Marc Andrews

August 7th 2008

Age: 30
Nationality: Swiss, British
Occupation: Graphic Design
In Amsterdam: 2 years

Why did you move to Amsterdam?
After living in Nijmegen and Utrecht for a couple of years
I thought it was time for a city. I am now building up my own
graphic design studio with a friend in the city center. I love
it, Amsterdam forms a good base.

What do you like to do in Amsterdam?
Riding the bike through the streets, going to expositions,
going out, working.

What do you think of Amsterdam street culture,
how the people dress, express themselves?
I like Amsterdam’s street culture and watching all different kind
of people; it is very multi cultural. Well dressed people; funky,
groovy and experimental. I think the variety in clothes also comes
because of all the foreign youngsters invading Amsterdam for
holiday.

Did your style of clothing changed since you live here,
and because of what? These can be emotional, cultural
reasons or practical reasons such as weather or
availability.
No. Just my collection of tracksuit tops exploded.

Are you influenced by what you consider Dutch culture
or by any other culture represented in Amsterdam?
I like wearing ‘klompen’...just joking.

Are you aware of the fact that 177 cultures are
represented in Amsterdam?
Yes, I knew and it’s a good fact about Amsterdam. It makes
it a special place, this high density of cultures on a limited space.
Amsterdam is less Dutch than other cities here in the Netherlands,
that makes it unique.

Ola Vasiljeva

August 4th 2008

Age: 27
Country of origin: Latvian
Occupation: Artist
In Amsterdam: 8 months

Why did you move to Amsterdam?
For an art residence at the rijksacademy.

What do you like to do in Amsterdam?
Parks, friends and movies.

What do you think of Amsterdam street culture,
how the people dress, express themselves?
I think it’s pretty much the same as in other Dutch cities.
There might be more tourists here and more of the extravagant
groups, but for the rest I don’t feel much of a difference.

Did your style of clothing changed since you live here, and
because of what, these can be emotional, cultural reasons
or and practical reasons such as weather or availability?
I think it changed a little maybe. I feel more confident about
whatever I wear, but I am not sure if the reason for that is the
big city, or just the fact that I like it here a lot.

Are you influenced by what you consider Dutch culture
or by any other culture represented in Amsterdam?
I am influenced by the cycling culture a lot :).

Are you aware of the fact that 177 cultures are
represented in Amsterdam?
I thought there were many more actually..

Pedro da Silva Morgado

July 25th 2008

Age: 32
Nationality: Portuguese
Occupation: Sourcing
In Amsterdam: 5,5 years

Why did you move to Amsterdam?
Love and adventure!!

What do you like to do in Amsterdam?
Biking, traveling and running.

What do you think of Amsterdam street culture,
how the people dress, express themselves?
I find myself very much at ease in amsterdam because people
respect my individuality (and that’s important to me). I quite like
the idea that there are no standards for the way you think or
dress; just do it the way you like it and appreciate the value of
mixed cultures.

Did your style of clothing changed since you live here, and
because of what, these can be emotional, cultural reasons
or and practical reasons such as weather or availability?
I changed a lot in the way I dress (ask my friends) because
I could finally express myself through clothing without being
judged as a stereotype what people immediately do when you
do not share what the majority does.

Are you influenced by what you consider Dutch culture
or by any other culture represented in Amsterdam?
In many cases, yes I was influenced by the Amsterdam culture
(if there is only one…) on the way people work and expose their
points of view and enjoy life.

Are you aware of the fact that 177 cultures are
represented in Amsterdam?
Yes, I knew that there were more than 150 nationalities. I believe
this has a huge influence on the Amsterdam culture; the more
I travel around Holland, the more i see how different (for better
and for worse) Amsterdam is from the rest of the country in
terms of the cultural mix and open mentality. Anyway, i also think
that there is still a lot of room to improve the benefits of a mix
cultured society as Amsterdam.

Maja Markovic

June 28th 2008

Age: 23
Nationality: Serbian and Greek
Occupation: Decorator,stylist, creative allrounder
In Amsterdam: 23 years

Why did you move to Amsterdam?
My father’s company moved to Amsterdam, and so did we.

What do you like to do in Amsterdam?
Dancing, going to exhibitions and cycling.

What do you think of Amsterdam street culture,
how the people dress, express themselves?
There’s a huge young scene that is very expressive in their style.
It seems like this scene’s growing bigger and bigger. With media
like youtube and myspace people are presenting themselves much
more, so you now notice how much talents are actually wandering
around. They’re dancing, singing, making theater, there’s a lot of
creativity going around. It’s alive!

Did your style of clothing changed since you live here, and
because of what? These can be emotional, cultural reasons
or practical reasons such as weather or availability.
Well I came here at the age of four, so I don’t remember my style
before. But I do think that living in Amsterdam has opened my eyes
on the possibilities of different styles, because of all these different
trends passing by.

Are you influenced by what you consider Dutch culture
or by any other culture represented in Amsterdam?
I’m not sure if me being upfront is because of my Serbian background
or me living in Amsterdam. But I’m very direct and that
is in other countries usually recognized as something Dutch. I’m
influenced by some cultures like the Surinam one, they have good
parties, and their laidbackness can inspire me.

