Countless disappeared in the mist of time,

Others were immortalised on to the façade.

‘Hobohemian Heaven’

A collection inspired by The Chelsea Hotel New York.

Where the rebel crouched by a creation of a shoulder pleat,

the poet’s character is distorted by a rebelliously forward forced hip.

Curtains vigorously hauled from their rods, mostly made of silks,

give the collection a poetic touch.

The specific pleat of the curtain is carried by the gems of the collection,

a curtain hook galvanised in gold.

‘Hobohemian Heaven’, the roof over poetry and rebellion.

I am fascinated by the interaction between people and their surroundings; body versus space; the order and arrangement of things around me. My work focuses on the surface, with fabric as a starting point.

In my attempt to distort the relationship between the body and the space around it, I have changed their outlines, like the artist Antony Gormley. By making a mould of a body he creates a negative hollow shape. This made me wonder: Is the body the content and the clothes the container, or is it the other way round?

My work explores the void between the body and the garment. Different materials like synthetic crin and buntal emphasize this space. Alienating shapes or capsules floating around the body are turned into clothes, like organic sculptures. Metal knitwear and the contrast between dark shades and bright tops create a sharp, minimalistic feel. In collaboration with Freedom Of Creation I developed an innovative shoe, which is printed three-dimensional.

All this feeds my belief in complexity, problem solving, desires and in my own mood swings.
Tactility, texture and no-frills modernity are the essence of my work.

“i can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if i look up into the heavens, i think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquillity will return again.”
(anne frank, july 15th 1944)

it’s not to provoke, but to evoke: emotion, remembrance and consciousness.
it’s because as time passes, the shock seems to subside.
it’s because of the current right wing political activity in western europe.
it’s because a group’s actions should never be mistaken for an individual’s actions.
it’s because this is the darkest chapter of human history and it defies my understanding.
it’s because when I walk through old cities i see the scars embedded in the architecture, i see historic buildings where curtains were shut or secret doors opened.
it’s because I felt the need to say something, to try to comprehend, to remind this generation of its past.
it’s to create certain awareness of what our generation does with this heritage, it’s because i wanted to create a monument; one you can wear, to remind yourself and those around you.

Physiognomy is the art or science by which the characteristics of the mind are discovered in the general configuration of the body. This configuration of form and structure creates frictions between the garment and the personality wearing it.

Elongated center, synched in waist; the abdominal form – ‘the smallness of your waist is an indication that the nourishing part of your body is weak. To restrain the abdominal form: keep your eyes open and mouth shut, eat little, sleep little, and take your food in a concentrated form, and engage in an occupation demanding thought and great activity’.*

Ideas are developed through the use of materials and silhouette; the printed fabrics and shape created from folds, and layers of built up fabric on areas around the body. This implementation of research explores ideas of judging physical form to recreate ideas of the persona, giving the option to cultivate and improve ones body and mind or to restrain it.

* J.Simms M.D., A New Physiognomical Chart, 1873

In a collusion of angles, two opposites collaborate in a newly found structure.
Searching for a way to integrate structures in my work, I used the geometric forms of the tangram puzzle. Shapes are created around the body with either flowing or rigid forms. Flowing lines are interrupted or disturbed by angles. They make parts of the garments protrude from the body, creating unexpected shapes with a renewed elegance. The body is loosely wrapped in large geometric forms.
The materials resulted in a collision between natural fabrics, such as felt wool, silks, leathers, and synthetic materials; such as transparent polyester and polished surfaces. Shoes were developed with a wooden structure inspired by the Kapla principle in collaboration with Miriam van Weeghel. The rigid heel structure forms an aligned collusion with the fluent lines formed in the garments.