MONIQUE VAN HEIST TURNS THE FASHION INDUSTRY UPSIDE DOWN / WDCD2011

Monique van Heist is persistent in attacking the fast turnover system that drives the fashion industry. In 2008, this Rotterdam-based designer achieved critical claim by launching the Hello Fashion collection. Hello Fashion will never run out of season, for it is a constantly growing line to which new items are added and old ones always remain available.

The Hello Fashion collection made Van Heist a triple winner at the 2008 Dutch Design Award, taking home the Incubator Award, the Mercedes Benz Dutch Fashion Award and also the Media Award. For her designs Van Heist draws inspiration from everyday situations: the most uninspired designs found in mail-order catalogues or the interior design of a supermarket can spark thoughts and concepts. She also refers to the classics of design and aims to create items that will survive for generations, which does not mean they have to be basic.

‘The fashion industry is working up to a boiling point,’ Van Heist says. ‘There are more brands, more products, more everything. Within a few years this system inevitably will collapse.’