Nina Born
Nina Born, 24. Kolding School of Design, 4th year project 2010.
- specialism: Print & Mixed Media.
Project title:
“Djengis Khan and the African lion”- the folklore project.
Inspiration:
The project takes its inspiration from African and Mongolian folklore. The main focus of the project is an examination and adaptation of different historical textile techniques that are reworked into modern and artistic expressions. With this approach this project is more abstract and conceptual compared to more traditional tailored and fashion oriented clothing projects.
Through the inspiration from African and Mongolian cultures this project has also worked to examine the inherent prerequisites that the clothing of these traditional cultures possessed – in particularly the need for reflecting status and clout while also serving practical functions such as being adapted to climatic conditions and serving as protection against enemies.
Where do you get inspiration from in general?
I often take inspiration from history . Either from a historical person, a certain phenomenon – or a cultural concept.
What are your strenghts?
I´m a bit of a perfectionist and therefor also very determined. When i decide to achieve a certain look I always do what ever it takes to complete my idea.
What are your weaknesses?
That I´m sometimes too determinate and misjudge the time I have to achive the goals i want.
Describe your collection with three words?
naive, detailed, tactile.
What techniques did you use:
digital print, quilting, pompons, fringes, digital knit, embroidery, folding, wrapping, foil print and screen print.
Which machines did you use to create your collection?
An old sewing machine, digital printer and a digital knitting machine.
Which garment was most difficult to make?
The black and white quilted skull jacket since I first had to machine quilt it and then quilt it by hand afterwards.
Which garment took the longest to make?
The orange amour trousers took forever because every little form was attached by hand after getting cutted, sewn and steamed.
Which garment is your favorite?
The quilted skull jacket is one of my favorite styles because the form of the jacket it so simple but the quilting makes it look more geometric and abstract.
What technique is your favorite?
I love embroidery since it´s like collaring with yarns and you can freestyle directly on the fabric with a wide range of colors.
How long did you work on this project?
1 1/2 month.
Is there something you regret not doing in your collection?
I always have hundreds of ideas i would like to do, but i guess I never have enough time.
During your education, which project has been your favorite?
My BA project “Sinner” concerning the 7 cardinal sins was made in a collaboration with Siff Pristed Nielsen and it means a lot to me since it was my first big project at Kolding School of Design. It´s also featured on this blog so check it out.
What advice would you give new students?
Stay focused while having fun.
Which fellow students would you like to highlight?
I would like to highlight one of my fellow students from the fashion program named Benedicte Holmboe. She always has a very conceptual, edgy and intelligent approach to her work and she made the most beautiful BA project taking inspiration from Princess Diana.
Were can we find more information on you?
Im working hard on getting my website up and running right now.
Contact info:
ninacecilieborn@hotmail.com
Kim Choong-Wilkins
Kim Wilkins, 26. Royal College of Art, MA Fashion Menswear Graduate 2009.
- specialism: Knitwear.
Design Background:
Kim graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2005 prior to cutting his teeth at Alexander McQueen, Jasper Conran, and designing knitwear in Milan for Ermenegildo Zegna.
After two years in the industry he returned to study an MA in Menswear at the Royal College of Art, graduating in 2009 with his collection, “BODYBOUND.”
What was the most valuable lesson you learned before starting at your education?
That art and design is about a way of seeing, an intellectual appreciation of the world. One of the few disciplines where if you can’t think, it becomes quite obvious, quite quickly.
Project title:
BODYBOUND
Inspiration:
“We must not look at goblin men,
We must not buy their fruits:
Who knows upon what soil they fed
Their hungry thirsty roots?”
The macabre photography of Joel-Peter Witkin and this particular verse by Christina Rossetti are the inspiration for “BODYBOUND”. Together they inform his collection on the human condition, desire and the perverse. Referencing both the anatomical drawings of Vesalius and the eroticism of Hokusai, the collection revolves around skin, sinew, muscle, and bone.
It pumps sex back into a craft that has become lust-less, prompting arousal and addiction for men’s knitwear by examining the relationship between seduction and repulsion.
Where do you get inspiration from in general?
