   Silhouet study2 PROJECT 000
005
Does your
work in any way draw from the Dutch fashion design tradition?
Are you in any way interested in exploring
it?
I think my unglamorous approach to fashion might
be linked to the down-to-earth mentality of the
Dutch.   PROJECT 000 004 -
Hypertrichosis bow tie 2.0 (Identitiy
Factory) Photography by Dayna Casey and Joel
Nieminen  project 000 004
Hypertrichos bow tie 2.0
You have said that you are interested in the way
"fashion enables us to create social structures and hierarchy.”
Do you see this as a natural and inevitable aspect of
fashion?
Yes. Ceremonial robes of Nyimi Kok Mabiintsh
III, King of Kuba (Congo) are a great example of this. The Pope,
Napoleon, Obama; They all have their clothes to show their position. It
does not necessarily mean that clothes are always meant to show off.
Uniforms for example, show the urge to be equal.
Fashion is
communication and it's everywhere; on the streets and among your friends
as
well. PROJECT 000 005 - 'His
Majesty Prefers Pigs' photo by Imke
Ligthart  PROJECT 000 002 - Vestes Ad
Illustrandam Embryogenesin Hominis Et Mammalium
Abnormen Photography by Rik Versteeg and Wim
Klaassen
Your work in many ways merges fashion
with visual arts.
Do you recognise the influence of specific
artists in the way you design?
There are many artists
I admire. I love films of Jeroen Eisinga. And the glowing bunny of
Eduardo
Kac. PROJECT 000 005 - 'His Majesty Prefers
Pigs' photo by Imke Ligthart
 lookbook PROJECT 000 005 -
'His Majesty Prefers Pigs' Photography by Janne van
Gilst
When
starting to work on a new project, are you driven by inspiration or
rather by an inner need to make a
statement?
It’s a combination of both. I’m often
attracted to objects that do not fit western standards of beauty, or
that were considered as beautiful
in other time and place. Can
something be ugly and beautiful at the same time?
Sometimes I
can see so much potential in Kitsch of trash. I try to capture these
contradictory feelings in my projects,
and ask the audience
the same question as I ask
myself. DLAH-anouk WEB photo by Jeronimus van
Pelt  PROJECT 000 005 - 'His
Majesty Prefers Pigs' photo by Imke
Ligthart  PROJECT 000 005 - 'His Majesty Prefers
Pigs' photo by Imke Ligthart
Would you share the ideas that
helped realise «XOX, His Majesty's Royal
Pig»?
For PROJECT 000 005 - 'His Majesty Prefers
Pigs' I created an imaginary tribe. I designed oversized robes,
aluminium masks, relics, and jewellery made of silver, gold, pearls and
human hair. Pieter van Vliet, a songwriter, wrote stories about the
characters based on my designs, and together we came up
with
fictional habits and rituals of the tribe. The central figure of this
project is a pig, owned by a Czar.
I came up with the idea quit
spontaneously, but I like the tension between the pearls and the pig.
It could be a reaction on people treating and dressing their Chihuahuas
as kings. By replacing the dog for a pig, which has a completely
different status in our culture, I express my astonishment about this
dog-thing.
We had lots of fun photographing the pig, in
collaboration with Imke Ligthart. We booked a domestic pig, which had
experience in modelling,
but still it was running around all
the time. The only way to keep it on the right spot was by feeding it
fruit, vegetables and cookies instantly.
 PROJECT 000 005 - 'His Majesty Prefers
Pigs' photo by Imke
Ligthart  PROJECT 000 005 - 'His Majesty Prefers
Pigs' photo by Imke
Ligthart  PROJECT 000 005 - 'His Majesty Prefers
Pigs' photo by Imke
Ligthart If you could change one thing about the fashion
industry, what would this be?
I do not really want to
change something, but rather stay away from it in the best possible
way. I’m a bit of an outsider in the industry, and I actually like that.
I do not produce on large scale and finish projects at my own
pace. As a consumer I stopped buying new clothes.
I relate to
it, on a more personal level and in matters of my individual
choices.
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