Yesterday, a unique, circular art fashion show was held in DomusDela, Eindhoven.
The OUD en NIEUW (OLD and NEW) event was especially for people living with dementia. The fashion was designed especially for them. Not only that; the 12 models are also people living with this condition.
Students from Summa College in Eindhoven helped out with this event. The show was Teun Toebes and designer Babette van Rijthoven’s brainchild. Teuns is a nurse and the founder of the sTeun en Toeverlaat Foundation.
‘Laughed and cried’
These two want to give people living with dementia a platform. “We already look back on OUD en NIEUW with enormous pleasure,” says Teun (21). “We laughed and cried while enjoying the beautiful creations and special stories.”
“The models, however, touched us the most. Their deterioration and forgetting process is sometimes heartbreaking. But people with dementia can enjoy and live in the moment like no others.”
“And that is exactly what happened [yesterday]. Why? They drew attention to their stories, not their condition,” Teun says.
Repurposed
Teun and Babette also wanted to show that old clothes can be repurposed into new fashionable creations. The clothing was made from people who had had dementia but are now deceased. “The models were so grateful for the outfits we’d put together especially for them,” says Babette.
“That’s humbling. And we’re also proud that we could produce these creations sustainably. A fantastic team of students and teachers from various colleges supported us in this.” These included the Summa students, who helped stitch the designs.
“The designs were made with the previous owners’ stories in mind. The collaboration with the models was an eye-opener for the students. They learned a lot,” Summa Fashion lecturer, Marloes Michielsen, says.
More than a thousand people followed the show, digitally. There was also live music from various genres. These included DJ Je Moeder, Dylan Greene, and opera singer, Francis van Broekhuizen.
Sources: Studio040.nl and s-teun.nl
Translators: Bob and Melinda Walraven
Editor: Melinda Walraven