It always starts with a visual connection, and I build from there. It’s often quite instinctual, and from this position I start my analysis, about what is really engaging and captivating about the concepts, moods and aesthetics involved in my inspiration. There are times when a piece of writing or something I have heard has sparked my process, but even these have had a very physical and visible quality to them. I enjoy the interaction with things that are jarring and obtuse, universal things that we all find uncomfortable, because I think that in this way we discover a little more about the nature of what makes us human. There is nothing passive about my process, you have to get very involved if you want it to yield to you. Research into my subject is quite integral to my work, and often continues to inform my work long after I think it has been put aside. However the next step is the most important, and that is the physical part. I need to manipulate my medium in reality and my approach is more sculptural and immediate than abstract.
In my last collection I was very interested in the way old master portraits addressed the viewer with the eyes. You became captivated by them, no longer the observer but the observed, and subjugated.
The mouths however are tight lipped, sealed, it’s the eyes that speak. The bodies in these portraits are expansive, demand physical space and are expansive. All these things I tried to integrate into the collection.
What do you find most difficult about the design process?
What in the design process isn’t difficult? What isn’t worth the difficulty?
What are your strenghts?
Sensitivity to the nature of the fabrics I am working with, and a spatial awareness.
What are your weaknesses?
Sometimes I get caught up in the minutia of my work.
Describe your collection with three words?
Violence, Seduction, Repulsion.
What techniques did you use:
I worked mainly with ribbed knit; transferring the stitches to move sections of ribs across the fabric. Often by hand using a Dubied knitting machine and sometimes programmed onto an electronic Shima Seiki. The fabrics are then subjected to different levels of foiled coatings to simulate muscle tissue and broken skin. They are then studded with metal spikes.
Which machines did you use to create your collection?
Industrial Dubeid knitting machines (2.5gg, 5gg, 7gg, 10gg), Shima Seiki, Morat.
How long did you work on this project?
6 months.
What made you pursue Knitwear?
In a funny way, knitting really chose me. The way in which I work as a designer is very physical. I need to manipulate my medium in reality and my approach is more sculptural and immediate than abstract. In this way I began to hand knit, my first creation, as with all beginners, was a scarf. I taught my self from a book one Christmas and just kept going, in the end I had a scarf that was 32’!
Since then my practice has become more defined, I am increasingly interested in demanding more from the knitted structures. Investigating techniques in which the fabric behaves in less conventionally.
If I am brutally honest my passion for men’s knitwear is fuelled by my great disappointment in the lack of ambition in many contemporary collections.
Although things are already changing for the better there is still too much emphasis on reservation being equated with sophistication. There is nothing masculine about being reserved, if anything it is the singularly most emasculating thing I can think of. Menswear needs to be dazzling again, I think that is what we should strive for.
What designers inspire you?
Fashion has been criticized in the past for being too referential; I try to avoid this by not being ”inspired” by designers. Saying that I have worked with a number of designers as part of a team, and within the process of generating ideas I have often been humbled by the ingenuity of my colleagues.
Why did you choose Royal College of Art?
I chose the RCA because of the incredible confidence and quality of the collections being produced there. I thought it was going to be a place where innovation, concept and creativity were really encouraged. In truth I found myself fighting to preserve these things in my work every inch of the way.
How were the school? Facilities? Teachers?
The RCA can be an extraordinary atmosphere to work in. The quality of the visiting tutors and the technicians was unsurpassable, and the ingenuity of the other students, breath-taking. If it weren’t for these individuals I don’t know what I would have done. This cannot be said for some of the permanent members of staff.
What advice would you give new students?
Find a place where you will flourish, that will allow you to thrive.
Which fellow students would you like to highlight?
Mason Jung, Simon Shilton, Charlie Ross.
Why do you want to be a designer?
Design is very much a medium for rallying against mediocrity in the world. The beauty of this industry is that at the end of each concept we have something that exists in the world, that demands to be addressed because of its existence. It allows us to give an answer to questions that are addressed in our environment, that then become accessible to a wider audience.
What was your childhood dream job?
To be an Explorer.
With one word, what is your best quality?
Tolerance.
What are your plans for the future?
I am now trying to find a way to turn this dream into something sustainable, so that I can continue making work. At this very second I have started researching for my next collection as well as collaborating with other designers on creating knitwear pieces for their collections.
