maandag 13 juni 2016

Bluedenîmes & Minou Lejeune at FASHIONCLASH Festival 2016

photo by Tyson Ernste
Denimhead Dusty Thomas is a 23-year-old Maastricht-based menswear designer who originally comes from Landgraaf. Her MAFAD graduation collection 'Bluedenîmes' served as a therapy for her, it took away all her insecurities. She loves to create signatures pockets for all her designs.

For FASHIONCLASH Festival 2016, Dusty teams up again with props/accessories designer Minou Lejeune.
You can see their new collection Friday night, Show 1 at 19:30. You can get your tickets here.


Q&A with Dusty Thomas

When did you realise you wanted to be a fashion designer? 
I realized it as a child; I was always drawing clothes. I have been designing clothing since the second year of my study at the MAFAD, Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts and Design. So that’s 5 years in total now.

What are your main achievements in your career at this moment? 
My main achievement is to gain more experience and expand my portfolio. Also I want to make my menswear label Bluedenîmes more well-known. I hope one day I could make a living out of my label and/or I hope to have a nice job as a designer at a denim label in Amsterdam.


In what projects are you involved at this moment? 
Bluedenîmes 2016 collection (collaboration with jewellery designer Minou Lejeune).

How would you define fashion? 
Everyone tells their own personal story through their clothes.


'This is how I like to see men.'

Who are your artistic influences or inspirations and why? 
I don’t really get inspired by the same thing or designer. Every time it’s something else and always something unexpected. For example, I have this little part-time job next to Bluedenîmes to have a steady income. I work at a huge company in a warehouse, where everyone has to wear working clothes and shoes. It’s pretty awful, having to wear the same outfit every single day… All the people look the same. Nevertheless, I got inspired by this very skinny, tall, old man that I saw once in a while. He always wears way too large clothes, always a body warmer and many layers. He has no idea how cool he looks. After that I started to get more and more inspiration out of things I saw everyone wear every day. You could say I mostly get inspired by the things I see every day and don’t seem inspirational to me at first.

Finding your own voice is difficult, where and how do you find your personal creativity (before you start designing; during the design process)? 
It’s not really something I find, it finds me. I have a never-ending desire to make certain things. The ideas keep popping into my head, especially when I’m in a good working flow with a bit of pressure behind it.
photo by Tyson Ernste

What challenges did you face during the design process? 
Some things don’t work out as you thought they would and some things you have to do over and over to get it right. But things have always been this way. I think there aren’t any real challenges, the design process
is a lot of fun.


What do you want to communicate with your designs in general? 
This is how I like to see men.

Can you tell us something about the project you will present at the FASHIONCLASH Festival? 
I will be collaborating with jewellery designer Minou Lejeune, just like previous year. The name of the collection is: MEN IN DENIM BUILT THIS LAND. It’s inspired by the basics of workwear you see every day. But we always give it a futuristic touch.

What does your collection try to communicate (what is it about)? 
The workers of the future.

Why have you decided to participate at FASHIONCLASH Festival? 
It’s a really nice atmosphere and platform to show your collection for the first time.

What can we expect from you at the festival? 
A catwalk show with 8 outfits.

What has changed/happened since your last attendance at FASHIONCLASH? 
I have learned from the mistakes I made previous year in the clothing. That slowed down the fitting and the dressing moments before the show. That won’t happen again.

Why have you decided to participate at FASHIONCLASH Festival once again? 
I really like the team, the atmosphere, the location, everything.

Can you tell us something about your heritage? 
I come from a village where people aren’t used to many things. They are pretty skeptical about a lot of stuff, but also very open-minded when it comes to what I create.

How is the theme Heritage related to your work (can be also preferred to previous work)? 
I got inspired by very ordinary, rustic people and also by very basic workwear items that have their place in our western culture.

(How) do you reflect your personal heritage into your design(s)? 
My grandmother is and has always been a very technical and precise perfectionist as it comes to sewing. I think I inherited that from her and you can see that in my designs.

If you could trade your heritage, for what would you trade it? 
I am always curious how things would have been if I was born earlier. Like in the 1920s/1950s or something. Everything seemed so pure before smart technology took over.

Describe yourself in three words.
This is me in three words: passionate, kind, weird.

What’s a standard day for you? 
Get up at 8-9 AM, drink coffee, browse through my social media, start working for Bluedenîmes until 15:45, then head to my part-time job and then I get home around 21:00, eat and drink a beer.


Vegan, vegetarian, healthy diet or any food will do? 
Any food.

What’s your favorite song, food and movie/TV-show at the moment? 
Favorite song: Dems – Inner O.
Food: Massaman Curry and Phở.
Movie: Jurassic Park.
TV show: The Walking Dead.

What is your bad habit? 
Being addicted to potato chips.

Are you a people's person or a loner? 
Both. Depends on my mood.

Do you have a pet? 
No. But I have a lot of stuffed animals.

What’s your favorite city? 
Amsterdam.

Are you going on holiday this year? If so, where are you going? 
Yes, I am going to Vietnam and Thailand in November.

What/Who do you miss the most when you are not at home? 
My man ofcourse.



Read more about Dusty and her brand Bluedenîmes here: http://www.dustythomas.com/index.php

FASHIONCLASH Festival 2015
photo by Peter Stigter

FASHIONCLASH Festival 2015
photo by Peter Stigter

FASHIONCLASH Festival 2015
photo by Peter Stigter




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