Diversity Fashion Week in Amsterdam: Photos from 2023

7 Dec

Selina (left), Josephine (centre), and Natalia (right) in designs by **Sandhya Manniesing**

Diversity Fashion Week is an inclusive fashion show held each year in Amsterdam. This year’s ‘Extravaganza’-themed event showcased 12 international up-and-coming designers. With models of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities, the evening was a true celebration of inclusivity and diversity on the runway. This edition was merely a sneak peek of a far larger event in 2024 — so stay tuned for more next year!

What is Diversity Fashion Week?

The Diversity Fashion Week Foundation was founded as a non-profit organisation in 2018. The main areas of focus are diversity & inclusion education and ‘inclusion by design’ — for example, fashion that meets the needs of wheelchair users. Diversity Fashion Week was created by co-founders Sensemielja Sumter and Daisy van der Veen, who I had the pleasure of interviewing for a blog post in 2020.

Diversity Fashion Week aims to “break through the "standard" image of (ideal) beauty … and provide a platform for all kinds of talent … with a stronger focus on the representation of people of colour, plus size models and a range of sexual orientations and gender expressions.”

During our interview in 2020, co-founder Daisy van der Veen summed up the foundation’s vision: “We want to challenge current beauty standards and celebrate diversity between models. We’ve had models with disabilities and without, models of all ages: children, teenagers, adults, even mature models. Models with experience and models with no experience who want to give it try. We want to offer everyone a chance to be seen and feel like, ‘Hey, I’m allowed to be here too.’“

Diversity Fashion Week’s designers

Held on December 2nd, Diversity Fashion Week 2023 featured the following international designers:

Annigje (The Netherlands)
Khajida Faraj (Morocco)
MI&ANN (The Netherlands)
Hallelujah Kimono (Japan)
Sandhya Manniesing (The Netherlands)
MarlienWEAR (The Netherlands)
Bolley Clothing (Germany)
Hanna Broer (Canada)
B Fashion Academy (The Netherlands) featuring designs by Nou Fay, Jonick and Joes

Diversity Fashion Week in photos

Scroll down for a range of designs showcased throughout the evening at EFE in Amsterdam. All photos are the author’s own:

Clifford in a design by **Bolley Clothing**

Romy in a design by **Hallelujah Kimono**

Yentle in a design by **Bolley Clothing**

Edmilson in a design by **MI&ANN** (jacket) and **Annigje** (bag)

Naomi in a design by **Sandhya Manniesing**

Naomi in a design by **MI&ANN** (jacket) and **Annigje** (bag)

Selina in a design by **Sandhya Manniesing**

Victoria in a design by **Sandhya Manniesing**

Kim in a design by **Sandhya Manniesing**

A round of applause for **Bolley Clothing**

Edmilson in a design by **Bolley Clothing**

A range of designs showcased on the runway

*Front row, from left to right:* Ruka, Trico (Hallelujah Kimono’s designer), Sensemielja, and Kosei in designs by **Hallelujah Kimono**

For more information about Diversity Fashion Week, check out the Diversity Fashion Week website, follow @diversityfashionweek on Instagram, or email diversityfashionweek@outlook.com

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Josephine Rees

My name is Josephine Rees (1993) and I am Dutch-British. I was raised in Tokyo and Moscow and moved to the Netherlands to study Anthropology & Human Geography in 2012. After briefly living in Thailand and Cambodia, I am now based in Amsterdam and have recently completed my MSc in Social Policy and Public Health.