Duran Lantink never imagined he would become famous by designing the vagina pants for Janelle Monáe - a joyful explosion of pink tulle that celebrated the femininity that set the net on fire when the singer wore them for the video of Pynk of 2018. "I didn't think they would impress," she says on the phone from her Amsterdam studio in Tips Clear. "Three months later, I became that of the vagina pants."
His work, however, goes far beyond a pair of pants. With creative recycling at the center of his ethos, the designer who cares about the environment reconstructs vintage and unsold garments by Prada, Valentino, Off-White or Richard Quinn, dismantling and putting them back together. The result? A refined patchwork effect, which from streetwear turns to the avant-garde.
Lantink is getting great recognition for its sustainable approach, and with good reason. He was shortlisted for the LVMH 2019 award, collaborated with large boutiques including Browns and created a series of oversized looks for Billie Eilish, who has clearly expressed her position on sustainability and climate change. With the large quantities of garments that the coronavirus pandemic has left unsold in the world, Lantink is set to become more in demand this year than ever.
Here, the Dutch designer explains why creative recycling is the way to go, how it is to draw for celebrities and what changes he would like to see in the fashion industry.
What initially motivated you to recycle your clothes?"I started cutting and mixing things when I was very young. While studying at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam everyone encouraged me to create new things, but I didn't understand why I should have done it if there were already so many abandoned everywhere. There are a lot of second hand shops here in Amsterdam, there is a lot of excellent material. So I thought: Let's do something about it. "
Where do you find the materials to be processed?"I go to vintage and second-hand stores, and ask friends' parents if they have things they don't wear anymore. People started giving me vintage Chanel suits; I was very fortunate from this point of view. I also work with retailers to create new items from their inventory. It's fun to mix different labels. It is important for luxury that it is a unique product, with all the money it cost you.
"I'd like to collaborate with individual brands. I want to change the system and show that things can be done differently. "
"Billie's designer Samantha Burkhart saw my work on Instagram and thought that maybe something could be done together for Billie. I explained to her how my creative method works and she sent me some old Billie clothes leaving me absolute freedom. I also got an old Tasmanian devil sweater that I found at the flea market here in Amsterdam and we had an Acne scarf left, which we turned into a sweater.
"Billie is fantastic; has a strong stance on climate change. It can show the new generation how fashion can be transformed into something less unpleasant for the environment. "
He also created the famous vagina pants for Janelle Monáe. Tell us how it went."They called my best friend Emma Westenberg, a director to direct the video for Pynk from Monáe. Five days before filming began, Emma panicked me saying 'Duran, will you make me a suit that looks like a vagina?' I replied something like 'No, too,' and she said 'Come on, you have to do it, it is Janelle Monáe '.
"It was fun but very stressful. I made two drawings and then three days before shooting they gave me the green light, but we still had to make five models of the trousers and get them to Los Angeles. So we took a flight to Los Angeles and we sewed by plane, by car - all we did was sew.
"Janelle was super happy with the result. I am grateful to you because [i pantaloni] they are the reason why I got more notoriety. "
"It is strange to say, but in a certain sense it has been positive. I had a lot of requests from brands and retailers to collaborate because he was left with stocks. It is good that people begin to understand that something can still be done with unused leftovers.
We don't have goods in stock, so we didn't have the problem of not being able to sell it. First we sell the clothes, then we make them. "
What do you think of what is said in the fashion world about sustainability?"It is too early to say whether the older ones are willing to change. It would be fantastic if we stopped doing pre-collections and all that sort of thing. There is no point in making sales so fast. I hope the industry will make progress, but what worries me is that people are too used to the pre-pandemic rhythms. "
What are the main changes you would like to see in the industry?"First of all, I would like less production and brands to consider circular design. If you buy a jacket from us and return it to us in a year, we can give you a discount to recreate a new one. This is circularity. Brands shouldn't just push their collections out relentlessly and create the same t-shirts by the thousands. There is a lot of that stuff around; the world is full of stuff.
Transparency is also important. How nice would it be to buy a shirt and know who made it, where does it come from? Someone is doing it, but it is a system that should also be adopted by the most famous fashion houses. I really wish we were all more sensitive and responsible. "
What do you have in store for the future?"We are making new partnerships with retailers in Asia, which is fantastic. I'm trying to make models to send digitally to retailers so they can recreate the recycled models in their city, so we don't have to import and export again. This is a practice that I would like to implement.
"I don't need to grow too fast. It is important not only to be a passing mania, but to be [parte] of a movement ".