Have you ever heard of the Amsterdam International Fashion Week (AIFW)? It is an event taking place twice a year. The purpose of this event is to celebrate the fashion trends of the season. Initially, it started in 2004 so as to promote the industry of fashion in Amsterdam. These days it is known as one of the biggest fashion events.
During the AIFW, there are a series of fashion shows, a number of presentations, trade fairs, meetings, parties, gallery exhibitions and lectures which are well attended by the luminaries of the fashion industry, both in the Netherlands and across the world. Most of the designers who are featured during the Amsterdam International Fashion Week are from the Netherlands and Belgium but the visitor mix very much international in numbers.
The Fashion Week takes place every year at the end of January and then later at the end of July.
The most important event of the Laundry Day events is the two day Mode Fabreik, which is an important fashion fair that is held at the RAI Congress Centre. Also in conjunction with the AIWF, there is also a Fashion Week Downtown event that takes place, which is open for the general public. This event includes a number of public fashion shows, shop launches and much more. There are a number of venues for the various events; some of them include the Amsterdam Historich Museum, Rijksmuseum, Foam Photography Amsterdam and the Beurs van Berlage.
While most of the main AIFW events are only open to special invitees, there are a number of events, especially the Laundry Day events that are open to the general public.
There are tickets on sale for these events at various prices, with the most important events such as the Mode Fabreik normally priced at around Euros 15 for entry, whilst some other events offer free entry.
When one thinks of the big fashion shows, Paris, NYC and London immediately come to mind, but you will get the chance to see many of the same exhibitors, models and designers at the Amsterdam event. The event in the RAI centre is preferred to some of the larger events by some attendees with a more intimate atmosphere compared for example with New York Fashion Week. 'Green Fashion' is one of the themes for the 2010 show and this includes a look at the materials and recycling of clothes and any way in which the fashion industry can move forward in merging fashion and the environment.