The ordinary becomes special

The passion for making things yourself was there from an early age.

From a young age, Agnes was a fascinated crafter and as a teenager she designed and made her own clothes. From the age of sixteen, she received private lessons from a professional, highly skilled seamstress. She learned to draw patterns and soon mastered the many tricks of the couture trade. Around the age of forty, she followed a course at the Art Academy in addition to her work and family. There she developed into an all-round Fashion Artist and in 2012 she started her own company: professional and distinctive.

Art and fashion come together when Agnes' hands make what her mind invents.

Anyone who sees her work asks themselves: 'What am I looking at? What do I see?' A dress made of panty liners, a skirt made of Barbies, couture made from residual materials, waste products and materials from nature: from orange peel, horsehair, cabbage leaves or seaweed. The ordinary becomes special. Is it crazy or ingenious?

Handmade garments

Seemingly worthless material transforms into precious raw material for catwalk-worthy fashion artworks: theatrical, baroque, sensual. Futuristic, elegant and graceful. Eye-catchingly beautiful, they invite you to feel, smell, and raise philosophical questions about our relationship with nature, with our own bodies, with transience. The handmade garments embody a vision of a sustainable fashion industry, using biowaste and natural materials. It is slow fashion, innovative art. The research and experimentation that precedes the making of a creation is crucial to the creative process. The outcome is wearable artworks that are both stylish and environmentally conscious.

Agnes’ idiosyncratic universe reflects her love for art, culture, entertainment, nature and sustainability. Stitch by stitch, her hands create wearable designs: a limitless play of material, shape, texture, colour and body. A spectacular coming together of technology, nature, sustainability, design and couture. With her creative ability, imagination and technical skills, Agnes translates ideas into unique fashion creations. Besides a breathtaking aesthetic experience, her work also has a mission: to create a positive and lasting impact on society: “Let’s design the future together.” Nothing is impossible in the world of Agnes van Dijk.

ModeCapriole! From Arts and Crafts to Seaweed.

Would you like to get a sneak preview of the book?

And read more about this special collaboration, which led to this beautiful book. The book ModeCapriole can be ordered in the shop on the site and more information about this extraordinary production can be found here.