Another year has ended, and another class of Amsterdam Fashion Academy graduate! We would like to congratulate: Alexandra, Bonaly, Demi, Dina, Hariett, Karien, Kelsey, Linda, Melissa, Noortje, Vaibhavi and Valérie for their amazing work and we wish you all the luck for the next years. We are excited to see what the future brings! with great pleasure, we would like to introduce you to our Amsterdam Fashion Academy graduates 2018!

Kelsey De Jong

Fashion with Textiles Design BA (Hons)

“I want to focus on starting my own lingerie concept.”

“I have always had a passion for lingerie. Starting my personal lingerie collection at the early age of 14, I already fell in love with it. In my three years at the Amsterdam Fashion Academy I have had the chance to experiment with different styles and different elements of female fashion. However, lingerie has always been my main passion. Having had a concept for my own lingerie store (which would cater to specific needs), I have been able to gather further ideas and inspiration on how I will develop this later on. With the desire to develop my own concept store I have focused my thesis on the Dutch lingerie consumer, knowing that I, myself was not a realistic example of a Dutch consumer. I compared the Dutch markets to other consumer countries to identify what triggers Dutch consumers to buy and what they value most in lingerie. My Final Major Project is therefore a lingerie and nightwear collection, inspired by a more theatrical style for the modern femme fatale. In the future I hope to gain more insight in the fashion industry and to continue to learn, as I hope to one day have my own label.“

Linda Dittrich

Fashion with Textiles Design BA (Hons)

“Fashion is an extension of the awareness of the self.”

“I was born and raised in Berlin, Germany where I developed my love for fashion. For me personally, the main feature of fashion is the joy of the new and the changing. It is an extension of the awareness of the self. For my thesis I chose the theme of visual storytelling and how visual storytelling from the cinematic world has an impact on fashion. Cinematography has always been a subject which interested me and, therefore, I decided to focussed my dissertation and graduation collection on it. The collection is based on my two passions: movies and fashion design. While watching the Rammstein documentary, I got introduced to the movie Lost Highway which is produced by one of my favourite directors, David Lynch. I created a universe around the vibe of the movie and the soundtrack which I used as inspiration for my print designs and shapes of the garments. It is a clash of movie, music and fashion, rendered in a contemporary menswear collection.”

Dina Fabbri

Fashion Business BA (Hons)

“Art and self-expression have always been at the forefront of my life”

“Fashion must be understood and interpreted alongside culture, personality and epoch. Art and self-expression have always been at the forefront of my life, hence my decision to pursue a Fashion Business (Hons) BA. Although I began my journey at the Amsterdam Fashion Academy as a Fashion Design student, where I was given the opportunity to explore different horizons, my main interest diverted into the business aspect of fashion. In my second year of university I had the opportunity to work as an intern at The Animal Fund, a non-profitable organization based in Monaco. Their aim is to raise awareness on ocean plastic pollution and the protection of marine life. This experience has been my source of inspiration for my Final Major Project. Therefore my swimwear brand ‘D-KINI’ is an environmentally-friendly brand with the aim of promoting a healthier lifestyle for our planet. This will be done by producing 100% eco-friendly swimwear made of natural fabrics. This project gave me the opportunity to combine my creative design skills and business knowledge that I gained at the Academy. Furthermore, my Final Major Project also intertwines with my Dissertation topic, a research in finding more sustainable alternatives in the fashion industry. Having grown in the Principality of Monaco I´m interested in an international career in the luxury industry. Therefore, I´m planning to pursue a master’s in Luxury Brand Management after graduation. These three years at the Academy have acted as a stepping stone from which I aspire to succeed in my future career.”

Alexandra Hingsen

Fashion Business BA (Hons)

“A unique and individual cosmetic line inspired by the athleasure movement of Southern California.”

