Alexandra Drenth II

Journey by Alexandra Drenth is a hand embroidered cheesecloth of faces and foliage completed this year. Alexandra retells stories of childhood memories, expressing themes of love and relationships entwined and enriched with elements inspired by nature such as flowers and birds. Her work takes one on 'a journey through time where no sense of time exists'. 

Marian Bijlenga

I have been fascinated and inspired by the work of  Dutch artist Marian Bijlenga for sometime.

Marian Bijlenga creates installations and wall sculptures from delicately worked elements of horse hair, viscose, paper, glass and fish scales. She studied at the Rietveld Art Academy in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Her work is like flight maps of birds or organisms under the microscope, detailed, magical and organic.

“I am fascinated by dots, lines and contours, by their rhythmical movements but also by the empty space they confine. Instead of drawing on paper, I draw in space by using textile as a material. I work with thread, fabric and horsehair, materials that are soft, light, flexible and open to endless development. The suppleness of textiles gives me the greatest possible freedom to achieve my goal: the discovery of new forms.

Be guided by what happens around you. Don’t try too hard to direct, plan, master everything. For me, it is more important to be led by what crosses your path, the accidental encounter, things that happen outside yourself. Marian Bijlenga

Jules Henderikus ten Velde

Jules Henderikus ten Velde's collection 'Natures Bride" This young designer has innovative ways of incorporating unusual materials and approaches. Jules graduated from the Amsterdam Institute of Fashion this summer.

"The collection tells the story of a young woman who escapes the modern world and harsh city life, and flees to the countryside. When she arrives she falls in love with the beauty and innocence of nature. Be charmed by the landscapes surrounding her she decides to devote herself completely to nature. The concept of Jules Henderikus ten Velde's graduation collection symbolizes his position as a fashion designer. His desire is to change the conditions of the current fashion system into a more couture-driven and animal-friendly way. Man-made materials like lurex and plexiglass are used by slowly processing these into natural materials such as raffia, palm-leaves and naturally dyed cottons." 

Alexandra Drenth II

I am in awe of Alexandra Drenths works, these are some of her phenomenal capes

Alexandra Drenth I

Alexandra Drenth lives and works in Amsterdam her artistic career started with photography and painting. In the last few years her focus has been textiles and in particular incredibly detailed hand embroidery, utilising combinations of fabrics old and the new.
Often her pieces have dense tracts of text telling stories from women's lives. These are accompanied by highly populated scenes and natural elements such as plants, flowers.

Christian Heikoop

Christian Heikoop creates inspirational work by blending the borders between the design specialisations of Graphics, Product, Interior and Fashion creating great soft silhouettes and almost non-human alien forms in his blurring of shape.

Jacqueline van Leeuwenstein II

I really adore these unique dresses by Dutch artist Jacqueline van Leeuwenstein, I like the very bright contrast edging and the wonderful unusual prints.

Jaqueline Van Leeuwenstein I

Illustrator Jaqueline Van Leeuwenstein has been making and designing unique dresses with a simple shape that are a vehicle for her hand painted and printed designs. I think they are fantastic.

Ilja

Marbled fabrics combined with pleats and dramatic folded forms by Ilja  these are from the Caesura collection.

Borre Akkersdijk "BB Suit" Allows You to Become Technology

Borre Akkersdijk likes pushing fabric and fashion in different directions. Using new technology or re-appropriating old industrial machinery he innovates and makes exciting discoveries and experiments.

Marjolein Dallinga

This is a surreal piece of clothing by Marjolein Dallinga looking quite strawberry like but also very like an iridescent sea creature. Marjolein Dallinga originally trained in painting and graphic design in Holland.
Then she moved and settled in Canada where she gradually became more interested in textiles but particularly felt, making small items such as hats, bags and shawls. However her work came to the attention of the Cirque du Soleil and the costume pieces that she has created for this group have made her work evolve far beyond  any traditional felt craft. Now she works on costume and felt sculptures that are like life forms themselves.

Maaike Fransen I

Maaike Fransen is a designer/ performance artist who's work is an endless narrative of ideas and identity explored through costume, film, installation etc. These images are from a project called 'I used to feed the ducks'.

Guda Koster I

Guda Koster's work combines fashion, theater, design and architecture to create a new dialogue about our everyday lives. Questioning tradition, habit and the coded meaning that clothing and fashion conveys.

Alet Pilon II

Alet Pilon

Hinke Schreuders

Dutch textile artist Hinke Schreuders works feature classic fashion photography and film icons. She photo transfers the images and then embroiders into the surface.