Maartje Janse at FASHIONCLASH Festival 2016

Meet Dutch designer Maartje Janse, graduated in 2015 at ArtEZ Institute of the Arts in Arnhem. Maartje is mainly focused on reseach, concept, textile/print/dessin development. Currently she is based in Amsterdam.
Being part of the MOAM Collective 2016, selected for the  Mittelmoda Award and Waxman Textile Prize, Maartje is looking ahead to a very exciting year.

You can discover the work of Maartje Janse at the Heritage Exhibition at SAMdecorfabriek Juli 1 + 2. More information: here.

When did you realize you wanted to be a fashion designer? 
I was 12 and came to the open day of my former high school. They presented a fashion show and gave the opportunity to do textiles and fashion class for the next 5 years. I was sold! After that I did the pre-course at ArtEZ (Arnhem) and got accepted to the fashion design course.

What are your main achievements in your career at this moment? 
Being selected for the Mittelmoda Fashion Award 2016 and recently being selected for the Dorothy Waxman Textile Prize (Lidewij Edelkoort.inc, New York). It is something you dream of when you start studding and now it all happens.

In what projects are you involved at this moment? 
I am part of MOAM Collective 2016. Together with a group of 5 designers of different schools we are working on a collection that will be presented in October. We are being coached by various Dutch fashion designers and are able to produce fabrics in the Textile museum in Tilburg. During this process the Dutch television is making a documentary about the project. I am also doing some freelance work in the fashion design field.

How would you define fashion? 
A good mystery. It gives me a thrill sometimes and I can get very happy out of it but on the other hand I dislike the fashion system.

Who are your artistic influences or inspirations and why? 
I think my biggest inspirator was my former internship lead by Hussein Chalayan. He was the one I watched out for many years and it was a big honor to work for him.

Finding your own voice is difficult, where and how do you find your personal creativity (before you start designing; during the design process)? 
Actually often on the street or reading about stuff that is going on, the news or stories. That’s most of the time the starting point and then I try to let the material speak and interact on that.

What challenges did you face during the design process? 
Technical skills, I would love to learn 3d prototyping and printing programs. That is quite a challenge to me.

What do you want to communicate with your designs in general? 
Concepts or ideas I have developed. So most of the time awareness.

Can you tell us something about the project you will present at the FASHIONCLASH Festival? 
I am presenting several looks from my graduation collection Analog / Digital Reality (2015).

What does your collection try to communicate (what is it about)? 
The collection was based on the manipulation of images, mass-fragmentation and how they change and deform the notion of reality. I started using the technique of weaving to weave my own image by using a double weave and added my own pixels into the fabric. The weave, printed foil and digital prints made the ‘glitch’ between analog and digital real and noticeable.

Why have you decided to participate at FASHIONCLASH Festival? 
It is good to be out there and have the opportunity to show people your story.

What can we expect from you at the festival? 
A colorful statement!

Can you tell us something about your heritage? 
In this collection I used old weaving techniques. I was connected to the weaving community of The Netherlands, which is consisted of a lot of great craftsmen. It was a very interesting experience and it was really nice to meet those skilled people, I think it’s great to keep in mind in the future, the field where crafts and design can come together and stimulate each other.

How is the theme Heritage related to your work (can be also preferred to previous work)? 
Well the collection started by collecting old parts of photographs others would have been thrown away. What someone else thought was to ugly to put into a photo album, I enjoyed watching and I saw that a lot of memories were captured. I did that when I was very young. I started to make new images with those photo strips and started to weave with it. I really like the authentic feel of old photos.

(How) do you reflect your personal heritage into your design(s)? 
I think I answered that with the last question, hah.

If you could trade your heritage, for what would you trade it? 
Nothing really.

Describe yourself in three words. 
Ambitious, disciplined, passionate.

What’s a standard day for you? 
Waking up early and go to work. Quite boring rhythm, but totally no boring days!

Vegan, vegetarian, healthy diet or any food will do? 
Vegetarian

What’s your favourite song, food and movie/TV-show at the moment? 
Song: Footprints, roisin murphy. Food: Wraps. Documentary: cowspiracy. 

What is your bad habit? 
Being a perfectionist.


Are you a people's person or a loner? 
Both.

Do you have a pet? 
No I don’t.

What’s your favourite city? 
London

http://www.maartjejanse.nl

All pictures by Peter Stigter