Claudy Jongstra launches revolutionary LOADS Collection
Artist and eco-activist Claudy Jongstra, internationally known and acclaimed for over two decades for her captivating monumental artworks made of felted sheep’s wool, returns to the fashion world. This time with a radical, net-positive approach to garment creation, a new antidote to the destructive impact of the fashion industry. LOADS Collection was launched during New York Fashion Week from 7 to 13 September at L’Space Gallery in New York.
Claudy Jongstra, began her career in fashion more than 20 years ago, after graduating from art school. Concerned about the impact of the polluting industry, she used her creativity to dedicate herself to restoring ecology and biodiversity. She brings the timeless beauty of wool into the limelight and honours the material’s entire life cycle. Jongstra’s early works with wool led to successful collaborations with John Galliano, Hermès and Christian Lacroix, among others, as well as designing the iconic long coats of the Jedi in the film Star Wars I.
Her insights and artistry bring a revised perspective on the fashion industry. More than a collection of haute couture and ready-to-wear garments, LOADS Collection is a collaboration between makers, farmers, designers, manufacturers and social enterprises whose artisanal expertise contributes to the transformation of the industry. By pooling their knowledge and efforts in the LOADS Collection, Jongstra offers a new, revolutionary system coming from the collective, ecological, transparent and reducible way of working that she has carefully cultivated within her artistic practice for decades.
Each garment in the LOADS Collection is composed of the highest quality biodynamic wool from Claudy Jongstra’s own herd of indigenous Drenthe Heath Sheep, Spanish Merino wool from family ranch Dehesa de la Rinconada and Demeter-certified cotton grown by Egypt’s sustainable development initiative SEKEM. She also exclusively uses vegetable dyes from her own botanical garden and biodynamic farms in the Netherlands and Spain.
Photography: Marcel van der Vlugt