HIGHLIGHTS FROM

2 YEARS OF AMAYZINE.COM

Yes guys, today we blow out two candles, because exactly (or almost exactly) two years ago the button was pressed and Amayzine.com took to the digital skies. And in those two years, we have of course created an incredible amount. Despite the fact that I might sometimes come across as a stubborn grump, I am also a sucker for nostalgia, so today we take a moment to look back at the highlights from your Amayzine editors.

The highlights from Liesbeth

Peter Jan Rens

It might be a bit strange to start with this, but the highlights are in random order. Anyway, Peter Jan Rens then. Last year he was back in the news and my hands itched to write something about it. At first, we hesitated, because PJR is not exactly very Amayzine, but you quirky readers seemed to enjoy it just as much as I did. In the end, there were even multiple PJR pieces and the climax came in the form of a meeting with him, at the presentation of his ‘novel.’ That was also immediately the end of the episode, but man, was it beautiful.

Fashion Week

Yes, we will probably all mention this, but the trips to fashion week were an absolute highlight. Especially the first time of course, I hadn't been to New York since I was 16 and I had never been to an international fashion week in my life. Then came Paris, we went to London – and the next season we started all over again.

All the traveling

There is a lot of traveling going on here, and since I have renamed myself as a travel editor this year, the miles have skyrocketed. Just this year, I visited Rio de Janeiro, Paris, London, New York, Canada, Peru, Hungary, Milan, Mallorca, Champagne and the year isn't even over yet.

The fame of Poes Disco

Poes Disco has been world-famous for me for six years, but since she made her appearance on Amayzine, she has truly become a BP’er (Famous Cat). Recently, I was interviewed for the student magazine Medium and the first question was “How is Poes Disco doing?” And packages regularly arrive at the editorial office addressed to “Liesbeth Rasker and Poes Disco.” You won't make me happier than this.

Meeting Bill Cunningham

Last May in New York I got to meet Bill Cunningham and visit him at home. He may be an unknown old man to many, but to me, he is a legend and the meeting was genuinely one of the most special things I have ever experienced.

The highlights from May-Britt

18 hours on the road with Maartje Verhoef

Maartje had just turned 17 three days ago, just finished high school and was going to walk her first real fashion week in NY. She had already opened the Prada show so she was no rookie anymore, but it was still quite nice for her to have someone around and for me, of course, it was fantastic to experience this moment, of which we would later know how special it was. Because that fashion month was the moment when Maartje walked the most shows and by now, Maartje is a name that no longer needs a surname.

Watching Duran Duran with Fiona Hering in the Boom Boom Room

Usually, fashion parties are only medium spectacular on the outside, but really cozy – meh. Now we received an invitation for a party from Michael Kors that I went to with my friend Fiona Hering, which was also The Boom Boom Room (the coolest club in New York) and there stood our childhood heroes Duran Duran on the small stage, one meter away from us.

Holland's Next Top Model

I was called by Fred and I was called by Anouk, whether it wasn't a nice idea. And so it happened that Amayzine now gets to participate as a media partner for the second time in a row and can have the winner on the cover. I have worked a lot in TV, but I haven't experienced such a cozy atmosphere as with this crew.

Driving through Paris with Renault

Biking through Paris is fun, but tearing through Les Invalides in a new Twingo and then getting out at the Grand Palais for the Chanel show and a compliment from Carine Roitfeld – not much beats that.

Sleeping with Dior in Le Bristol in Paris

The first official press trip for Amayzine and then immediately with Dior and sleeping in Le Bristol, which I honestly only knew from the Woody Allen film Midnight in Paris.

Chantal Janzen addressing me with:

“Hey, I know you, you are from Amayzine.com?”

Chantal had won a Televizier Star and at the afterparty, I saw her at the bar. I was still hesitating whether I dared to approach her for an interview when she came up to me and said the above sentence. The result you can read here and it was the only interview she did.

The highlights from Jet

Writing for the first time in my life

May discovered me a bit, she saw something in me and gave me the chance to write as work and how that all went you can read here.

How unhappy I became when I saw myself on screen at Amayzine TV

When it became known that we were going to make a TV show, Lies and I seriously thought that after the first broadcast we wouldn't be able to walk the streets normally anymore. Well, that wasn't the case. The viewing figures were not exactly high and anyway, the period of Amayzine TV was not our highlight and therefore maybe precisely a highlight.

Mercurs

We were nominated for a Mercur Award in the category Launch of the Year. I thought it was really cool to see the entire magazine world, that was a new world for me. And anyway, it's great to be nominated for something, because that was also a first time.

Jim Bakkum knows that I exist

Jim has been my biggest love throughout my entire youth my absolute greatest love.. I was really REALLY in love with him, and I was convinced that if he would see me once, he would also fall in love with me. We never met, but he did read my love declaration to him and as a result tweeted my name AND posted something on Instagram once.

First time London somewhere in an Airbnb broom closet

at people's home

Together with Lies, I went to London Fashion Week for the first time. We booked an Airbnb quite last minute and didn’t fully realize that the room was in someone’s house and that those people were actually there too. The room was as big as a bed, the man of the house was sitting on the toilet all day, and the location was also quite stupid. So it was pretty hellish to sleep there, but I still think back to it as one of the best weekends ever, with dining at The Edition, dancing at The Box, and ridiculously many adventures that we will never ever share with anyone because some things, you have to keep to yourself.