Frans Molenaar Prize 2025

The circle

as signature

The black-and-white circular cape from 1977 is iconic Molenaar: graphic, monumental, and sublimely constructed. He uses geometry as form and as a statement. What appears as architecture on the catwalk becomes fluid and soft on the body – an exercise in contrast and control.

Geometric

couture

The autumn collection of 1977 represents an artistic highlight in Molenaar's geometric-abstract views. He chooses to apply only basic geometric shapes. Form, material, and color contrast are balanced. A bold, sleek, and clear concept: couture pieces made up of circles and rectangles, squares, and triangles. The shapes, which appear strict at first glance, create surprising volume and elegant movement around the body.

The circle cape in black and white is an iconic Molenaar design. Strong and striking in terms of design and size when the circular shape is fully displayed with the arms raised. Once turned over, the cape falls like a comfortable, loose-fitting coat with a lavish shawl collar.

The white version of the circle cape comes into the possession of Jopie Teekens, one of Molenaar's earliest couture clients. She and her husband Eijmert Teekens, successful entrepreneurs in the butcher trade, are among Molenaar's financial benefactors from the very beginning.

The black-and-white specimen is purchased by Miep Brons, a true Amsterdammer and flamboyant owner of textile stores and erotic video shops. With pride and visible pleasure, Molenaar dresses princesses and presenters, but also the 'woman in the street', a diverse and colorful clientele.

The square specimen adorns the cover of the exhibition catalog Designers of Fashion from the Hague Museum of Municipal History where Molenaar also extensively describes his design process and business management.

In 2013, a newly made woolen example of this cape shines on Molenaar's own catwalk as an impressive finale of the entire black-and-white summer collection. In 2015, the cape serves as the campaign image for the exhibition Ode to Dutch Fashion at the Gemeentemuseum (now Kunstmuseum Den Haag). After Molenaar's passing, the cape is added to the fashion collection, which over the years has gathered a beautiful overview of Molenaar's design career.

Credits

1977 - Autumn Collection

Photo: George van Herwaarde

1977 - Autumn Collection

Photo: George van Herwaarde

1977 - Film footage

1980 - Miep Brons

in the Circle Cape

Photo: Robert Mapplethorpe

2015 – Exhibition 'Ode aan de Nederlandse Mode'

Photo: Sabrina Bongiovanni

for Kunstmuseum Den Haag

2013 - New circle cape black and white

Frans Molenaar

The circle

as signature

The black-and-white circular cape from 1977 is iconic Molenaar: graphic, monumental, and sublimely constructed. He uses geometry as form and as a statement. What appears as architecture on the catwalk becomes fluid and soft on the body – an exercise in contrast and control.

Geometric

couture

The autumn collection of 1977 represents an artistic highlight in Molenaar's geometric-abstract views. He chooses to apply only basic geometric shapes. Form, material, and color contrast are balanced. A bold, sleek, and clear concept: couture pieces made up of circles and rectangles, squares, and triangles. The shapes, which appear strict at first glance, create surprising volume and elegant movement around the body.

The circle cape in black and white is an iconic Molenaar design. Strong and striking in terms of design and size when the circular shape is fully displayed with the arms raised. Once turned over, the cape falls like a comfortable, loose-fitting coat with a lavish shawl collar.

The white version of the circle cape comes into the possession of Jopie Teekens, one of Molenaar's earliest couture clients. She and her husband Eijmert Teekens, successful entrepreneurs in the butcher trade, are among Molenaar's financial benefactors from the very beginning.

The black-and-white specimen is purchased by Miep Brons, a true Amsterdammer and flamboyant owner of textile stores and erotic video shops. With pride and visible pleasure, Molenaar dresses princesses and presenters, but also the 'woman in the street', a diverse and colorful clientele.

The square specimen adorns the cover of the exhibition catalog Designers of Fashion from the Hague Museum of Municipal History where Molenaar also extensively describes his design process and business management.

In 2013, a newly made woolen example of this cape shines on Molenaar's own catwalk as an impressive finale of the entire black-and-white summer collection. In 2015, the cape serves as the campaign image for the exhibition Ode to Dutch Fashion at the Gemeentemuseum (now Kunstmuseum Den Haag). After Molenaar's passing, the cape is added to the fashion collection, which over the years has gathered a beautiful overview of Molenaar's design career.

Credits

1977 - Autumn Collection

Photo: George van Herwaarde

1977 - Autumn Collection

Photo: George van Herwaarde

1977 - Film footage

1980 - Miep Brons

in the Circle Cape

Photo: Robert Mapplethorpe

2015 – Exhibition 'Ode aan de Nederlandse Mode'

Photo: Sabrina Bongiovanni

for Kunstmuseum Den Haag

2013 - New circle cape black and white

Frans Molenaar

The circle

as signature

The black-and-white circular cape from 1977 is iconic Molenaar: graphic, monumental, and sublimely constructed. He uses geometry as form and as a statement. What appears as architecture on the catwalk becomes fluid and soft on the body – an exercise in contrast and control.

Geometric

couture

The autumn collection of 1977 represents an artistic highlight in Molenaar's geometric-abstract views. He chooses to apply only basic geometric shapes. Form, material, and color contrast are balanced. A bold, sleek, and clear concept: couture pieces made up of circles and rectangles, squares, and triangles. The shapes, which appear strict at first glance, create surprising volume and elegant movement around the body.

The circle cape in black and white is an iconic Molenaar design. Strong and striking in terms of design and size when the circular shape is fully displayed with the arms raised. Once turned over, the cape falls like a comfortable, loose-fitting coat with a lavish shawl collar.

The white version of the circle cape comes into the possession of Jopie Teekens, one of Molenaar's earliest couture clients. She and her husband Eijmert Teekens, successful entrepreneurs in the butcher trade, are among Molenaar's financial benefactors from the very beginning.

The black-and-white specimen is purchased by Miep Brons, a true Amsterdammer and flamboyant owner of textile stores and erotic video shops. With pride and visible pleasure, Molenaar dresses princesses and presenters, but also the 'woman in the street', a diverse and colorful clientele.

The square specimen adorns the cover of the exhibition catalog Designers of Fashion from the Hague Museum of Municipal History where Molenaar also extensively describes his design process and business management.

In 2013, a newly made woolen example of this cape shines on Molenaar's own catwalk as an impressive finale of the entire black-and-white summer collection. In 2015, the cape serves as the campaign image for the exhibition Ode to Dutch Fashion at the Gemeentemuseum (now Kunstmuseum Den Haag). After Molenaar's passing, the cape is added to the fashion collection, which over the years has gathered a beautiful overview of Molenaar's design career.

Credits

1977 - Autumn Collection

Photo: George van Herwaarde

1977 - Autumn Collection

Photo: George van Herwaarde

1977 - Film footage

1980 - Miep Brons

in the Circle Cape

Photo: Robert Mapplethorpe

2015 – Exhibition 'Ode aan de Nederlandse Mode'

Photo: Sabrina Bongiovanni

for Kunstmuseum Den Haag

2013 - New circle cape black and white

Frans Molenaar