Are you aware of the fact that 177 cultures are
represented in Amsterdam?
I knew this, cause you told me ;) but I think it has influenced
Amsterdam a lot! You notice it in the attitude of people, in the
street language, in a big variety of dance styles, clothing styles,
music. You have a lot of different food shops. This all is good for
any city, it makes a city versatile and inspiring, as long as everyone
respects each other it’s a very good thing!

Nayla Chebli-Hausdorfer

June 26th 2008

Age: 37
nationality: Lebanese
Occupation: Arabic language and belly dance teacher
In Amsterdam: 8 years

Why did you move to Amsterdam?
I married a Dutchman.

What do you like to do in Amsterdam?
Cycling and belly dance.

What do you think of Amsterdam street culture,
how the people dress, express themselves?
I think that it’s very diverse; from very modern to very conservative,
from super stylish to super unstylish. I find that the Dutch
woman is taking less care of her looks and her femininity in
order to express emancipation and that the ‘foreign’ woman is
becoming more attached to her origins and trying to show that
with the way she dresses.

Did your style of clothing changed since you live here, and
because of what, these can be emotional, cultural reasons
or and practical reasons such as weather or availability?
Yes my style of clothing has changed since I live here. It has
become much more casual: I now wear jeans and flat shoes
about 95% of the time. This has to do with practical and
cultural reasons: because I cycle a lot I cannot wear a skirt
or a dress or very high heels. The cultural reason is: much less
encounters with friends and family, almost no formal social events
to attend, and people around me are always dressed casual.

Are you influenced by what you consider Dutch culture
or by any other culture represented in Amsterdam?
Of course I am influenced by Dutch culture: I now eat sandwiches
for lunch, I have dinner at 18:00 during the week, I try
to be on time for my appointments, I only go to the hairdresser
to get a haircut once every couple of months instead of getting
a brushing once a week, I don’t get a manicure and a pedicure
as often as I used to, and list goes on...

Are you aware of the fact that 177 cultures are
represented in Amsterdam?
I didn’t know that so many cultures are represented in
Amsterdam. I find that it’s influencing the food and drinks
being offered in supermarkets and in restaurants which are
becoming much more diverse and quality oriented. Actually
Amsterdam people are now expecting and requiring more
diversity in food and better service. It’s affecting programs
being offered during cultural events, festivals, theatres and
concerts. It is affecting people’s hobbies and interests like
for example learning belly dance, flamenco, capoeira, learning
foreign languages and travelling to the countries where the
people around you come from...

Hélène Alti-Diao

June 8th 2008

Age: 29
Nationality: Burkinabè, French
Occupation: Export function: customer service
In Amsterdam: 5 years

Why did you move to Amsterdam?
Love!!

What do you like to do in Amsterdam?
Cycling, going out with friends, eat appeltaart,
movies and parties.

What do you think of Amsterdam street culture,
how the people dress, express themselves?
There are many different styles, from very casual to totally funky.
They dare to do more with colors than in France, but it isn’t
always very stylish; more provocative than anything else actually.

Did your style of clothing changed since you live here, and
because of what? These can be emotional, cultural reasons
or practical reasons such as weather or availability.
Not that much, except that I always have an umbrella in my bag.
I do not mind wearing mini-skirts now, while in France people
are more conservative about showing their legs - and in
Burkina-Faso even more.

Are you influenced by what you consider Dutch culture
or by any other culture represented in Amsterdam?
Not really, although I am now totally addicted to cycling, and
convinced that if the whole world would cycle as much as people
do in Holland, we will not hear anymore about global warming...
Now I really consider my bike as part of myself.

Are you aware of the fact that 177 cultures are
represented in Amsterdam?
I’m not surprised, Amsterdam is a great mix of people, that’s
what makes Amsterdam so special; very different from the
rest of Holland.

Eveline de Boer

may 17th 2008

Age: 62
Nationality: Dutch
Occupation: Artist
In Amsterdam: 42 years

Why did you move to Amsterdam?
In Amsterdam I felt at home.

What do you like to do in Amsterdam?
To look for vintage clothing.

What do you think of Amsterdam street culture,
how the people dress, express themselves?
I think there isn’t much of a street culture in Amsterdam; people
are very secluded. Everything has to be organized from higher
up in order for people to show their faces in the street. Well, you
do have the carrier-cycle culture for young parents. People in
Amsterdam tend to dress very neutral but there is definitely room
to express yourself in clothing.

Did your style of clothing changed since you live here, and
because of what? These can be emotional, cultural reasons
or practical reasons such as weather or availability.
My style of clothing didn’t change a lot here; I have always
been very extroverted in my clothing.

Are you influenced by what you consider Dutch culture
or by any other culture represented in Amsterdam?
I don’t think I am influenced by the Dutch culture; I tend to live
my own culture more.

Are you aware of the fact that 177 cultures are
represented in Amsterdam?
I think it is amazing, so many cultures in one city!