I am trying to develop an aesthetic whereby form and structure have the same baring as texture. There is so much more to menswear knit than making a statement based on the depth of a neckline! I want my knits to be crackling with attitude. The fabrics of the collection are hard and glistening, with aggressively distinctive shapes, nothing nice or polite.
Over the next two years I aim to further promote these ideas and present within the industry solutions to as many of the more ingrained stereotypes about men’s knitwear that my work rallies against.
I want to establish my career on pushing through those boundaries surrounding men’s knitwear and finding a new vernacular for extravagance in menswear.
Were can we find more information on you?
Contact info:
kim.choong-wilkins@network.rca.ac.uk
+44 77 63 69 13 08
Magnhild Disington
Magnhild Disington, 26. Kolding School of Design, Project for the Design Competition The Golden Fur Needle (Den Gyldne Pelsnål) 2009.
- specialism: Mixed Media Textiles.
Design Background:
I went to a high school specializing in art, so in many ways this prepared me for design school. Afterwards I studied photography for a year but realized that I liked to work more with physical materials. The fact that I ended up doing textile design was more of a coincident. A lucky one though!
During my fourth year in Kolding I did a five month internship in Italy. I worked as a design assistant at G.R.P Firenze (Florence). GRP specializes in traditional Italian men’s knitwear. It was a great experience and I had a lot of freedom to experiment with different patterns styles and techniques. I think I was lucky to get in to a smaller company where the system is more transparent, this way I got to witness every part of the process, from design to production and sale.
I also studied one semester at Design Academy Eindhoven in Holland. I followed the Man and Identity department and had Atelier as a side course. I learned and evolved drastically during that exchange, and for me it was a true eye-opener to see Eindhoven´s way of design thinking and their working methods not to mention their incredible work ethic. Although I found it tough at times it was well worth it for me in the end.
For the majority of my education I specialised in knitwear, but for my MA (2009) I specialized in Mixed Media Textiles. Focusing on material experimentation and developing materials for visual trend analysis.
What was the most valuable you learned before starting at your education?
Go into things with an open mind. You don’t always have to know where you will end up, but it will always work it’s way out.
Project title:
Furry Objects.
Inspiration:
The project can bee seen as a continuity of my MA project Deviated Evolution where I worked with the relationship between humans and their portable electronics, and the lack of emotional appeal these products provide. I was experimenting with how materials can evoke an emotional connection to a electronic device, and how this emotional value could persuade people to hold on to their electronic devices for more than a period of say- six months.
Where do you get inspiration from in general?
It really depends on the context. Sometimes with a feeling, or something intriguing like relationship between humans end electronics. I did not know what I wanted to make but I knew it was an extremely interesting field. That’s the more conceptual way, but I can often develop an interest for one technique or a specific kind of material. Also I find myself carried away by great colour combination or abstract collages.
How is your process when you design?
It is very experimental. I like going far out and create different materials and forms and afterwards finding the way to connect them together again. I start very open and playful and force myself to get that uneasy feeling and when I’m satisfied with my experimentation I become more analytical to narrow things down. This goes on in cycles.
What do you find most difficult about the design process?
The transition between chaos and order. Creating and overview of my experimentation phases and not getting lost in the microscopic details. It´s getting better with each project though.
What are your strengths?
Experimentation and concept generation, seeing possibilities in all the tings I am creating, even from cut outs, leftovers etc.
What are your weaknesses?
My weakness is how to communicate the commercial part of my design. Seeing the financial potential of my work. This is something I’ve come to discover more after I graduated.
Describe your collection with three words?
Delicious, exclusive and humorous.
What techniques did you use:
Mobile Phones: I hand cut the mobile phone models in modelling foam and sanded them. Afterwards I made a double cast in plaster, and then I cast the final product in silicone before applying fur off cuts. USB keys: The wood (sustainable FSC certified mahogany) was cut and customized by hand to fit the USB electronic components. Then the fur and other materials were sewn together and in the end adhered on to the wooden part using special adhesives. The wood was also treated with oil to bring out its natural colour.
Which technique was the most difficult?
