THANK GOD IT’S FRIDAY
Alexandra Frida
As a little girl, she already had arguments with her mother about what she wanted to wear to school. A swimsuit with patent shoes and a Kermit the Frog plush toy, for example. You see, Alexandra just does what she wants fashion-wise. attend Amsterdam Fashion Week,, and tonight it's time to showcase her designs to the entire modeling world again. Time for a call.
Alexandra, tonight is of course THE show you have been working towards for months, are you ready?
“Absolutely! Last night we packed the last things and dotted the i's. We're right on schedule, and it all starts at 7:00 PM.”
Exciting?
“Always. Although I really enjoy it when I backstage am. Usually, the rehearsals are a few hours beforehand and then I see the show for the first time in its full form. I find that the most emotional and beautiful moment. At the moment the doors open and people start trickling in, I usually go into a kind of trance after which I only land back on planet Earth after the show, haha.”
Now everything is still incredibly secret and so on, I understand, but I did hear something about a 1001 nights fairy tale, right? Tell me…
“That's right. In the story of One Thousand and One Nights, a sultan is betrayed by his wife, after which he kills her out of revenge and since then chooses a new bride every day and kills her before the new day dawns, so he can never be betrayed again. Until Scheherazade comes into his life. Every evening, this mysterious woman tells a thrilling story that she doesn't finish, causing the sultan not to want to kill her because he is curious about the ending. This goes on for 1001 nights until the sultan eventually falls in love with her and no longer wants to kill her.”
Sounds magical, I didn't even know the story behind the 1001 nights. And how do you translate this back to clothing?
“I have also incorporated the power struggle and layering of the story into the collection. It will be a very mysterious show, but happy and with upbeat music. I want to take people into the story and let them enjoy.”
What did your week look like otherwise?
“There was still quite a bit to be done. All the handwork had to be finished, there were interviews, we had to go through the seating and press lists, the choreography had to be fixed, and the website got a new update. It was quite a rush, flying and jumping…”
How many cups of coffee have gone through?
“That's, uh, quite a lot I think. Let me put it this way, at the beginning of the week we were already complaining that the coffee was out and that new ones had to be fetched…”
What is the first thing you do backstage when the lights go out?
“Something with love and a lot of hugging! And of course, thanking my team. After that, I usually give a few interviews and then I walk into the hall to thank my family and friends for being there. Their support means everything to me.”
And what are you doing on Saturday? Just ultra relaxed recovering?
“I have nothing planned for Saturday, how wonderful is that? I'm really going to just hang out on the couch with my boyfriend. It has been so busy lately that we haven't had much time together. I also don't think I'm the easiest partner to be with. It takes a lot of patience. He is getting used to the fact that as the deadline approaches, I become more absent, but I know he is also happy when the whole fashion circus is over so we can be together more. But he gives me the time to push through and is very proud, which is really sweet.”
Suppose earthly matters like time differences and travel times don't exist. What does your ideal weekend look like?
“If it didn't matter, I would love to go somewhere different every weekend. This weekend somewhere on a beach, the next week on the Gili Islands, then to the Amazon region or a savanna, then on to a big city. I can see myself enjoying such an adventurous life.”
Finally, the weekend is over. What time does your alarm go off on Monday and what is number 1 on that to-do list?
“I think I might still be a little free on Monday. No alarm then. My team is also off, we start working again on Tuesday. But I think I will go to my studio on Monday to answer emails, find a place for the flowers, and do a big clean-up. But first: sleep in. Hooray!”
