StyleNest chat to Dutch designer by way of London Fashion Week, Maarten Van Der Horst.
He single handedly brought back the Hawaiian shirt last Spring Summer with his vibrant, tropical inspired collection. Now, Dutch born London based designer, Maarten Van Der Horst has won a coveted sponsorship from NEWGEN, following in the footsteps of some of LFW’s biggest success stories like Mary Katrantzou and Jonathan Saunders.
StyleNest met up with Maarten post London Fashion Week madness to find out all about the new collection, his favourite London haunts and an intriguing new collaboration with yogurt of all things.
Firstly, have you recovered from London Fashion Week?
Yes! It wasn’t very stressful this season, I worked with such a great team so I didn’t have any mental breakdowns or anything.
You were awarded the coveted NEWGEN sponsorship this season. Congratulations! Tell us how that has helped you and the brand.
NEWGEN helps with business support and really puts your name on the map. I’m in such great company as well and I’m such a big fan of all the other NEWGEN designers.
One of your first jobs in the world of fashion was an internship at Chloé. Tell us about your time there, did the industry live up to what you thought it was going to be?
The time at Chloé was great; I learned a lot there and it showed me the level of professionalism needed to start my own label. Paris, however, is very old fashioned and being there definitely influenced my decision to start my own label.
You’re originally from Holland but are now based in London. Where do you call home?
Wherever my boyfriend is.
Where do you like to eat/shop/drink in London?
I always eat at La Relais De Venise in Marylebone and drink in the George & Dragon pub in East London.
Your signature piece has to be the oversized Hawaiian shirt from your SS12 collection. Where did the inspiration come from?
That collection was inspired by stereotypical straight/gay misunderstandings, so I embroidered lilac Nylon petticoats onto oversized Hawaiian shirts to make them clash as much as possible.
Your trademark print has now made its way onto a charity collaboration with TOTAL Greek Yogurt for charity Action For Children. Can you tell us a little about the collaboration?
I was approached to design a print for the pot, and I love the charity, so I wanted to try my best to design something that embodies both the escapism and the sense of humor in my work. The print will appear on 100 Limited Edition lunch pots, so it’s exciting to design an object that people can carry around with them day-to-day.
You also worked on a collaboration with Topshop, can we expect more exciting collaborations throughout 2013?
Actually, we’re about to launch my second collaboration with Topshop, which I’m incredibly excited about so watch this space.
Describe the Maaten Van Der Horst woman.
Anyone with fun and some guts
Tell us about the new AW13 collection.
The new collection is all about explaining a D-I-Y luxury, a type of glamour that is more lo-fi and punk. Everything is silkscreened by hand and put together with silver insulation tape. I wanted the collection to comment on waste-reduction and the fast turn-around of ideas in the fashion industry.
The 100 limited edition Maarten van der Horst for TOTAL Greek Yoghurt Black + Blum lunch pots cost £25 and are available exclusively from www.black-blum.com.
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