Design Academy Eindhoven has a name and fame that are sure to draw a crowd at Milan's Fuori Salone. This year however, the new school directors Alexander van Slobbe and Anne Mieke Eggenkamp chose to not only show work of recent graduates from Eindhoven, but to invite others to join them in Dutchness: 'Going Dutch' the generous way. The result was a welcoming and relaxed presentation that felt like a lighthearted laboratory of new ideas, with an eye towards both the future and the past, and its feet planted firmly in the earth - to the point of yielding a daily crop of amazing tasting cresson.

For the first time, the Design Academy Eindhoven invited ArtEZ Institute of the Arts to present work of current and recently graduated students, including the fashion design for which the Arnhem-based school is famous. Also from Arnhem, the Dutchness pop-up store, curated by Coming Soon director Judith ter Haar, presented earthenware, fashion and accessories by Arnhem alumni and other  Dutch talent. As well as the aforementioned cresson.




Also showing at the Via Fumagalli were two companies: Thomas Eyck with 'the flax project' by Christien Meindertsma and 'porcelain tableware' by Aldo Bakker, as well as Scholten & Baijings with their new designs 'Truly Dutch'. These collections were made in collaboration with the Zuiderzee Museum and were shown in conjunction with antique pieces from the museum collection.



The ‘Premsela Design Forum' on Wednesday evening discussed the value of repairing versus recycling against the backdrop of the worldwide economic crisis. During the exhibition, the academy held an international master class for students that emphasised the value of the process of designing and making.

"With ‘Dutchness’ once again the academy showed that it is aware of the avant-garde role the Dutch have been playing since the beginning of the eighties, concerning the relevance of content and substance," says curator Alexander van Slobbe, creative director Design Academy Eindhoven.

To be - hopefully - continued.