a two-part event showcasing the work of the textile & fashion department
JUNE 2025
Exposed/the Fashion Show features the investigative steps of the first-year students and leads you through all study years to finally highlight the very personal collections of our graduating fashion students.
SEPTEMBER 2025
During Exposed/the Textile Show, the work of all our Textile students will be shown in the form of an exhibition. From the first experimental steps in year 1 to outspoken and personal projects from our graduated textile designers.
KIM GEMMINK Fashion BA
MARIJN BRINKSMA Fashion BA
ZHENYI ZHOU Fashion BA
SIMON VALLEZ VELDKAMP Fashion BA
JUNE GIBBS Fashion BA
ASIRA ZAI Fashion BA VERHEES
JUNGYUN JANG Fashion BA
ZHENYI ZHOU
Fashion matters because.... it holds power.
My collection is about...
This project comes from my own experience of pain over the past few years—a feeling that stretches from the personal to the collective, from the quiet suffering of everyday life to the loud chaos of war. I’ve listened to the pain of my family and friends and I carry it with me.
I don’t think expressing pain should be shameful. I’m proud of my darkness.
For me, boundaries—between cultures, realities, even emotions—are increasingly blurred in this era of collapsing systems and overflowing information. To give form to these feelings, I shaped myself as a Gu Witch—a figure drawn from Chinese folk sorcery. Through her, I explore transformation, identity and the unspoken emotions that grow in the shadows.
Fashion can shift how we see ourselves— and how others see us. It invites imagination, lifts the spirit, and makes the world feel more beautiful, more alive. A refined, expressive appearance can even change your luck.
ZHENYI ZHOU
My collection blends 3D-printed structures, silicone, resin-coated foam, and wired forms to build alien-like skins. I also use recycled real fur and leather—sourced secondhand—to explore the contrast between synthetic future bodies and remnants of the past.
if I had to put one word to my collection it would be...
I used nostalgia not as a way to escape, but as a tool to connect and transform.
My collection is about… My collection ‘The Traces Left’ is about emotional connection, nostalgia and the need to feel close to ourselves, to others, to something real. It began as a response to the uncertainty and disconnection we’ve all felt in recent years and evolved into a deeply personal exploration of what it means to be held physically, emotionally and spiritually.
I worked mostly with vintage and secondhand garments: shirts, trench coats, sleeping gowns and tank tops because these garments already carry stories. I deconstructed and reimagined them to create silhouettes that feel like an embrace: garments that wrap, hold, cocoon. I experimented with transparency and layering, with delicate florals and soft textures, to reflect both vulnerability and resilience. This project also became a space where different disciplines met sound, writing, image-making because for me, fashion is never isolated. It’s part of a wider emotional ecosystem. In the end, ‘The Traces Left’ is about the traces we leave on one another, and how we carry them quietly, tenderly, in everything we wear and remember.
CARINA GEORGESCU
Fashion matters because… it makes emotion visible. It turns feeling into form. It’s how we speak without speaking, how we protect ourselves, and how we reach out. Fashion isn’t just about aesthetics, it’s about presence, identity, and the quiet stories we carry on our skin.
If I had to put one word to my collection, it would be…
Held (Physically and emotionally)
To be a graduate today feels… like standing in the middle of a storm with your heart wide open.
It’s overwhelming, but also beautiful because we are learning how to stay soft in a hard world, how to create meaning in chaos. It feels uncertain, but it also feels like a chance to build something entirely new, rooted in feeling, care and intention.
CARINA GEORGESCU
LAURA GARNIER
My project explores the role of women in society across generations.
What began as a personal curiosity about my grandmothers and the heritage I’ve received from them has evolved into a deeper reflection.
Conversations with them opened up important questions: how were they perceived as women? What has changed over time? What role did textiles play in their lives—and what do they represent for me today?
Some of their experiences are unique while others are shared by many women of their generation and beyond. Through this project I want to honor the strength and beauty of those women whose lives were often dictated, diminished or decided by others.
By sharing my personal experience and perspective I want to encourage others to think about and recognize the strength of the women in their own lives.
