Elza Wandler behind her eponymous cult accessories label staged an art installation at an abandoned gas station to kick off Amsterdam Fashion Week on Sept 1
Most people will have seen Wandler's Hortensia bag—a rounded shape with trapeze-like corners—on the arms of what feels like every influencer, but many would not be able to guess that the three-year-old cult accessories label hails from Amsterdam. Founder Elza Wandler tells me over breakfast that people think the brand is from London. But all that is about to change, especially after their recent event.
Wandler kicked off Amsterdam Fashion Week on Sept 1 with an art installation, with guests and friends from around the world invited to celebrate the "homecoming" moment. "I'm really glad we were able to put a spotlight on our culture and talent and invite international guests to see what we have to offer," she says.
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After an intimate dinner at Bambino, guests were dropped off at a mysterious park and given glow-up headphones in which a voice repeated the many definitions and connotations of light and colour. The event, after all, was titled, "Without Light, There Is No Colour".
"When we were invited to kick off Amsterdam Fashion Week, we wanted to do something beyond the product, but that still made sense in the context of our universe," says Joanna Radomska, Wandler's marketing, PR and brand manager. "Then we looked at how the shapes of our bags are quite architectural—they're always something quite graphic in colour and lines—so we wanted to translate that quality physically, which is why we thought the abandoned gas station which was the perfect setting."