With out a doubt; sewing of the small parts! Some of them are as small as 5 mm x 5 mm, as seen in the “rocket” looking pom-pom. Luckily I had a lot of help from Kopenhagen Fur’s accessories designer Lone Olsen, who is a genius on the sewing machine.
What is your impression of working with fur?
This was the first time ever that I worked with fur. After previously working on creating character in surfaces it was a great sensation working with fur, because it naturally has a strong identity and tactile properties. Of course working with fur will always be full of controversy. I found it interesting to work with a natural material, which also has such historical significance.
Do you have a technical or conceptual approach to designing?
I have a conceptual approach but the details are in the techniques.
Which object was most difficult to make?
The casting of the mobile phone shapes. Because I had to sculpt a model from a material I had never used before and cast the form in plaster and then in the end make a double mould to cast the silicone in. All in all it took me a week to make those three models.
Which object is your favourite?
The red fuzzy pom-pom, because it looks so wild and untamed, but it conceals a high-tech devise which is all about accuracy control and planning. I really love the contrast between the material and the object it is becoming.
What technique is your favorite?
I’m really getting a hang of casting objects and working with plastic materials and I love it more and more. It is one of those door openers, that all of a sudden gives you the possibility to make a whole range of new projects.
How long did you work on this project?
After generating the concept; I spent one week preparing making silicone models and wood bodies. One week making the furry objects and then two weeks preparing the exhibition. So in total one month. And it was quite liberating to work on such a quick project after spending half a year on my MA.
Is there something you regret not doing in your collection?
Not really, I would have loved to make more of them, maybe ten more but there simply was not the time for it.
What made you pursue your speciality?
As I mentioned before going to the Design Academy Eindhoven was in many ways an eye-opener for me. The Man and Identity department opened up a whole new way of working with materials, transforming and manipulating them.
What designers inspire you?
Hella Jongerius and her approach to designing objects. She has a more textile way of working than many industrial designers. She knows the value of good materials and keeps historical references in her work.
Which designer would you like to work for in the future?
Hella as mentioned above, Nike; because they are very visionary with their styles an materials and probably just as any fashion/textile designer; Martin Margiela.
Why did you choose Kolding Design School?
It was quite random, a friend of mine was moving to Denmark so I looked up textile design and Denmark on the internet and found DSKD (Kolding) and DKDS (Copenhagen). I liked the work I saw at the DSKD webpage and decided to apply. When I got the letter to come to the admissions exam I travelled to Denmark, took the test, got in, and the rest is history.
During your education, which project has been your favorite?
My masters project; Deviated Evolution
- What was the project about?
It was about creating a bigger emotional value between humans and their portable electronics trough surfaces and materials.
- Which techniques did you use?
Any technique I came by: latex, silicone, casting, flocking, sewing, tufting. The most successful were the ones I made up.
What advice would you give new students?
Just give your self the time to find your own expression. Do many things but always analyze in the end what part of it represents you.
Which fellow students would you like to highlight?
I would like to highlight Mille Marie Jensen who is graduating from the fashion department in January 2010. She is making a collection called “Elusive Man” which is a soft twist on the traditional male costume. Her sense of details are fantastic and her colour sense is exquisite. She has made a soulful collection with a surprising commercial range.
I would also like to highlight Betina Møller who has also recently been featured on this blog. I’m really looking forward to what she creates during her MA project.
Why do you want to be a designer?
Because I need to create.
What was your childhood dream job?
I think I have always wanted to be an artist, painter. And I strangely still have this vision of painting wonderful paintings, even though I never paint. I have come to realise through the years that I find it more comfortable making tactile objects that are contextually relavent.
Have you ever been nominated or won a design competition?
I was one of three finalist for the industrial design category for this years Golden Fur Needle (Den Gyldne Pelsnål) where I presented this project.
With one word, what is your best quality?
Inquisitive.
What are your plans for the future?
Search for future projects, or work with dynamic groundbreaking design companies.
Will you be selling your collection?
I’m hoping to get some collaboration starting so the collection could come out, even if it is in a limited edition. I have some meetings planed for the new year, so we will see what comes out of it.
Were can we find more information on you?
Contact info:
Tingvejen 4 st,
6000 Kolding
Denmark
Beatrice Newman
Beatrice Korlekie Newman, 21. De Montfort University, BA (Hons.) Fashion Graduate 2009.
