COCO: Tell us about yourself. MB: I’m the mother of Miss Mona. I’m a fashion poet located in the nice city of Brussels. I ‘ve studied Textile design and recently I’ve been graduated as a Fashion designer. I love to draw. I always had a great fascination for the world of arts. I love to travel, to get out, to have new experiences and to meet new people. I love to speak spanish (I’ve lived there once, and since then I’ve lost my heart over there). I love to dream... COCO: When and why did you start designing? MB: I started designing a long time ago. It sounds like a cliché. Ever since I was a little girl I was fascinated with drawing and painting. Soon I knew I wanted to go into this direction. I’ve started my higher education in Textile Design and found my passion in the designing of graphic prints. After the birth of Mona the need to design 3D remained so I started my fashion course where I recently have been graduated. I love to tell stories, I love the dive into a completely new world where you can go crazy and make things that are almost not able to exist. Something that when you touch it, it will bring you right into another world. COCO: Can you tell us about your latest collection and now your daughter inspired you to create it? MB: This collection is about my little girl, my 6-years old daughter Mona and the story that we read every night before bedtime, the marvelous book ‘Het geheim van de keel van de nachtegaal’ (The nightingale and the secret of his voice) by Peter Verhelst. The story is about the search of happiness that you can find in the little things of life. This collection goes that little bit further. Mona, my muse, goes into her dream to the secret garden of this book. It’s the most beautiful garden of the world, full of these amazing flowers and trees. A garden where the nightingale sings his most beautiful song.In this perfect other world of scents and colors she starts the search for her older self. Together with the nightingale she starts her journey to spread her wings. Not only in the concept was Mona of great importance, but also in shaping and creating she was very closely involved. Both in the clothing design, where she took over the place of the bird, as the textile design she was
an important co-operative link. Together we started to paint our fabrics. In this way we were able to create an almost literal visualization of the story. A painting of the garden, seen through Mona’s eyes. This collection is both dynamic and romantic and consists of many oriental influences. It puts an ethereal atmosphere where the childlike fantasy remains strong. It brings you into a story where birds and forest nymphs are still able to exist and fulfill their role. Where they are able to pursue their search for happiness. Mone is the perfect muse for such a collection. She is six. Although, she is growing up she is still in touch with that typical powere that chidren have, that opporotunity to switch the button and turn off the realistic mind. She is still able to believe that everything can happen. She is still able to enjoy every little awkardness. She is still able to look at the world differently. I really love the fact that she can take make into the flow. As well, it is really nice to work together. It’s interesting to let go a bit of my controlling mind and just get in touch with her impulsivity. Every time we work together there is that challenge where I need to put my idea a bit aside and just go along with hers. COCO: Do you feel that having an imagination is vital to creating? MB: I think every artist does need a certain kind of imagination to create their work. Each creation for me has always been a form to translate that imagination into a real, tangible thing. That’s one of the reasons why I was thrilled to be working with Mona. For the bigger part during her day she is still living in her imagination.