Launch i-D magazine x Diesel

HIGH FLYERS

It's Thursday evening around half past nine when I cycle up the Rokin in Amsterdam, looking up. I'm looking for a penthouse where the launch party of i-D Benelux will take place in combination with the presentation of Diesel's SS14 campaign. You probably know it, i-D magazine. Even if you've never read it, the iconic magazine has surely crossed your path at some point. Founded in 1980 in London during the time when punk is in full swing, i-D quickly grows into much more than just a fun magazine. It is trendsetting, style-defining, original, creative, groundbreaking, and manages to connect the biggest names with each issue. Kate Moss, Madonna, Cara Delevigne, Tom Ford, Grace Coddington – they all gave a wink to i-D. Because that's how every cover is constructed, a portrait of a model giving a wink or at least covering one eye. It is a representation of the name i-D, because when you read the name and tilt your head a quarter turn, you see, exactly, a wink.

But back to the penthouse on the Rokin. After hanging up our coats, we start the climb up. There is no elevator, I repeat, no elevator. It feels like a thousand stairs we have to climb, but luckily we get a shot of vodka halfway ‘to keep our spirits up.’ The atmosphere is set. The higher we get, the more extraordinary night owls we encounter; i-D and Diesel know how to attract a special audience. It is also the theme of Diesel's campaign, “We are Connected.” Diesel wants to bring artists and creatives together to celebrate creativity and set up cross-pollinations. People from different subcultures come together, and such a campaign idea is always fun, but the joke is that the launch party was really like that. I met people I knew from my Dutch studies, people I worked with at ELLE, a girl I once met at a festival, and I also saw types like Arie Boomsma and Valentijn de Hingh hopping around. A very mixed audience, and I think that’s what made it so enjoyable. With a view over all of Amsterdam, an open bar, DJ + dance floor, and a million people I would love to get to know, it was really one of those parties that makes you happy. A Dutch version of i-D is always good news, more visual splendor from Diesel as well, so all in all, it was a damn successful party. i-D, welcome to town.