-specialism: Fashion Womenswear /Knitwear.
Design Background:
Brought up in an African culture, I was introduced to a diversity of rich textiles and colour which have been a significant factor intriguing me to learn more about fashion and how I could translate the richness of textiles and colour into unique modern clothes.
I consider that my passion for textiles has made me take more active interest in knitwear and other types of hand weaving techniques such as macramÈ and crocheting which give me the latitude to introduce and build upon my own ideas in fabrics allowing me to challenge deep-seated ideas and concepts in fashion.
I worked for Danielle Scutt for about 3 months; helping out with pattern cutting and sewing and sewed 3-4 final outfits that went onto her catwalk. Work experience with Maurice Sedwell, the tailors on the Saville Row, London.
I have been successful in a number of competitions in which I applied some of my skills in textiles and knitted fabrics as part of representing my ideas within the competition briefs. This earned me a place as a finalist in two major competitions, MaxMara and FAD (Fashion Awareness Direct). For the FAD competition, I launched my ideas in two outfits that were showcased on the finalist catwalk in London during the London Fashion week in February 2009.
In addition to becoming a finalist in these competitions, I won a scholarship with the Frame Work Knitters Guild. I would acknowledge that the scholarship has not only helped with my skill development in textiles and knitted fabric but has also incentivized my research into new processes in knitwear as well as quality yarns.
Project title:
The opulence of empires: The Tsars & 1001 Arabian Nights.
Inspiration:
The inspiration for my collection is based on the opulence of empires, the Russian Tsars and Arabian nights. The collection is made up of wealthy colours such as gold and coppers and uses embellishments, patterns and prints from palace interiors and Russian carpets. The collection relies in the mix of various luxurious yarns in diffusible textures to create elegant and contemporary fashion pieces. Each outfit in my collection is hand bespoke as I am creating fabric for each piece.
The key pieces in my collection are based on the beautiful knots and trims found on Russian military jackets. I have translated my own idea of the military knots and trims by using craft techniques such as knitting, macramÈ and crochet to embellish my garments. I have also sourced other forms of embellishment such as chain mail fabrics, which I have incorporated into knitwear and I have developed other ideas for embellishment such as utilizing metals and beads of various sizes into my fabric.
The silhouettes in my collection explore volume in a subtle way, where luxurious techniques such as fringing are used to enhance the shoulders, arms and hips whilst beading and knotting embellishments add a sharp but feminine elegance to the outfit. Other silhouettes in my collection play on short and elongated body conscious figures.
This collection is about?
The opulence of empires is about the beauty of past empires, exploring and celebrating the impressive ceremonial dress and uniforms of Emperors and officials of the Russian Court. It explores detail on the fine tailoring of garments, especially the royal military and the fine craftsmanship of embroidery and high quality textiles.
Main inspiration is taken from the last Russian royal family ñ The Tsars and from the beautiful illustrations of Edmund Dulac from the storybook 1001 Arabian Nights.
I have merged both concepts together as to broaden my design ideas and produce a collection full of rich textiles and unique media.
Illustrations by Emund Dulac conjure up the feeling of an opulent setting that inspired me very much when I was young. The fine brocade and elegant presentation of each page in the storybook aroused a desire of want as if the item being viewed was of precious stone. It is this very feeling I want viewers to feel when seeing my collection, and so have chosen both concepts and merged them together for a collection that will be full of unique and explored textiles, embellishment and embroidery.
Where do you get inspiration from in general?
A lot of my inspiration from my African culture, most at the time of designing and art at the national gallery especially by Fragonard and Botticelli.
How is your process when you design?
- First I gather information by visiting the places that inspire me, any associated exhibitions at the time, books, magazines and historical references on the subject
- I then pick out relevant images that I feel are very strong and inspire me and look at every picture in detail before I start to design
- From samples and swatches I create, I am able to evaluate the garment; thus create a whole collection or a lineup.
What do you find most difficult about the design process?
Starting out and gathering the right information.
What are your strengths?
Hard working, seek to see things through to the end, meeting deadlines and research and design.
Describe your collection with three words?
Luxurious, esoteric and elegant.
