Francisco van Benthum

Since 2003 Francisco van Benthum is the leading force behind the luxury men’s fashion label Francisco van Benthum. His vision as a designer shows itself in elegant men’s collections that take traditional menswear wardrobe as a starting point. Within the outline of the traditional menswear silhouette, van Benthum shifts proportions and adds alienating elements based on male stereotypes. Earlier collections integrated sailor-, cowboy- and racing driver details in the clothes.

Both press and buyers seem to appreciate his attitude. His fully featured collections including formal and casual wear and a range of accessories and shoes were well received. Francisco van Benthum is on sale at a few selected shops worldwide and in his store in Amsterdam to be opened in September 2008.

Academy of Dutch Fashion Design

To gain an indirect, objective and independent vote the Dutch Fashion Foundation has invited a select group of national decision makers and key-players with a cultural and economical background into the Academy of Dutch Fashion Design. The members of the Academy have all individually listed their top ten of most promising Dutch fashion designers, with a result of 28 designers. Looking at the ranking in which they were chosen and the criteria set up for this award, a selection was formed of 10 designers.

Members of the Academy of Dutch Fashion Design: Amsterdam International Fashion Week - Arnhem Fashion Biënnale - Dutch Fashion Foundation - Fonds voor Beeldende Kunst Vormgeving en Bouwkunst - HTNK - Intres – Klavers van Engelen - Modefabriek - MODINT – Monique van Heist - Prins Bernard Foundation - World Fashion Centre

International pre-jury From an international point of view the precommittee members of the jury Marc Gysemans (Gysemans Clothing Industry, Belgium), Valentina Maggi (headhunter luxury brands; director of Design Practice at Floriane de Saint-Pierre & Associés, Paris), and Diane Pernet (talentscout and journalist A Shaded View on Fashion, Paris) then choose the 5 finalists for the Mercedes-Benz Dutch Fashion Awards 2009. These designers will be presented to the full international jury on November 6th.

Regulations

Each fashion designer to participate in the Mercedes-Benz Dutch Fashion Awards is selected by the criteria that he/she: 

- is graduated from an (inter)national fashion academy, 
- has the Dutch nationality, 
- has its own registered enterprise, 
- has developed at least five collections under his/her own label, 
- has distinguished talent, a unique style and knows
to present this convincingly, 
- has already taken strategic steps to imbed in the international fashion field.