Mattijs Bergen first came to many peoples attention at London Fashion Week in September 2008, when he presented his spring / summer collection in all it's bright metallic glory. Mattijs's voluminous shapes screw up striking combinations what with their palette of contrasting bright and neutral tones, shiny metallic's and matt chiffons. Perhaps it was no surprise given the designer hails from the same art college as conceptual fashion designers Viktor and Rolf but still it was great to witness.
The fantastic combinations of gray with metallic burnt orange, mint green with fuchsia pink, and vivid metallic gold with slate gray washed out denim were all beautiful to behold. Mattijs's collection was chock full of pleats and gathers paired with slim pencil skirts and skinny denim. These combinations made for an extremely wearable separates collection.
The Mattijs collection was described in the Fashion Week brochure as 'a collage in styles, fabric and colors and all feels like you just opened a wondrous jewel box …'. It stand out for using Zijder natural silks, Swarovski crystals and Lyria textiles.
The school of a great designer
After completing his studies at the Artez Hoge School in Arnhem, Mattijs Van Bergen decided to hone his craft on the prestigious MA Fashion Womens wear course at Central St Martins College of Art's in London, where his final collection went into limited production and was a critical success.
Mattijs graduated built up press coverage for his collection before going on to work in the design studios of Giles Deacon and Viktor and Rolf. He also participated in many Dutch fashion events such as the Arnhem Mode Biennale in the company of designers such as Maison Martin Margiela, Rodarte and Jil Sander, and the Dutch Frans Moelnaar Couture Awards.
Shortly after launching his autumn winter collection for A / W 2008, his designs were snapped up by none other than influential London boutique Browns. The Dutch Fashion Foundation also awarded Mattijs a design studio in Amsterdam while displaying the collection at London Fashion Week. Since being awarded the Amsterdam Studio Matijs now works full time from there.
A new jewelry collection is due out soon which will be interesting to see given its fashion design background. It may well result in a more affordable way of buying into his design skills in the current economic climate.
Fashion lovers throughout London are looking forward to seeing his next collection at Vauxhall Fashion Scout and no doubt will be on hand to record the action with video cameras at the ready.
