and masks. The one-day event had red-carpet interviews, fashion shows and an award ceremony. Celebrities and influencers were present during this event such as André Dongelmans (Luizenmoeder) and Ruby Ketting Olivier (Ambassador of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce).

I have seen many fashion shows, but what I think makes Isis Fashion Awards different from the other fashion shows is that this is the only show where the models wear no clothing, meaning they are completely naked!

I was quite shocked initially, but the founder Jan-Willem informed us that this allows all the focus and attention to go to the accessories that the models are wearing. In the past, accessory designers were forced to work with clothing designers to showcase their accessory collections. Which meant that they were always relegated to the background, but with IFA, accessories finally get the attention they deserve.

The second reason why the models wear no clothing has to do with non-western culture. During the founder Jan-Willem Breure's opening speech he was critical of the western standards of beauty. He referred to the first European encounters with Africans in the 15th century. Europeans were stunned that Africans, Native Americans, South Asians and Aboriginals wore less or no clothing. They called this behavior primitive and believed that these people did not possess a sense of fashion. But according to Jan-Willem, every culture and tribe had a sense of fashion, because even though they did not wear clothing, they wore accessories, making accessories the only universal form of fashion.

What I most enjoyed about the show was the interaction on stage. Isis Fashion Awards allowed interaction between the designers and the jury. The jury gives critical yet important feedback to the designers. This created a more entertaining and accessible sphere because it allows the audience to not only understand the accessory designs better. It also allows the audience to get to know the creators of the designs better. There were a lot of emotional stories from the designers, from kidnapping to forced adoptions. I saw several audience members become teary eyed.

The members of the jury are well known in the fashion industry including the stunning Swinda van Dijk, Paulina Tsvetanova, Gary Symor and Marjorie Fernandes. Originally Bjorn van den Berg was also slated to participate, but due to a last minute issue he could not attend, so was replaced by Marjorie Fernandes.

Coming in at third place were the duo designers: Toiz Art , with their unique wellies (Rain Boots) and masks. Coming in at 2nd place was Ethiopian designer: The New Tribe. Coming in at first place was the italian designer Solipsi , with her unique bags.

Source: Official Website www.isisfashionawards.com