A Brief History of Red Light Fashion
Amsterdam’s Red Light District has recently undergone some serious changes. The neighborhood’s synonymity with illicit, or seedy, behaviour is slowly giving way to more reputable associations, and several cultural initiatives have sprung up within its narrow streets, including Red Light Fashion. The city’s government is partly responsible for this rapid growth in commerce and has been encouraging budding enterprises to set up shop between the Red Light District’s notorious windows in order to cap crime and revitalize the area’s image.
The idea was simple: rejuvenate Amsterdam’s oldest neighborhood by shifting focus away from the sex trade and onto the city’s cultural output. To meet this end the municipality subsidised a handful of start-ups and provided them with work space throughout the Red Light District. After years of research and development, the plan began to take shape in 2007 .
In 2008, Dutch fashion consultancy HTNK received governmental backing for its project Red Light Fashion. This organization transformed 16 former brothels into boutique showrooms devoted to a local, up-and-coming designers’ work. The constant traffic around these buildings meant that the boutiques experienced massive footfall and attracted considerable attention from passersby. They also enticed shoppers into this infamous part of Amsterdam, successfully altering people’s perception of the Red Light District.
These storefronts acted as a platform for Dutch talent, allowing aspiring designers to exhibit their creations to the wider public. The government gave each designer a year to showcase their work rent free and full reign over their workspace. Some of the designers decided to keep to time tested methods, creating boutiques that wouldn’t look out of place in P.C. Hooftstraat, London’s Bond Street, or Avenue Montaigne in Paris. Others chose more daring approaches, displaying their work via a series of live peepshows.
In 2009 the project ended and it has yet to be renewed. Nonetheless, HTNK remains active in the Red Light District alongside many other cultural enterprises including Red Light Radio, and Café de Prael.
Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.
Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.
Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.
Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.
We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.
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