“My name is Alexandra Hingsen, I am 22 years old and am planning to continue my career in fashion in Los Angeles, California. I grew up in both Europe and the United States which inspired me to connect with many different cultures. I indistinctly knew at a young age that I wanted to work in a creative industry. My academic studies at the Amsterdam Fashion Academy together with my internship experience have given me the tools to help drive my visionary passions to the next level. I hope to work in digital marketing or social media in a fresh, creative company that can help shape the skills I learned at the Academy and apply them to business. My Final Major Project has given me the opportunity to show my creative skills as well as my business knowledge that I obtained during my three years at the Academy. My inspiration came from my love for lifestyle products combined with the Athleasure movement of Southern California. This inspired me to creatively embark on the process of designing a unique and individual cosmetic line based on active beauty. This project gives an extensive look at the functional aspects as well as the aesthetic elements attributable to fashion as well as beauty trends. I hope to gain more industry experience and grow my portfolio to allow me to follow my dreams and start my own company in the future.”

Karien Oude Wolbers

Fashion Business BA (Hons)

“I chose to develop the first curated hospitality and leisure platform.”

“I will start my Master of Science in Business Administration. I cannot wait to broaden my knowledge and specialise in marketing! Besides studying for my Fashion Business (Hons) BA, I have also been running my own company as an online fashion and travel influencer and marketing freelancer, for more than four years now. While doing so, I realised that the current influencer marketing jungle has gotten a bit too wild, making it very hard for independent, small-scaled places to gain (online) presence and be supported widely. Besides, I saw that the hospitality and leisure industry is severely underrepresented on currently available influencer platforms. That is why I chose to develop the first curated hospitality and leisure platform, as part of my Final Major Project. My platform intends to be the first curated (leisure) platform where hotels and other travel/leisure hotspots are consciously-matched with collaborators to realise their growth potential. What is special about the platform is that it has been exclusively designed for the needs of the hospitality/leisure industry, and it makes influencer marketing and collaborations more accessible for them. I want to help hotels and travel/leisure hotspots gain the exposure and presence they deserve without having to compromise any of their values, and make influencer collaborations more meaningful in the hospitality/leisure industry. I hope that this challenge combined with my master’s studies will give me the experience and knowledge I need to start as a full-time (online) marketing freelancer.”

Bonaly Penders

Fashion with Textiles Design BA (Hons)

“This is my time: I’ll do kids clothing!”

“I am planning to do a master’s degree abroad. My passion for fashion started when I was a little
girl. My grandmother was used to make clothes and wedding dresses and I always liked to hear her talk about it and help and watch her create new clothing. Since then my passion has grown over the years. My grandmother taught me valuable lessons and made me realise I wanted to pursue this passion and apply for a fashion academy after high school. For my final collection I came up with the idea to let kids write a fictional story and use this as a print. I like to illustrate and create hand drawn illustrations, related to these stories. I had always wanted to try and make a children’s wear collection in my previous projects, but I never thought this would fit in with my previous themes. Since we were free to do anything we wanted for our collection, I thought: “This is my time: I’ll do kids´ wear!”. The free spirited thoughts and unlimited fantasy that children have, gave me a lot of original ideas and inspirations. I thought about what kids would want to wear and incorporated this in a print design of stories written by children: therefore, the collection is not only inspired by kids, but it is also for kids to wear. In the future I want to pursue my passion further, but I also want to learn more about how to brand a company and how to go from an idea/product to a real company. This is why I want to follow up my bachelor’s degree with a master’s. I think I can learn a lot from this and apply the new skills in the creation of my own brand. I´m looking forward to combine my fashion design passion with the creation of a company with a unique brand.”

Hariett Pettai

Fashion Business BA (Hons)

“This brand is the perfect example of my style: Eastern European roots and Scandinavian modernity.”

