Getting all your freedom back - Meet Omar van Dok

Omar van Dok (26) is a fashion designer at AMFI. Currently, he’s working on his graduation project which is all based on daily life structure. He explains his inspiration for his projects, his thoughts about the future and how he can contribute to some changes as a freelancer.

Personal Profile

Name: Omar van Dok

Direction within AMFI: Fashion & Design

Doer/thinker: "I am a doer as well as a thinker. I think 50 percent out based on my projects and the other remaining 50 percent I like to realize and create designs."

Party personality: "I am quite an introverted person. But I can socialize very well, so in that sense, I am a party person. I do tend to step a little bit back, but as soon as my walls go down I go full out."

Favorite party outfit: "I am the kind of person who likes to dress in an extravagant way. I’m not going to say I’m a dandy because I follow too many rules. I am more like a gentleman and I think that also reflects back in the way I work, what I present, and how I go out."

What is your graduation project about?

"My graduation project is based on your structure in your daily life. And how you actually lose this while we are ina pandemic. And now that you are actually getting all your freedom back you are actually losing the daily structure that you had. So, this little routine that you have of getting up, getting breakfast, going to school starts to rumble a little bit because you keep yourself too much to it, or it is to lose. Like a ritual. And the collection which is mainly tailoring is then the conceptual thought of supporting that daily structure."

How do you see that daily structure in your collection?

"The daily structure is the way that it is built, the construction that is in it. While you’re for instance walking straight ahead and standing still, you keep your mind focused, that is when your look is most desirable or most satisfying. When we start to move it still looks good but as soon as you start to mess with it in certain directions, it starts to look a bit messy and that is what you want to avoid. And that is the small little thought in there I think: okay I can work with that, that can be the main direction it goes to."

So, you can’t dance in it?

"There is one outfit where you can dance in it, which also has a short pair of trousers because I thought that might be more of a thing now."

As a design student, how do you see yourself in the spotlight?

"I see myself in the spotlight as a student that appreciates quality over quantity. So quality is the highest standard. Endurance is also an important factor and the motivation that design gives to create something that lasts. So, I am not a person that believes in these short little trends but more in these long-term trends. And based on that I always try to develop something that lasts or is classic or that you can bring with you that enhances your bond with that piece of garment. So, that you actually keep it and not throw it away."

What do you think needs to change in the creative industry?

"I think the creative industry needs to take a step back and lower its pace. I think that the past few months have been a very good example of how you can do that, that not everything has to be physical and has to be right there. You can also work with photoshop, which a lot of us do, but also for these digital programs that we use for developing instead of making thousands of garments. Just use it for social media and photoshop it on to you so that instead of having 15 different jackets in your wardrobe you have actually 15 different jackets on your computer and you wear them on Instagram."

Do you create them yourself as well?

"I did, and I was actually supposed to do something with it for graduation but then I figured out that I wanted to be more tactile this semester. That could also be an interesting way to choose, so instead of having it fully digital I now have it half digital and half physical."

How can you contribute to this change?

"I would like to contribute to this change by becoming a freelancer that can help big companies turn their very unsustainable production and chain and ways of designing and supporting them with digital or with a more sustainable way of twilling or recycling and then creating a higher standard of quality that is still affordable for most people."

What is your definition of a party dress?

"My definition of a party dress is a suit that is still formal and casual. But it has to give that personal touch. So, the details are based or created on your own personality."

‘’I think the creative industry needs to take a step back and lower its pace.’’