To bring this vision to life I started by collecting fabrics from one of my grandmother’s attic, mainly handmade lace crafted by a great-grand-aunt. The intricate textiles, preserved through decades and made from countless hours of labor, became the perfect material. For me, they symbolize a woman’s life: delicate and refined on the surface, as society expects, yet incredibly strong and enduring beneath. These laces have survived wars, crossed borders, and though their colors may have faded with time, their structure remains intact. Using these heirloom materials and the stories shared by my grandmothers, I’ve created my own interpretation through textile art. The result is a space where the craftsmanship of the past meets modern techniques—inviting viewers to admire, reflect and consider the legacy carried within their own lives.
to be a graduate today brings a mix of excitement and uncertainty.
Over the past four years I’ve gained valuable skills—not just in my craft, but also in understanding myself. Leaving the structure of school is intimidating, but it also marks the beginning of new opportunities. I feel ready to embrace what’s ahead and take on new challenges at my own pace.
LAURA GARNIER
if I had to put one word to my project, it would be “remember”
Textile design matters because it is a craft deeply rooted in history, carrying stories and memories generations.through
Traditionally associated with women and their domestic roles, it has now become a powerful medium for expression and empowerment—as women, as artists, and as designers.
In today’s world of fast fashion and overconsumption, working with textiles offers a way to slow down, rethink how we live and reconnect with both nature and our cultural heritage.
This collection is a big middle finger to homophobia femmephobia.and
Through this work I’m reclaiming a sense of power that was once taken from me by bullies. During that period of my life I began fantasizing about a freer world, one where I didn’t have to think about gender roles just to get through the day. The collection explores a personal form of power dressing. I researched how people throughout history have used clothing, accessories, symbols and imagery as tools to claim space and demand power. I then arbitrarily juxtaposed elements from this visual research to create a new power language. For me this work marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. It represents a personal transition—an overcoming of internalized homophobia and an expression of what I couldn’t say for so long.
MARIJN BRINKSMA
I hope that somewhere, there’s a 12-year-old femme boy like me who sees this collection and feels seen. Someone who realizes they’re not alone, and that there’s more out there than what they’ve been told.
Antoolimportant to be able to cross barriers.
Fashion matters because not only we all need to put clothes on our bodies for protection. But fashion also speaks a non-verbal language. The way you decide to dress is a choice of how you convey yourself to the outside world.
to be a graduate feels… really scary to be honest. To close a chapter of 4 years of my life. And now enter the world of fashion with many uncertainties.
MARIJN BRINKSMA
HIROMU TAKESHITA
My collection is about... Shinto-ism, a Japanese religion and the merge with my fascination with space exploration. Growing up as nonreligious, I found interest with the idea of belief without scientific proof and passion for space evolved into a narrative that merges Shinto spirituality, protection, functionality and hope for future exploration of space.
A religious ceremony space.
Fashion matters because... it lets us wear a story. I love to create characters through clothing and be able to express emotions or fantasy through fashion.
To be a graduate today feels... Achieved but also excited and anxious to what's more to come.
HIROMU TAKESHITA
If l had to put one word to my collection, it would be...
If I had to put one word to my project it would be ‘Transience’.
NEELE VERHEES
my project is about...
This project explores the themes of decomposition and renewal, capturing the natural cycle of material and the intimate dialogue between matter and human intervention.
It highlights the importance of meditative acts in the processing of locally sourced wool—washing, carding, spinning, and knitting—embracing the power of simplicity and being fully present in the moment of creation.
Through earthy, tactile forms this work investigates the act of burying a body in ways that honour the environment and minimise damage. It aims to create vessels for natural burial, prompting reflection on cycles of healing, resilience and introspection. Ultimately, it invites the viewer to confront their own mortality and consider the profound transformation inherent in all living things.
Textile design matters because... it is a tactile language that bridges
theexpressionhumanwith
natural world.
rawTransforming
material into meaningful forms.
It invites us to engage with slow, meditative processes that honour both tradition and our connection to the earth.
to be a graduate today feels… exciting yet surreal to be a graduate. Looking forward to nourish my future development.
NEELE VERHEES
BESSEL BLOEM
My collection draws from my transformative journey walking the Camino de Santiago and reflects both the physical challenges and the inner discoveries I experienced. The designs bring together practical outdoor fabrics and functional details like elastics, combined with expressive, romantic shapes. These elements represent carrying the weight during the journey while discovering the freedom of finding yourself.