What techniques did you use?
I used the standard domestic brother knitting machine. The techniques I have used are fairaisle, rouleau, fringing, lace, short row, rib, crochet, macramé, twisting, beading and weaving.
Which machines did you use to create your collection?
I used the standard domestic brother knitting machine.
Which technique was the most difficult?
Lace and macramé.
Lace: Because the yarns were quite fragile and would break sometimes when knitting. It is very difficult to do a lace pattern on the knitting machine without it catching and laddering.
Macramé: Because the cords have to be long enough to create a certain piece. The downfall being the cords get tangled or the cords are too short making it very difficult to attach a longer cord without making the pattern look untidy.
Which garment was most difficult to make?
Chainmail leotard. Because I had to knit tiny jumprings into a delicate weave and took me about a week to knit each pattern piece. The leotard was so delicate that I couldnít use it for the catwalk and the tiny jumprings kept catching on the leotard that it would pull the weave; thus, making ladders and holes in the garment.
Which garment took the longest to make?
The chainmail leotard.
Which garment is your favorite?
Outfit # 4 Denim print fur jacket and crochet fringe leotard.
What technique is your favorite?
Crochet and macramé.
How long did you work on this project?
About 5 months.
What made you pursue knitwear?
Having to learn and incorporate knitwear into certain projects at University made me become more interested and aware of practicing more techniques and skills; thus allowing me to pursue knitting on a more advanced level. Iíve also been encouraged by my personal tutors who took interest in me developing knitting skills and pushed me to go further.
What designers inspire you?
Jean-Paul Gaultier, Azzedine Alaia, Givenchy – Riccardo Tisci, Gianni Versace and Alexander McQueen.
Which designer would you like to work for in the future?
My ultimate goal is to own my own label. As part of my experience, I would like to train / work with Jean-Paul Gaultier.
Why did you choose De Montfort?
Amongst all the universityís that I visited, De Montfort University seemed to be the most unique in fashion amongst all and open to the new ideas of students who want to express themselves on the course. I think the course is excellent and unique; you learn so much within the 3 years that you are there that you probably wouldnít have been able to learn anywhere else. It teaches you not only fashion but about yourself – your strengths and weaknesses and what you can do to build on them.
During your education, which project has been your favorite?
The opulence of empires: The Tsars & 1001 Arabian Nights – because it allowed me to bring all of the knowledge and everything I had learnt in the three years of University and to test my skills in fashion. It also challenged me to think a lot to create an extra-ordinary and unique collection and to learn new techniques I had not been taught.
How were the school? Facilities? Teachers?
The facilities in the school were great. Leicester is so far away from ‘fashion’, unlike in London, where I am free to be myself and not be dictated to by fashion trends. The best thing is that the lecturers are always there to help you – they really open your eyes to the world of fashion and challenge you to bring the best out of you.
What advice would you give new students?
Get plenty of sleep and rest and plan well, giving more than enough time to be able to meet your deadline ñ because things can go wrong.
Why do you want to be a designer?
It is my passion, my gift. I can’t imagine doing anything but design.
What was your childhood dream job?
Fashion designer.
Have you ever been nominated or won a design competition?
I Won the Hand and Lock embroidery competition – my garment and embroidery were selected as the best, befitting the brief.
With one word, what is your best quality?
Diligent.
What are your plans for the future?
I want to be synonymous with fashion.
Will you continue to MA?
Yes, but depends on time and chance.
Will you be selling your BA collection?
I will not be selling; but I am taking orders. Some pieces from my collection will be available to purchase sometime in April 2010 on a new website called ‘pick your berry’ (website will be launched April 2010). For more information please contact me (see below).
Where can we find more information on you?
The following websites contain information you might be interested in:
Contact info:
blusonic55@hotmail.com
Phone: 07931477651
Alexandrea Verschueren
Alexandra Verschueren, 21. Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, Fashion Graduate 2009.
- specialism: Fashion Womenswear.
Design Background:
I went from high shool straight to the Academy. Since the program is really hands-on, we aren’t really able to study abroad for a semester. And we only have time for internships during the summer.
