And the winners of the Green Fashion Competition are….., in category 2: Carrie Parry from New York and in category 1 Studio JUX from Amsterdam! With live music from Eefje de Visser and stunning pieces on the catwalk Studio JUX absolutely rocked the show!

The finale of the Green Fashion Competition took place on the catwalk of Amsterdam Fashion Week. All of the 8 finalists showed three pieces of their collections. Winner of last year’s Green Fashion competition, Elsien Gringhuis opened the show with her stunning new collection Urge. Frontrow no one less than princess Maxima was seated, showing that she supports Green fashion.

Swanfield, the traveling boutique from London, is coming over! After being under the Swans’ wings during their last London pop-up we happily invited the Swans back over to Amsterdam. As the name suggests, the Swans move around from one pop-up destination to another, creating temporary havens to showcase their work, sell their wares and play shop. The Swans focus on womenswear, accessories and art. It began with two east London designers, Cecilia Hammarborg and Katherine Pont of Mine, who have since attracted a nomadic gang of independent designers.
The Swans are sending over a few of their coolest and most beautiful labels to Amsterdam!

Let us introduce you to a few of the Swans already! Make sure to visit our pop-up store @ Options Jan 21 and 22 to meet the others as well! Busy that weekend? The Swans will strike down in our conceptstore in the Pijp, in Amsterdam the day after until Jan 28.

Cecilia Hammarborg

Swedish designer Cecilia Hammarborg has recently created an entirely London-Made collection of beautifully printed and immaculately tailored pieces. This brand is the ultimate fusion of classic construction and modern design. The designer skilfully brings a bit of fairytale to life, and into any wardrobe, with the best of British manufacturing. Thereby subtly reducing the carbon footprint.

Outsider

Inspired by fashion but designed to be classic, wearable and beautiful, Outsider garments can be worn and loved season after season. Good clothes do not go out of fashion. The designer is inspired by the items that have been in our wardrobes for years - because true style is timeless, not transient and throwaway. Outsider’s versatile day-to-evening pieces are made to the highest quality, designed to last and be loved. Outsider is passionate about using alternative and sustainable fibres.

Lula Dot

Lula Dot is a company which aims to upcycle London's waste into lasting beauty. Lula Dot’s latest projects have dealt with the problem of waste. The designer Lucy has tackled this by reusing waste to create beautiful products, but has also tried to create products which encourage emotional attachment and therefore increase a product's durability. Lucy works with a range of materials and objects to create lights, jewellery and furniture.

What: Swanfield, the travelling boutique from London visits Amsterdam | Jan 21 + 22 Jan 2012 @ OPTIONS! DAMRAK 49 - 1012 LL AMSTERDAM | Jan 23 - 28 2012 @ CHARLIE + MARY CONCEPTSTORE - GERARD DOUSTRAAT 84 - 1072 VW AMSTERDAM

Hey pssst...........have you already heard that we will be popping up in downtown Amsterdam together with our friends from MINT!

MINT

MINT is a new event in Amsterdam, part of the established tradeshow Modefabriek. It combines tradeshow and event, fashion and lifestyle. MINT has a dream. A vision for the future of fashion: great style, made with respect for people and our environment. It is called forward fashion. MINT hopes to inspire towards a fashion scene that is both happening and harmless.

Forward fashion labels

And we couldn't agree more! We are very proud to be already offering a lot of MINT's forward fashion labels! Studio JUX and Monkee Genes for example have been with us from the very beginning. And also the French label L'Herbe Rouge and Underprotection where introduced in the Netherlands in our store. Also Dutch designer labels Elsien Gringhuis, MLY and STAT fashion are part of MINT.

Popping up @ OPTIONS!

Expect a buzzing selection of these labels and more at the MINT meets Charlie + Mary pop-up store. We also invited Swanfield collective, an inspiring travelling boutique from London. And we're very happy to be located in OPTIONS! That cool new concept store @ the Damrak. On Jan 21 and 22 only!

What: Pop-up store MINT meets Charlie + Mary | Where: OPTIONS! DAMRAK 49 - 1012 LL AMSTERDAM | When: Jan 21 (10am-7pm) + 22 (11am-7pm) 2012

During the DOWNTOWN program of Amsterdam Fashion Week the fashion photography work of young artists (graduates and students of the Amsterdam Fashion Institute and the Royal Academy of Art in the Hague) will be exhibited in the Charlie + Mary conceptstore.

The online world plays an important role in our lives. It's a convenient and fast world, which brings a lot of experiences within our reach. The question is, can the online experience compete with the physical experience, and maybe even replace it? Is our world becoming bigger or smaller by this fast and interesting world?

Creative duo Lisa Megens (AMFI) and Malou Kranen (Royal Academy of Art – The Hague), are researching the borders between virtual and physical contact in their work. ‘Megens from her background in concept & styling and Kranen from her photographic research to the human longing to be recognized as an individual and at the same being part of the surroundings.

Also creative team Fieke Nicolai (styling) and Anneloes Demmers (photography) will be exhibiting their latest fashion photography work. From a shared passion for fashion photography, the cooperation between these two AMFI alumni grew naturally. This is translated in beautifully stylized images.

The fashion photography work of the "Borders" exhibition will be exposed online @ www.charliemary.com as well as offline. Will you be viewing the exhibition online, or will you choose for the physical experience? Where the physical experience enables you to enjoy a coffee when you wander around and where you can touch the fashion items visualized in the fashion photography works..... You might even want to try both experiences....

Location : Charlie + Mary | Gerard Doustraat 84 | 1072 VW | Amsterdam | +31 (0)20 -6628281| www.charliemary.com |info@charliemary.com
Opening hours exhibition: 20 januari - 29 januari 2011 | ma 13 - 18 u | di - vr 10 - 18u | zat 10- 17 u | free entrance

When you walk along the Damrak in central Amsterdam you might be surprised by this inspiring store, which opened last month. Located between all the shabby tourist shops out here, this shop is a very welcome variety!

Shopping @ Options

OPTIONS! is a 230 m² shop where you can find a special mix of products; exciting designs from foreign countries to collaborations with local producers. In a spacious outlet Dutch and international designers alongside AMFI students share pride of place on the biggest Flat Table, designed by architect Jo Nagasaka (a past collaborator on the LLove Hotel). Florianne Eshuis sourced an extensive range of products from Dutch ceramics to Peruvian Alpaca wool garments, hand-printed notebooks from Berlin and products developed uniquely for OPTIONS!

Sleeping @ The Exchange

OPTIONS! is part of The Exchange hotel. Are you planning a visit to Amsterdam? We can certainly recommend this hotel. Hotel "The Exchange" is a hotel with a special love for fashion. Students of the Amsterdam Fashion Institute dressed the rooms like models on the catwalk. The result: a hotel where architecture meets fashion. The hotel has 61 rooms, ranging from 1 to 5 stars to suit every budget.

Breakfast @ Stock

In STOCK, which is also part of The Exchange hotel you can enjoy :"breakfast" the whole day. Fresh croissants and good coffee, although there's wine in the fridge and delicious salads as well. Lots of organic and natural products and an inspiring atmosphere, Yummie!

As we always like to team up with great and inspiring initiatives we will be popping up in OPTIONS!'s basement in a few weeks time....stay tuned!