With a view to ongoing collaboration with the school and its students, we thought to ask the young designer a few questions and share his inspirations and the result of his work.
1. Do you remember the exact moment when you decided to become a fashion designer?
I decided at the end of the first year at the Jean School in Amsterdam. When I started school I knew nothing about fashion. During the training a new world opened up for me. And at that point I became convinced that fashion is my true passion and is what I want to do for the rest of my life.
2. When and why did you decide to attend the Jean School?
Before the Jean School I attended secondary school. At that time skinny and tapered jeans became fashionable but the problem was that not all stores sold them. So I decided to make them myself with my grandmother’s sewing machine. A year later I saw a feature about this school on television and immediately fell in love with it: it seemed like the right type of educational path for me because I was already doing some things on my own with the sewing machine.
3. The creative process: do you work by instinct or do you plan every single small step? Where do your ideas come from?
My creative process is largely instinctive, but naturally with some planning otherwise I would risk getting lost quickly during the process. I am very inspired by futuristic things, by old ancient tribes, by nature and by the small things that populate my environment. I like to be somewhat random and experimental in my work, somewhat a reflection of myself.
4. Which Berto fabrics did you use for your project/collection?
For my final exam I had to create a collection for an existing brand. I chose Carhartt WIP for the robust American workwear style mixed with European street fashion. For my final collection I created two pieces with fabrics I received from Berto. For the jacket I used Berto Nevada PXT 11, 10 oz white fabric. And for the 5-pocket denim I chose Berto Bio Eco 11.5 oz denim. The finished garment was sent to Tonello to receive a finish and bio-treatment on the jeans. The concept is called “Summertime madness” and was inspired by the street-style of downtown Los Angeles. The sub-concept of my collection was to treat the collection fabrics with organic finishes and treatments. In this way I was able to collaborate with two important companies, with Berto and its splendid fabrics and with Tonello and its excellent machinery. Tonello garment.
5. What are your plans for the future?
At the moment I would like to focus and finish my studies at the Willem de Kooning Academy. During my training I hope to expand my vision of fashion and art. I don’t have a specific project yet, I would like to go wherever the wind takes me. For now I like being able to focus on school. But, naturally, working for a big brand abroad, or something like that would be a great experience. But nothing has been decided, yet.
Photo credit: Nigello Miguel