In the summer between my Bachelor’s degree and Master’s Degree I spent a month in London, interning for Preen. And now I just got back from New York, where I interned a month at Proenza Schouler and afterwards did an apprenticeship for Junior Designer RTW at Derek Lam.
Now I am back home in Antwerp.
Project title:
Medium
Inspiration:
My graduate collection was called ‘Medium’.`
I got inspired by the medium paper, after seeing pictures/artworks of Thomas Demand, who recreates objects out of everyday life in paper, and then photographs them. And also by the Youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwK3pz1lmJA), in which a couple walks into an appartment and slowly realises everything is made out of paper. In both cases paper is a strong medium to lay bare the artificiality of normal life.
It was never really the intention to put that idea into the garments (they also don’t really refer to that). It was more of an inspiration for a feeling I wanted to put into the garments…I like the philosophy about it, because in everyday life everyone is trying to be as perfect as they can be, even though that’s not necessary. I wanted to break through that. All the garments look really delicate and fragile, on the verge to fall apart.
Maybe in that aspect that idea is visible through the collection and the garments.
Just trying to break through the idea of wanting to be perfect/artificial.
I don’t want to portray fashion as being artificial though. There are a lot of labels/magazines out there that prove the opposite.
But I think the main thing that annoys me is that sometimes there is to much focus on the fashionscene, instead of the whole thought and design process behind it.
That’s why for this collection my concept was paper as it is the starting material for every designer.
You sketch on it, draw on it, make your patterns out of it,…
After that I started thinking how can you translate the idea of ‘paper’ into garments. For the shape I started looking at the Japanese Origamic Architecture by Masahiro Chatani.
For the prints I was inspired by the crude first strokes in children’s drawings, but also ink on blotting paper, chalkboard,…
I really tried to handle my fabric as if it were paper, by pleating, cutting, folding the fabric. And working with fabrics that referred to paper, woolens that don’t unravel and cottons that had lines, squares, rules on it like a notebook.
Where do you get inspiration from in general?
Inspiration can come from a lot of things.
Love, friendships, artists, books,…they all do the trick for me.
Even people can be inspiring.
I look up to people who stay true to themselves, and really do what they love (in all different fields, it doesn’t necessarily need to be fashion, it can also be art, design, architecture, crafts, science, literature,…).
People who want to change something with what they do.
Sandra Backlund, Thomas Demand, Dries Van Noten, Hussein Chalayan, Clyfford Still,…
How is your process when you design?
I can never start working on a project unless I have a solid concept, and inspiration for shapes, colours, atmosphere.
It’s only when I have that aspect covered, the designing can start.
What do you find most difficult about the design process?
The pressure of wanting to always do something extremely innovative.
My experience is that I design best when I stop thinking about what the world around me might say about the designs and I truly design for myself.
What are your strenghts?
I don’t know. I’m quite stubborn and not easily pleased.
I won’t be satisfied until I have achieved what I want.
What are your weaknesses?
Thinking with my heart instead of my head, worrying too much about every little thing, dreaming, and probably much more, but that’s what makes life interesting. Constantly making the same mistakes over and over again.
Describe your collection with three words?
Free, paper, unwearable.
What techniques did you use:
Actually a lot of people think this collection is the result of high tech laser cutting and pleating, folding.
Truth be told, it’s all done quite artisanal. Every little detail is done manually.
I spend hours with my iron making sure all the pleats were made correctly, then I did the folding by hand, ironed again, all the cuts are done manually as well.
The constructions all survive since the fabrics have a lot of starch in them, or some fusing.
That’s why this collection is not really wearable.
I would love to find new techniques to make folds and pleats like the ones in my garments, and make them last (even after washing them).
The prints are also all drawn by hand by me onto the fabric.
The only print that was done digitally is the one on the knitted dress.
Which machines did you use to create your collection?
My iron.
Which technique was the most difficult?
The pleating wasn’t necessarily difficult but it was really time consuming.
I spend hours/days ironing to get the constructions come to life.
Do you have a technical or conceptual approach to designing?
I think my design approach is rather conceptual.
Which garment was most difficult to make?
The pleated tyvek dress. Since the tyvek didn’t have the right structure for the pleating I wanted to use, it was the most fragile piece of the collection and I made it 4 times until I was fully satisfied (and I have to admit, I am not really that satisfied yet).
