says the designer, describing how fabric and its movement is vital to the sport.Ahead of the film’s premiere on 5 July,caught up with the designer via Zoom from her Amsterdam atelier to discuss the new collection film, the crossovers with skydiving and haute couture, as well as her hopes for fashion in a post-pandemic world.
"There's a beautiful connection between the history and the future of fashion, which is what I try to bring with my work."What’s your earliest memory of fashion and what is it about the craft of couture that led you to practise it yourself?My grandma was a collector of garments, both modern and historic, stored in her attic. As a kid, I would go there a lot and transform myself into different worlds and feel the power of clothing.
How did the collaboration with Domitille Kiger come about? What is it about skydiving that interests you?“I did my first skydive when I was 17 and it was an experience that never left me, so I followed the work of the world champion skydivers, such as Domitille. I’ve dedicated my life to shaping and draping fabric, and with Domitille, her life depends on the fabric unfolding in the right shape.
You've got a knack for combining handwork, technology and sustainability — where does this come from?There’s no specific process, but my way of thinking is very interdisciplinary, so I like to work with people from different backgrounds such as architects, scientists and biologists. Craftsmanship can evolve to help us look at fashion in new ways and a big part of that, of course, is sustainability. It's a slow, long route, but I believe in investing in it to take little steps forward.
, whose paper sculptures involve layers of fine knife-cutting, often based on scientific illustrations from nature. We translated his delicate technique into soft, wearable garments. These were the most challenging and time-consuming of everything we did.”What will the film look like and which collaborators were instrumental in bringing it to life?“We wanted to create this feeling of levitation. It was shot partly in France with Domitille skydiving, as well on top of the Dolomites in Italy.
loved it something that is extremely extraordinary because the idea of recycling plastic from the Ocean that prejudices thousands of oceans life’s also the audacity to skydive with a dress that remains the scales of a fish it is truly phenomenal