Photo: Sebastiaan Schoonen
Photo: Studio VODE
My passion for Fashion Design has been ignited many times but during my Art, Communication & Design study at Fontys School of the Arts I decided to take my passion a step further.
'Back to Nature' and 'Dandelion' were made when I was fully self-taught. While I enjoyed not being held back by rules, I realised that my lack of technique made it impossible for me to realize my concepts to their full potential. Because of this I decided to use my time as a student to learn from the best.
For a litte over two months I interned at Edwin Oudshoorn Couture. Here I learned the basic delicate techniques that lie behind some of the most beautiful couture dresses. I was allowed to work on a few of their bridal and couture dresses and had a small hand in a dress that ended up gracing an issue of VOGUE NL.
Not long after the internship I created 'Funghi in Fashion', a collection to challenge my skills and part of my very first exposition. While I was very excited to have gotten this far, I wanted to learn even more. This time a little less technical and a little more conceptual.
At Agnes van Dijk Fashion Art I learned an incredible amount about working with natural materials and bringing a new level to my fashion concepts. With the help of Agnes I made a lot of valuable connections and was able to bring my work to a new audience with the 'Dressed by Nature' exposition.
For my graduation collection I was able to take all of my new knowledge and present a clear picture of who I am as a Fashion Designer in the present and my possible future. My collection 'Water Phenomena' made it clear that my interests lie in natural phenomena and translating those into fashion pieces.
It is an endless source of inspiration for me and will undoubtedly lead to many more collections.