Francisco Van Benthum

Scuba diving and the deep sea world inspired Francisco Benthum for his Spring/Summer 2014 Collection, entitled MARLIN. On the one hand, he refers to the technical aspect of scuba diving: the wetsuit with its low-and high-tech and futuristic detailing resembling high-performance materials. On the other hand, he was inspired by the underwater environment and it’s prints and shapes.

The collection offers the wearer a series of looks that manipulate the silhouette in different ways.

Design. Amongst other garments in the series, there are variations

on a traditional men’s shirt with, for example, a series of five shirt eyes,a blouson

jacket, and a shirt even worn as a statement jacket. In addition, many garments carried the possibility of ‘morphing’: oversized pleated pants can be worn in multiple ways. An overcoat which has buttons can be worn with the sleeves tight or loose-fitting.

The material mix is ​​rich in contrast. The collection is made of high-tech materials that look and feel natural. A semi-transparent nylon looks like crinkled poplin and neoprene made into a sports jersey. By contrast, natural materials with futuristic finishes were used: from crinkled metallic linens to smooth coated poplin.

A specially developed printing process is carried out in various shades which each have their own impact: graphic crisp black and white and alienating purple-cobalt-electric to a more earthly feeling in khaki greens. The print supports the collection of colors that vary from naturally ocher, cobalt and various greens to more modern grays and classic black and white.

Since 2003 Francisco Benthum has been the driving force behind his eponymous luxury menswear label.  Benthum began his career at the end of the 90s, when he graduated from the fashion department of ArtEZ Institute of the Arts. His vision of men manifests in collections in an elegant way with prevailing dress codes and restrictions challenge.

With rigorous procedures or even small shifts in the silhouette or clothing  FRANCISCO Benthum presents an interesting and wearable collection for a modern cosmopolitan man.

FRANCISCO Benthum is available internationally via a selected number of multi-brand stores and through its own concept store in Amsterdam.

 FRANCISCO Benthum successfully collaborated last year with Specsavers

and a new collection of frames is to be presented in 2014.

In 2012 Francisco Benthum received the Culture Fashion Stipend of the Prince Bernhard Culture.