Design by the Night: Amsterdam’s Fashionable Hotel

Published on 11 January 2012 by Agony Uncle

Fashion and the hotel industry have long been affiliated, what with recent Maison Martin Margiela-designed La Maison Champs-Elysées, Moschino’s witty Maison Moschino, Paris’ Le Bellechasse, designed by Christian Lacroix, and of course, Palazzo Versace; however, the other end of the spectrum—young designers—are seldom represented.

Enter Amsterdam’s Hotel the Exchange where each of the sixty-one rooms is designed by a graduate or alumni of the Amsterdam Fashion Institute. Set across three historic buildings in the middle of the Damrak district, each room is decorated with custom fabrics and the thought-provoking designs of the fashion set. They range in quality from one to five stars, and while some of the bottom rung might be a bit Home Ec. for most, those in the middle band are affordable, starting around 75€ a night. Not bad for a couple of bits of string, some origami and some untethered light fixtures.