Daan Keizer

The Netherlands, 1991
www.dakeiz.com

Photo: Team Peter Stigter

Water mirror, water mirror on the wall...

Amsterdam native Daan Keizer got into fashion when at 14 years of age, he decided to make his own jeans as he couldn’t find what he was looking for in the stores. After a year in a more industry focussed fashion school Daan switched to Rietveld for its radically free and individual approach. Material became his main focus. “I have become particularly interested in the transformation process from something completely experimental into something totally wearable yet original.”

Hands on as Daan is, for his graduation collection he decided to face the world’s largest refugee crisis to be: the one caused by climate change. “The rising sea level, extreme droughts and hurricanes will be our biggest challenges. I started to design with Holland’s biggest threat in mind, that of the water. I looked into functional products for survival on the water.” Blown up details of rubber boats and life jackets, inflatable parts and a colour palette to match this future catastrophe, they make for a stylish wardrobe that, although not likely to save lives, will keep us alert for things to come.