Front Row Jantaminiau Haute Couture Fall Winter 2012-2013 Collections Video

Jantaminiau Fall-Winter 2012-2013 Haute Couture Collections

I was privileged to be invited to the Jantaminiau Haute Couture Fall Winter 2012-2013 show in Paris over the Haute Couture Collections period in July. What an incredible show it was. Jan’s work was “Jaw Dropping Amazing” and if you thought last years show was spectacular, this year was beyond believable.  His sense of design, architecture, colour co-ordination blending and  a profound understanding of textile structural integrity and tensile strength is uncanny. In many ways (and this is just my humble opinion), he is a born intuitive and a Couturier with the mind set of a Structural Design Engineer and Architect.

Jan Taminiau Candid Portrait Photo © Benjamin Kanarek 2012

I was so pleased to have photographed a few of his pieces for a couple of Haute Couture editorials one of which is for the November Issue of Harper’s BAZAAR en Español, that I will most definitely share when I am able. None the less, here is our  video of the entire Haute Couture Show, it will speak more loudly than my words are capable of expressing….Enjoy!

Jan Taminiau was born September 14th, 1975 and is a renowned Dutch fashion designer and couturier who launched his own fashion label bearing his name (written as one word) in 2003. He recently became the first Dutch fashion designer to have a creation worn by Her Royal Higness Princess Maxima of the Netherlands during the opening of the Mode Biennale exhibition in Arnhem in June 2009. The creation in question cleverly incorporated the Dutch flag and was created from recycled postbags. Based in Amsterdam, Taminiau has an atelier located in the heart of the famous Red-Light district as part of the Amsterdam City Council’s planned regeneration of that district.

Another Angle:

Diamond patterns and muted jewel tones shook up the norm from Jan Taminiau, his Fall 2013 Couture collection inspired by the colorful cultures of Africa and Uzbekistan. Fusing the two together, unexpected graphic patterns contrasted the off white base tone of the collection. Embracing the idea of color, Taminiau applied small increments like green pompoms, and also more dramatic statements with tulle collars, and giant hoods that the models removed for the cameras so they hung, bouncing, over their backs.

Jantaminiau FW 2012-13 Haute Couture

The ruffles and diamond patterns, in ultimate contrast from linear to organic, brought together traditional ethnic crafts and the techniques of haute couture. The controlled frenzy of tulle sculpted into hoods and into full dresses whose volume was shaved in under the bust or at the waist to accentuate the form underneath while altering the overall outline of the block color form. In contrast, the diamond patterned velvet, beading and Ikat embroidery helped define the body trough changes in scale and directionality. Combining the two ends of the spectrum in an off white gown with fuller tulle on the bottom, shaved down into diamond shapes moving up the body to a final moment of color across the strong square shoulder.

Jantaminiau Haute Couture Fall Winter 2012-13

The sky-high heels that Taminiau is notorious for further exaggerated the verticality of the figure and allowed him to get away with the experimental silhouettes of the tulle. The variety of silhouettes, especially the champagne colored lace body suits and shorter dresses that showed off lots of leg, gave relief to the visual weight of the floor length gowns. It truly was a poetic clash, with such bold graphic statements and dramatic forms of color balancing each other in daring harmony. From the most elegant to the most dramatic, Taminiau controls his vision with clear direction, and this season he arrived at the destination with great success.

– Lee Anderson, Parisian Correspondent

About Benjamin Kanarek
Fashion and Beauty Photographer. Some of the magazines I have shot for include: VOGUE (China, Portugal, Brazil, Italia, Paris and South America & Mexico editions), RG VOGUE Brazil, Harper’s BAZAAR (China, en Español & Latin America, Hong Kong, Italy editions), L’Officiel Paris, ELLE (Spain, Portugal and Greece editions), Madame Figaro (France), Cosmopolitan (France and Italy editions), Glamour (France), Votre Beauté, Jardin des Modes, Dépêche Mode, New York Daily News, Fashion District News, New York Times Magazine, W (British edition), WWD, Fashion Magazine (Canada), Flare (Canada), Oyster, Tank, WestEast…