PARIS — Sustainability has always been deeply woven into the fabric of Ronald van der Kemp’s eponymous fashion brand, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
“Money or growth has never been the driving force for me,” he said. “In the chaotic world that we have today, I feel like fashion should set a positive example, because fashion touches everyone. We have so much power to reach people.”
Van der Kemp’s eco-vision was there from the start. Part of his graduation collection from Gerrit Rietveld Academy of Art and Design in 1989 was upcycled. He spent 25 years in the fashion industry — then believed luxury fashion had begun copying fast fashion. Van der Kemp felt he was losing his integrity.
When the Dutch designer was in Marlene Wetherell’s vintage store in New York, he saw old couture being sold. “I got all emotional, seeing all those clothes,” he said. “I realized that [they had] a soul. They all have a story and a little imperfection. I walked out thinking: ‘This is really what I want to do, make these kinds of clothes.’”
So RVDK Ronald van der Kemp was born. It’s billed to be the world’s first sustainable couture label.
“I just wanted to do this project for myself, with things that I’ve collected over the years, like fabrics, pieces of leather and buttons,” he said. “I started working with that.”
Ten years later, van der Kemp still works in Amsterdam. He inventively creates with what surrounds him, starting with materials, then form follows.
“My passion for fashion and for what I stand for — which is new ethics in luxury fashion — they’re still the same,” said the designer.
When he started his fashion collection, van der Kemp’s “biggest thing was that I wanted it to be glamorous, exciting, sexy, and I didn’t want you to think about sustainability,” he said. “When you saw it, you just had to like it — be sort of seduced into it.”
His fashion becomes statement pieces, in all senses of the term. In van der Kemp’s second collection in 2015 for instance, he created “flag jeans,” a mix of the American flag and 501s.
“They were literally worn by everyone, Kendall Jenner, Miley Cyrus,” he said. “That was a defining moment.”
There were also the “five army pants,” made of upcycled military pants, with a message against war and for recycling. Justin Bieber and Alicia Keys were wearers.
“That became in itself one of the first successful examples of upcycling,” said van der Kemp, who dressed Tracee Ellis Ross for her opening of the American Music Awards in 2017.
Van der Kemp explained his brand has become big in China with a number of A-listers over the last two years. “We’re doing a lot of custom for stage looks, also for guys,” the designer said.
Van der Kemp enjoys working with clients one-on-one — “so really create something for them,” he said. “It’s the most honest and real form of couture.”
His goals are clear. “I’m trying to wake the fashion world up by giving my little statements, trying to do something positive and finding a new way of telling my story every season,” said van der Kemp.
Van der Kemp dipped into fragrance last summer, launching The Mind Vaccine scent, using some upcycled olfactive ingredients.
Art is another passion. He upcycles paintings, while jewelry and collage are in the works. “I don’t see it separate from fashion,” said van der Kemp.
After signing with a gallery in Amsterdam, he is to exhibit pieces in the Paris PAD art fair in April and have a solo exhibition in Holland in May.
“I’m working on the RVDK Foundation,” continued van der Kemp. “The goal is to bring together free-thinking, creative people trying to wake [others] up with new ethics. It’s something intuitive, pure and sincere, without trying to adhere to existing standards.”
He described this as a “think-tank” and a “do-tank.”
As for RVDK, in another decade, van der Kemp does not believe it’ll be much changed.
“But I think a lot of people will have woken up and see that money and unsustainable growth are just not ethical,” said van der Kemp. “So I hope that we find a different way. This is what I am looking for.”
