DISPATCH FROM AMSTERDAM: shopping at RIVER ISLAND & Fashion's new Brother & sister team – MARCIA & BOB VAN OERS

Text: Vivian G. Kelly
Profile headshot of Bob VAN OERS by Marcia Van Oers
Other images of Bob, from his modeling book. Additional images can be viewed at www.tonyjonesmodelmanagement.com
Images of: phonebooth, pink camper, rocker, "bunny" from Marcia Van Oers' portfolio

Date/Place: Sunday, February 1, 2009
Amsterdam, Holland – the shopping district

SHOPPING TRIP
Everyone living in New York City knows that America is on sale, but we wondered if that applied to the European countries too, where everything seemed shockingly expensive- starting with the $8 cappuccino we bought at Charles De Gaulle Airport.

Once in Amsterdam, we dedicated Sunday to hitting the shops on the main shopping drag. The usual high street players were there[Zara, H&M] were there but it was River Island that boasted the most on-trend pieces for a price.
RIVER ISLAND
This high street retailer is in expansion mode. The new, two-story Amsterdam shop represents the entire collection and is a strong step in this brand's continued expansion. According to a recent article in British Vogue, “There are already 210 stores in the UK and Ireland and 25 franchise partnerships in six countries including Turkey, Poland and the Middle East.” Next up - a new shop opening shortly in Rotterdam.

BEST IN STORE: the day-glo accessories [selling briskly] and a pair of high waisted dark denims in the newer wider leg coming in at 52 Euros [@$70].
WE BOUGHT: a pink Day-glo patent leather belt with a gold buckle for 25 Euros[@ $30]
THE TREND: A play on the Steven Sprouse/Marc Jacobs limited edition bag with Day-Glo graffiti.

We passed on the jeans, and found a more modestly priced pair for 19 Euros, at one of the many blowout sales in the district.

To shop River Island/find the nearest location to you, visit:
www.xml.riverisland.com

THE BIG DISCOVERY: BROTHER & SISTER TEAM – MARCIA VAN OERS & BOB VAN OERS –
A Local contact put us in touch with Marcia, a model thin brunette who’s representative of the new breed of fashionista – she does PR, writes fashion copy for Dutch magazines, helps manage her brother’s modeling career. In addition, she is a talented photographer with a very editorial style. She’ll be going to work further training her editorial eye when she goes to assist Jeroen Snijders, the Netherlands most famous catwalk photographer.
To see some of Jeroen’s catwalk images, visit his official website,
www.jeroensnijders.nl


BOB VAN OERS: is [thanks in part to Marcia] an up and coming Dutch model who’s got the clean cut good looks that photographer Bruce Weber regularly casts in his Abercrombie & Fitch campaigns and Vogue Italia editorial photo shoots. His career started when Marcia took a Bruce Weber/Abercrombie & Fitch style head shot of him and sent it to TONY JONES MODEL MANAGEMENT, Holland’s top men’s modeling agency. It didn’t take long for the Amsterdam based Agency to snap him up. Bob’s growing his book shooting all around Europe, most recently on a shoot for Calvin Klein.
OUR PREDICTION: It won’t be long until we see Bob walking the runways Stateside, in New York.