Small details, textures, and photographs I captured became abstract prints and laser-cut patterns that tell the story of the walk. Color and print play a central role in the collection. The shifting color palette and floral elements represent personal growth—like flowers blooming along the path.
If I had to put one word to my collection, it would be unfolding.
BESSEL BLOEM
Throughout the collection, I turned moments from walking in nature into design.
Fashion matters because it's a powerful form of self-expression that communicates our identity, builds confidence and helps us connect with our authentic selves.
To be a graduate today feels like the point where my past learning meets my future potential—a moment of accomplishment, possibility and freedom.
My collection is about the exhausting tension of existing within the contradictory expectations placed on women. Through sculptural silhouettes and constrained movement, the designs visualize the relentless push-and-pull of gendered social ideals. Flat wooden panels form rigid geometric shapes that extend from the body, reducing it to a two-dimensional cutout—symbolizing how women’s identities are often flattened and confined by societal norms. Nude lycra and mesh stretch tightly across these constructions, referencing shapewear and the aesthetic policing of the female body. The colour palette of nude, white, purple and green draws from both contemporary beauty culture and the historical women’s rights movement,
weaving the past and present into the same fabric of resistance.
Traditional feminine techniques like lacework and crochet nod to generational craft, reclaiming what has historically been dismissed as “women’s work.” Circular headpieces—derived from the Venus symbol—frame the models’ faces, restricting their movement and emphasizing the way femininity is often visually consumed and controlled. Altogether, the collection becomes a visual language of quiet protest, performance and fatigue.
To be a graduate today feels... ...like standing at the edge of both possibility and uncertainty. The world is in flux and so is the industry, but that instability also creates space for new voices, slower processes and deeper reflection. It’s intimidating but also an opportunity to redefine what success looks like and to carve out a place that aligns with our values.
The collection is not about offering solutions but about
laying bare the absurdity, burden of navigating imposed
It is an embodied essay about the politics of presentation—and the quiet
RENÉE BUITENDIJK
If I had to put one word to my collection, it would be ‘contained in contradiction’.
beauty and imposed ideals.
quiet power of resisting through visibility.
RENÉE BUITENDIJK
Fashion matters because... it gives form to the intangible. It’s how we structure identity, communicate contradiction and express things we often can’t articulate in words. Fashion allows us to both conform and resist, to hold complexity within something visual and physical. It’s not just about what we wear;
it’s about what we carry, what we reveal, and what we choose to hide.
SIMON VALLEZ VELDKAMP
my collection is about... making you question your relationship to the shirt on your back and the shoes on your feet.
to be a graduate today feels… like I finally don’t know where I’m headed.
SIMON VALLEZ VELDKAMP
fashion matters because…. we’re not the only ones that matter.
if I had to put one word to my collection it would be…
My project is about the women who I have known as my mother, grandmothers and great-grandmothers. As textile has taken over my daily life, I kept on wondering if I was the first one in my family to willingly make textiles such an important part of my life. By taking the time to explore memories and question my remaining Mothers, I got a better understanding of their own personal relationship to textile practices. Through the exploration of our shared memories, and getting to know more about Them, I was able to better understand myself.
If I had to put one word to my project, it would be
Heritage.
It has allowed me to see the role of textiles in various ways: as a skill, an expectation, societies rules, a hobby - and for me, as a choice. Highlighting the different paths we have walked, the different threads we have followed, it ultimately showed that textiles connect all of us. After compiling their stories in a book (my thesis), I felt the urge to bring my Mothers together in a more literal way. I wanted to create a space through the making of objects and textile techniques I associate with each of my Mothers. A space where we could reunite, surrounded by comfort and safety. A space to allow contemplation and introspection. A place of textiles as our connecting grounds, to my Mothers, to all Mothers.
TIMOUR ALOÏS BONIN
Textile design matters because it personal, beautiful and complex
TIMOURBONIN
To be a graduate today feels exciting. It is the end of a chapter of exploration, hardship and beauty, but it also signifies the start of something new.
is infinite, universal, intemporal, complex at the same time. It allows expression in many ways. There is so much to learn from it.
JUNE GIBBS
My collection is about... the desire to become the ideal woman but ending up in absurdities andidentities.imposed
About navigating the complexity of handling modesty and eroticism in dress, and the contradictions we face in expectations and opinions in a world where appearance dictates value. Through my work I want to touch upon the stereotypes and complexities that surround beauty, appearance and the experience of dressing as a woman; a play of quiet negotiations between how we want to be seen and how we are expected to be seen.
