Sunday 29 June 2014

EXCIDIUM - Judith van Vliet & Chris van den Elzen

Judith van Vliet & Chris van den Elzen joined forces and presented their latest work at FASHIONCLASH Festival 2014. They presented 'EXCIDIUM' collection.

Read more behind their collaboration and story behind their work.

Judith graduated from HKU in Utrecht and Chris from Design Academy Eindhoven. They met during FASHIONCLASH / Invito Shoe Design Challenge and decided to work together. Their collaboration resulted in successful clothing and shoes collection.


What inspires you in general? Modern architecture, construc- tions and nature are what inspire us the most. We are also inspired by culture and art.

What place or city do you find inspiring? 
Judith: London is a great city with a lot of beautiful architecture, old and new, a big mix of culture, and a great vibe! so inspiring!
Chris: I love Hong Kong the nar- row streets, the extremely high buildings, and all the grids and patterns. they make me smile.

What is it like to be a young designer in your city/country? There are a lot of possibilities, with good materials for handcraft but also a lot of new techniques that make the perfect match. But the Netherlands is a small coun- try with a lot of creative people, so you need to work hard to get noticed and to stand out.


Apparently, you met during the FASHIONCLASH shoe design challenge? How exactly did it happen? During this project we spoke a lot about our interests and found out we had a lot in common, so we joked about doing a collaboration. Two months later, that’s what we did!

How did you decide to start collaborating? 
The friendship and passion for designing felt really right, and both of us needed a next step in our carreer. By working together we could get the best out of ourselves by allying both our strengths.

How is this collaboration going? 
Everything is actually going quite good, we are working on the same level and have the same ideas. The challenges are more linked to our creations, like the heels of the shoes they will be printed with a wood-pulp mate- rial using a 3D printer.

What attracts you about the FASHIONCLASH platform? The FASHIONCLASH Festival is a great platform to start for young designers. It’s smaller than Fashion Week but still gives you a lot of publicity, new connections and a great experience.

What is the concept behind your latest collection?
This collection is about all old buildings that are empty in which nothing happens and that nobody wants. But these buildings are getting more beautiful as time passes. Erosion, moss, fungi and oxidant adorn the walls, ceilings and floors they shape a new world of designs, textures and colours.

Did you always want to work in the field of fashion?
Judith: I actually wanted to do medical studies, but i finally decided to start at the arts academy after visiting an open day. It was a real eye opener for me!
Chris: I first wanted to become a farmer, then an animal doctor, then an architect, and then the fashion world turned up, and I was sold.

Can you remember the first piece you designed?
Judith: Probably a bracelet, as long as I can remember I have always been making drawings and jewellery. The first outfit i made was a balloon skirt with a top, without any patterns! It was horribly made and designed when I look back at it!
Chris: the first shoes I designed had cut-out heels. It was a shoe balancing on a very thin wedge with leather upper.

What kind of feeling do you want to transfer with your latest collection?
The beauty of imperfection that will give every object its own identity.

What is on your playlist when you are working?
Judith: Jamie XX, Massive attack and Pink Floyd.
Chris: something from James Vincent McMorrow to Ms MR to M.i.a to HaiM to Jamie Woon etc. There are too many to put down.

What book shaped you? 
Judith: Fairy tales, I always liked to be in a dream world.
Chris: Books, I love to have them in my bookcase, but most of the time it’s just the pictures I love. I think the book that brought me to the fashion world was the first "Another magazine" that I bought. I even think it was the first edition.

If your life were a song what would the title be?
Judith: “even the worst can be the best”
Chris: “No worries, just improvise”

Twitter / Instagram/ Tumblr? 
Judith: Instagram
Chris: TUMBLR!

What is your definition of style? 
Judith: Wear what fits your body shape nicely, show your true self, and wear it with pride!
Chris: I love masculine pieces, architectural and minimalist. there should be a reason behind everything that is there.


What has been the greatest experience in your “fashion” career so far?
Judith: Participating to the Lichting 2012 with my graduation collection. It was a great opportunity and we gained a lot of attention.
Chris: Working for “United Nude” on their ss12 collection.

What can we expect from you in the future? 
Judith: More collections, with clothes that can be art and fashion, a real label.
Chris: a lot more shoes and accessories.

Find more about them and their work:

www.judithvanvliet.nl
www.chrisvandenelzen.com

Pictures are by Team Peter Stigter













Judith and Chris

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