Last week we were still enjoying the winter fun, but slowly we are starting to look forward to the warmth of Spring. And the Spring/Summer 2012 collection of Alchemist, of which we already got a few beautiful items in store is certainly helping us in the Spring direction. City-gardens, with all their different aspects, were the source of inspiration for Achemist's Sping/Summer collection. This inspiration came with lovely bright colours but also beautiful earth tones and as always in super nice and stylish materials.

Our favourites?

1.) The herbal dyed jumpsuit which has a gorgeous natural colour and a super cool and comfy fit! Combine it now with a nice cardigan and stylish pumps and wear it with nice sandals when there is some more sunlight.

2.) The bright poppy tanktop, which has the most gorgeous tone of red we have ever seen. Made in supersoft and fine tencel fabric.This item easily spices up your wardrobe and mixes in with other items in your wardobe perfectly.

We're in between collections and we're cold so we decided to stay in this week and clean up our closet. We found loads of great stock hidden in boxes. And as we need space for the new collections, which will come in shortly we're throwing a DEADSTOCK SALE PARTY on Friday. Score the coolest items for ladies and gentlemen: clothes, as well as shoes and accessories for ridiculously low prices (2-50euro). And warm up while enjoying our homemade gluhwein!

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