JUNE GIBBS
To be a graduate today feels… like I shouldn’t stop questioning what’s around me.
If I had to put one word to my collection it would be… tension.
Fashion matters because.... it allows us to
If I had to put one word to my project it would be connection.
GEMMINK
Fashion matters, if we can see fashion as a way of doing or creating, rather than a definite way of how it should be done.
My collection is an exploration and deviation to how we think things should be. This is a ‘fashion’ collection without defined looks and a game without a winner.
It is about withinpossibilitiesfinding limitations.
The aim is to find new discoveries and new ways of dressing through collective exploration.
KIM GEMMINK
to be a graduate today feels “Kim, there’s people that are dying.”
My collection is titled The Suffer Hill - It Was a Forest.
In a sense it’s a self-portrait, not only illustrating how suffering appears but also how we- I - deal with it. Suffering, as a life companion, can be both heavy and light.
I am also Inspired by the Korean folk dance Seung-mu ( 승무, 僧舞), also known as the Monk’s Dance. This collection embraces a world rooted in Buddhist principles. The garments of Seung-mu are modeled after a monk’s habit, enriched with elements of traditional Korean clothing called Hanbok (한복), distinctly different from a Kimono.
The simplicity of Seung-mu clothing mirrors the nature of human suffering— it is universal and varies in size and depth for each person.
The simplicity of Hanbok is manifested through flat cloth cut into linear patterns. In Seung-mu, garments gain life only when worn; they move with the dancer’s movements, becoming extensions of their unique form.
Each outfit crafted in a mix of light silk fabrics and technical equivalents combines the lightness of the material with the weight of long sleeves and draped fabric over the back, reflecting the paradox of being both light and heavy.
As Jung Jae-man states, “When performing Seung-mu, one must move with a sense of weight, as if carrying a massive mountain on one’s back.”
Each of us carries our personal mountains and through the dance of life we learn to shed these burdens and embrace our experiences.
Fashion matters because...
Fashion both matters and does not. For me fashion is a medium to continuously explore life, humanity and love as small elements of a larger whole.
Regardless of whether it is art or not, what matters is to continue to live.
JUNGYUN JANG
JUNGYUN
This is my vow—a promise not to give up to learn in life.
To be a graduate today feels...
I - we never know anything and life still continues. This life path will never end unless we cease to breathe and walk. In this way, again, This is where it begins. We - I - we choose to continue walking through this forest, embracing each step of our journey.
BAS POL ASIRA ZAÍ
To be a graduate today feels ... scary
POL & ZAÍ
Fashion matters because In a broader sense you could question what actually matters. In the end it’s just about experiencing and putting your own value to it. In our case that’s expression and fascination for design and craftsmanship.
The collection is about our curation of the everyday overlooked and forgotten. Ranging from traditional Dutch costume to literal decay from which we create.
Hybrids textilethroughand fashion.
RIET PEDRO
RIET PEDRO
One word that would summarise the collection would be:
RECLAIM
Fashion matters because it allows to translate lives and experiences into something visual and powerful.
10 YEARS OF ‘POWERED BY AN EYE’: THANK FOR THE SUPPORT!
From 2015 on, Exposed got a fresh and professional boost thanks to the generous support of the Keep an Eye Foundation.
We were able to upgrade the visual and productional level of the show and reach a larger, more international audience.
OF BY KEEP THANK YOU SUPPORT!
The collaboration with Keep an Eye allowed us to turn both the Fashion Show and the Textile Show into professional platforms for our up-and-coming designers.
In 2018 the collaboration got a new dimension with the introduction of the Keep an Eye Textile & Fashion Scholarship.
Every year, a jury of professionals rewards the work of a graduate student whose project shows the most potential for further development. The winner receives € 10.000 to boost their career to a higher, more professional level. With this award, a young designer gets the opportunity to invest in growth, start new projects and further develop their creative vision.
In addition to Exposed and the scholarship, Keep an Eye has also supported an annual Masterclass from 2019. An opportunity to invite well-known designers, artists and other specialists in their field to inspire and educate our students, enriching our regular curriculum.