“After the graduation, I will be looking for an exciting job opportunity in Europe focusing on buying, sales and merchandising. I would describe myself as an Estonian on a mission. I have always been very open to new challenges and opportunities, hence the reason I decided to join the three-year Fashion Business (Hons) BA programme at the Amsterdam Fashion Academy. It seemed like the perfect way to continue my academic career and submerge myself in culture, heritage and knowledge. My previous experience living abroad and receiving a design diploma in Milan gave me a clear understanding of where I see myself in the fashion industry. I realised I needed to explore more than just the design part in order to be a great business owner one day. My love for the fashion industry and inspiration from the Arabian culture motivated me to create my Final Major Project about a brand that is the perfect example of my personal style – Eastern European roots combined with Scandinavian modernity, while staying feminine and modest. The concept focuses on long, loose, modest garments that can be styled in many ways and worn for different occasions. The debut collection will feature handmade, long, maxi dresses combined with elegant yet practical head-scarves. Creating beauty around me makes me feel the most like my trueself and, as I still have a lot to learn, I will be in the hunt for a placement anywhere in Europe. I am more than excited to see what the future holds and to take it on with dedication, passion and grace.”

Melissa Joyce Roksnoer

Fashion Business BA (Hons)

“I want to start my own fashion events company.”

“I am planning to do a master’s in event management in a few years, after traveling around the world and discover new places and cultures. My thesis is based on the potential growth of my internship company. I thought it was interesting to see how an online company still relies on offline marketing campaigns nowadays. Due to my experience during the internship, I also realised what I enjoyed most is planning and organization, which I have used as inspiration for my Final Major Project. The Final Major Project has given me the opportunity to combine my creative skills together with the business skills that I gained at the Amsterdam Fashion Academy, by creating the event company MJ Fashion Events, focussed on fashion shows in a fashion city like London. I want to create a company that provides all the services needed in a professional and unique way, in order to be exclusive. This company would have its main office in London and it would open other offices in major fashion cities such as Paris, Milan and New York in the future. MJ Fashion Events will be also available internationally as an online platform. I hope that, after a few more years of experience in the fashion business industry, I will be able to follow my dream and start my own fashion events company.”

Valérie Vastesaeger

Fashion Business BA (Hons)

“I would like to set up my own company in the luxury industry.”

“I am planning to start my master’s in luxury management and attending a short course in Fashion Psychology afterwards. My studies at the Amsterdam Fashion Academy triggered my interest for consumer behaviour and psychology: what makes consumers buy a specific product and why they are willing to pay more for a particular brand. With this in mind, the knowledge I gained at the Academy and the work as intern at Haute Couture brand Natan Couture by Edouard Vermeulen and at Essentiel Antwer´s headquarters, I started writing my thesis about the consequences of fast fashion and what keeps customers buying cheap clothes. Most people, including me, seem to know, or think to know, how the fashion industry works, but after some research, I realised recently how dark this industry actually is. That is why I decided to try another approach. Together with design student Sandrine Botilde, I started brainstorming about how we could find a concept that would change the way people buy and think, combining our creative and business skills. As the upcoming sharing economy is gaining popularity (AirBnB, Uber, Spotify), we thought this concept would work with clothes as well. This way we don’t have to spend money every time on new clothes: we use less and we produce less waste! Renting clothes is already a trend in the USA: that’s why we want to introduce this ecological concept in Europe.”

Noortje van Warmerdam

Fashion Business BA (Hons)

“Beehance: assisting starting designers in their marketing efforts.”

“I am planning to start my master´s in Amsterdam soon and develop my business further. The idea for my Final Major Project was formed as a result of my experiences during my internship in the second year of my bachelor’s degree. I noticed how difficult it was for starting designers to do everything by themselves, while missing the knowledge about the different disciplines within business management, such as marketing, brand development and sales. Also due to low budget, they are unable to hire specialists. This doen´t allow them to grow the company. I started my own business ‘Beehance’ in January 2018 to assist starting designers in their marketing efforts. During my dissertation I worked on creating a framework to achieve a successful marketing strategy for fashion brands. For my Final Major Project I wanted to take this a step further and create an online program that helps starting designers create their own marketing strategy in an easy and inexpensive way. It will have the format of an online questionnaire: by asking simple questions (accompanied with short instructional videos), the end product will provide an affordable, sound marketing strategy. I hope that in the future this online program will help a lot of starting fashion designers accomplish their dreams.”