RVDK X STEVE MADDEN

During Amsterdam Fashion Week, Ronald van der Kemp and Steve Madden presented a collaborative project that unfolded across two public sites: the former Bijlmer Bajes prison and the Amsterdam Public Library (OBA). Together, the runway presentation and subsequent exhibition formed a continuous investigation into material fragility, reuse and the shifting status of fashion objects within institutional spaces.

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The runway took place inside the Bijlmer Bajes, where paper garments moved through corridors still marked by the building’s former function. Dylan Eno composed the full musical architecture for the show, developing a multi-layered score built from orchestral writing, experimental opera, hard electronic genres and vocal work by Chai Dienn. Except for a single couture motif, all material was created for the event, using a palette of more than 150 instruments to embed the sound directly into the spatial and historical resonance of the site. The cast — drawn from both gabber subcultures and couture communities — contributed to a reading of the show in which vulnerability, endurance and improvisation became part of the work’s language.

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Following the show, the project transitioned to the OBA, where Eno co-curated an exhibition with Bryan Borghans and Van der Kemp. Here, the paper garments were presented alongside Steve Madden’s footwear, placing the pieces within a context of literature, public access and archival framing. Daily screenings of the RVDK x Steve Madden show film, directed and edited by Eno, extended the project’s temporal and narrative arc, allowing the performance at the Bijlmer Bajes to be encountered as both document and independent cinematic work.