Which garment took the longest to make?
The gray cape. It took 4 weeks (but I worked on other things in between as well).
What technique is your favorite?
I actually loved the pleating, it was meditative in a way (although my back hurt after standing benched over my iron machine a whole year).
How long did you work on this project?
A school year. From September until June.
Is there something you regret not doing in your collection?
I regret not having the time to find a way or special fabric that would have made it possible not to use that much starch and fusing, so that this collection would become wearable.
What made you pursue fashion?
At our school we don’t really specialize…That’s what I love about the Antwerp Academy/
Teachers motivate us to try out all different things and techniques.
They expect us to experiment with fabric, colours, knitting, womenswear/menswear, accessories, patterns,…
It’s a really broad education where the emphasis on experiment. Without experiment I don’t think it’s possible to create something groundbreaking.
What designers inspire you?
Sandra Backlund, for doing her own thing in a fashion world that is dominated by it’s fast pace I think it is really important to have designers like here who still try to inspire.
Dries van Noten, for also doing his own thing and really making a statement. His clothes are interesting but still very wearable and make you feel great.
Raf Simons for making ‘fashion’ interesting again.
Hussein Chalayan for thinking about the future of fashion design.
And truth be told I also look up to my teachers at the academy, Walter Van Beirendonck, and Dirk van Saene, for completely sticking out of the fashion circus, and being a bit crazy (in a good way).
Which designer would you like to work for in the future?
All of the above.
Why did you choose Antwerp?
I grew up in Antwerp, and the Antwerp Academy has such a good reputation it would have been stupid not to try out for it.
What did you think of the education?
It was tough, but completely great and made me into the person I am today.
And yes, I am being a bit nostalgic.
During your education, which project has been your favorite?
My graduation collection, since that was the one that was the most interesting one to work on for me.
How were the school? Facilities? Teachers?
The school is absolutely amazing, located in an inspirational building in the heart of Antwerp.
It was great meeting people from all over the world, who come there to study.
And the teachers were tough, but they really want you to push and work hard and achieve something. They’re really supportive that way.
I had my fare share of hard times at the school but looking back at it now I realize how amazing it is to have been able to be in such a great environment for 4 years.
It was like living in your own bubble. It was great.
What advice would you give new students?
Go for it.
Which fellow students would you like to highlight?
Everyones work is completely different and strong in different ways. Discover their work at:
Why do you want to be a designer?
Because I was always kind of a fickle person…One day I wanted to be a doctor, the other a librarian, the other a dancer…And I realised that fashion is a business/artform (?) which combines a lot of different disciplines; more technical ones like sewing and pattern making, more crafty ones like embroidering, knitting, weaving, more personal things likes designing and making prints, then more practical ones like organising shows, getting models dressed,…Just being part of the whole thing is really inspiring and exciting. You never get bored and every day you’re busy working on something else.
Even now that my fashion student days are over, still every day brings different tasks.
I also like that fashion is kind of an art that is accessible to a wider crowd.
What was your childhood dream job?
I wanted to become all sorts of things, I remember wanting to become the typical ballerina, movie star, but also a librarian…Which might explain how I am in real life.
Sometimes I like to stick out (if I have done something I’m proud of), but mostly I just want to hide away at home. It’s a bit weird.
Have you ever been nominated or won a design competition?
I won the FFI award, the Momu Award, and an award from the Foundation Mathilde Horlait Dapsens, who hand out an amount of money for aspiring art students.
With one word, what is your best quality?
Time will tell hopefully.
What are your plans for the future?
Tricky questions. I would love to be able to pursue what I have achieved with my Medium Collection and work on projects for myself.
But realistically I know I need more experience working for more reknowned fashion houses.
It would be great to work for Hussein Chalayan, Dries Van Noten,…
But eventually starting a small label by myself and surviving by doing so sounds like a dream.
Will you be selling your collection?
As of yet I won’t be selling my MA project. I am thinking about commercializing certain pieces, but I don’t have the resources to bring them in production yet, and I think the collection still needs a bit of work before I start selling.
Were can we find more information on you?
You can look at my work on my website:
And I will be featured in the January Issue of Wallpaper.
Contact info:
