Basic Instincts

This June and July, Premsela held the exhibition Basic Instincts, a multidisciplinary show of contemporary, directional visions in Dutch fashion culture, at Berlin’s Villa Elisabeth. Featuring work by approximately 50 designers and artists including Iris van Herpen, Klavers van Engelen, Jo Meesters, BCXSY and Doepel Strijkers Architects, Basic Instincts maps a range of ideas that originate in fashion but border on and interact with other fields. We are seeking future venues for the exhibition and will announce them as soon as possible.


(Un-)Dutch
Is it still relevant in 2011 to talk about what’s characteristically Dutch? Certain hallmarks and criteria for fashion in the Netherlands do exist, but distinctive ideas by individuals at the meta level are what make our fashion culture exciting. In Basic Instincts, therefore, we don’t attempt to distil an idea of Dutchness from a group of designers or designs. Instead, we highlight views and visions from Dutch fashion culture as they relate to each other and to other spheres – not only because they’re Dutch but most of all because they’re relevant and interesting from an international perspective.

Multidisciplinary concept, international team
One thing about Basic Instincts is characteristically Dutch: its multidisciplinary approach. Multidisciplinarity is often taken for granted in our country, though this way of thinking is also typical in much of northern Europe. The Dutch design climate also encourages crossovers and experimentation, partly thanks to the absence of a strong national fashion tradition, such as that found in France (Marchetti 2009). Basic Instincts’ emphasis on inter- and multidisciplinarity shows how Dutch fashion culture serves as a breeding ground for an open, creative mentality. To gain outside perspective, we enlisted an international creative team to help us to develop the exhibition:


creative directors José Klap and Sandor Lubbe, of Zoo Magazine;
artistic curators Luca Marchetti and Emanuele Quinz, of Mosign;
and Henrik Vibskov, who handled the exhibition design.


The exhibition will tour a series of countries. In each location, we will forge links with cultural organisations, designers, artists and architects by means of an innovative communication concept and a range of adjunct activities carried out with Dutch and local partners.
© Premsela