Exams are over. Your exciting summer internship and/or job is starting. You’re ready to take on the world, ready to say YES to every opportunity that finds its way onto the sunny side of the street on which you tread. How do you embrace this happiest of crossroads? How do you truly suck out all the marrow of life? Firstly, dressing how you feel (or want to feel) is key. Faking it until you make it in your exciting new work place or career-related summer course starts with dressing like the sophisticated lady (or gent) that you really are. I like to do this by channeling a very flamboyant version of the prototypical ’80s career woman (think Melanie Griffith in Career Woman with a little Dolly Parton in 9-5 sprinkled in). The ’80s was an important time for female empowerment in the workplace and you can ride that bandwagon too. How better to look put together and ready to take the town than with a loud yet enigmatic statement trench coat?
The aesthetic of the 1980s female business mogul greatly informs Amsterdam-based designer Ronald van der Kemp’s spring 2016 couture collection, which embraces hard lines and sharp angles. Described unconventionally as a “high-end scavenger,” Der Kemp goes against fashion industry mandate of prioritizing production, instead accentuating the architectural and material aspect of couture. Like the whimsical yet severe floor-length capes and acidic jackets of Der Kemp’s collection, my ensemble reveals the constructed nature of fashion, as it pertains to both materiality and identity.
Get My Look: 1. Trench coat. 2. Fuchsia matte lopstick. 3. Pointed kitten heels.
