Christian Degen

June 30th 2008

Age: 29
Nationality: German
Occupation: Graphic designer
In Amsterdam: 1 year

Why did you move to Amsterdam?
Love.

What do you like to do in Amsterdam?
Building up my company, playing football in Westerpark, cycling
through town and areas around Amsterdam, going out for dinner,
especially with my girlfriend.

What do you think of Amsterdam street culture,
how the people dress, express themselves?
For sure the most interesting town in the Netherlands, sometimes
cool, sometimes boring, Dutch people are not the most
fashionable people.

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.
Before I moved to Amsterdam I lived in Barcelona so I wear
more warm clothes now. Also, since I live here, I have more
meetings with clients and because of this I wear more
nice shirts.

Are you influenced by what you consider Dutch culture
or by any other culture represented in Amsterdam?
Maybe I am, it is difficult to say now, but afterwards I can
probably say that special things had an influence on me.

Are you aware of the fact that 177 cultures are
represented in Amsterdam?
Since my girlfriend is busy with this project I am more aware
of it but Amsterdam always has been an international setting
for me. So many different people give the town a nice
touch, it makes it an attractive city to live in.

Sophia de Hoog

June 20th 2008

Age: 16
Nationality: Dutch
Occupation: High school student
In Amsterdam: 12 years

Why did you move to Amsterdam?
My family and I were living in Leiden but then my mother wanted
to go to the theatre academy in Amsterdam, so we moved here.

What do you like to do in Amsterdam?
Sitting in the vondelpark and make funny movies and edit them.
The most I love to go shopping in vintage stores, I can walk
around in them for hours. I always find unique clothes and shoes.

What do you think of Amsterdam street culture,
how the people dress, express themselves?
The clothing in Amsterdam is part of the reason I love it here so
much. Everybody has a different style and dares to actually wear
it! Most people respect each other’s style. I think that is special,
you are never bored here because of the different styles. I am
almost never afraid to be myself.

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.
Yes, it has definitely changed! I am sure that if I had still lived
in Leiden I would have looked very different. Amsterdam really
inspired me.

Are you influenced by what you consider Dutch culture
or by any other culture represented in Amsterdam?
I sure am. I now own certain pieces of clothing that I would
have never liked before. Because of Amsterdam I have come
to respect more clothing styles.

Are you aware of the fact that 177 cultures are
represented in Amsterdam?
Gosh! I didn’t know that! But you can see it everywhere. I think
it has happened slowly. First came the restaurants from different
cultures and now also shops and clothing. I think the more different
people come to Amsterdam, the more influence it has. You
can see it everywhere in each case and that makes Amsterdam
very cosy and social.

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.