Sistaaz Of The Castle MBAFW
It was my first time at the Amsterdam fashion week this year, and I’m already blown away by inspiration and thoughts. Next up you’ll read a story about a designer, a photographer, Cape Town and transgender people!
What is it? Fashion Designer Duran Lantink and Photographer Jan Hoek from The Netherlands present Sistaaz of the castle. This is a project I have seen at the Mercedes Benz Amsterdam Fashion Week. It is about the colourful looks of the transgender sex workers that roam the streets of Cape Town, South Africa. This exposition took place in the Foam museum in Amsterdam January 13th . (FOAM, 2015) The exposition was for free and next to the exposition there was also an interview with Duran and Jan. Together they created a photo series and a fashion collection around what the African transgenders wanted to wear if they were the richest people of the world. In cape town there is a local sex worker`s organisation called S.W.E.A.T who got them in contact with the 6 models they used for the shoot as well as the collection. (SWEAT, 2016) The girls with whom Duran and Jan worked are most of the time homeless, living under the bridge next to the castle in Cape Town. That is how they came up with the name for their projects: Sistaaz of the castle. Duran was inspired by the creative ability of the `models` to create their beautiful outfits from old pieces of garments which they found. This is also what he did in his own collection, using recycling methods and collage techniques to create his outfits.
Why is it cool? Duran and Jan were really curious about how the girls wished to look if they had all the money and all the opportunities of the world. One of them, for example, wished to be the most famous luxurious sex worker in the world, working in a really expensive Victorian brothel. Another wished to be in a wedding dress together with her husband and children. And there was also a girl who wished to be Miss Africa. What you see on the pictures is that their social status, roles they place themselves in, and personal self completely changes when they wear Duran`s clothing instead of their self-made pieces. It is really interesting to see what clothing can do with your identity. Duran made the clothes for them to make their dreams come true. What you can see is that when they wear their new clothes made by Duran, there is a really big shift in their identity. From a sex worker on the streets in Cape Town to a luxurious sex worker in a Victorian brothel or a bride in a white wedding dress. This coolhunt has not only to do with appearance and fashion but it is also a little bit about sustainability. This because Duran’s collection inspires people to recycle their clothes, or to make something new out of pieces of clothing they found. This collection also gives a positive reflection on the transgenders in Cape Town. Most of the time these people are portrayed negatively in media. An example of this is a `woman` who says she is born free but not to be a transgender. (Ajam, 2013) So maybe they will be more accepted in Cape Town because of this shoot. On January 18th I visited a talkshow of Aynouk Tan; it was during the fashion week and it was with Duran and Jan. The topic was “gender and diversity”. They talked about what gender means for them personally, and explained that they wished that things like gender doesn`t exist. According to them, gender is just a category created by humans to make it easier to identify ourselves. It just feels safer if you think that you already know something about a person you see for the first time, by making an educated guess about what their gender is. But all too often, our gender stereotypes are not correct. So just try to imagine a world where gender does not exist.....
Conclusion Duran and Jan really made a statement during the fashion week. People came with questions to their presentation and left with even more questions. Why do we have something like gender? Duran and Jan gave their opinions and I agree. We should think about a world without gender. Or just don’t judge people on the basis of gender.
