Niels Klavers in the Summerhall

“My way of working is very much based on feeling and association. In that way a blouse becomes a flower. In the ‘Blossom’ collection of 2002 there was a blouse that I scaled down by half. In a glance it looks like a simple garment. The construction of pleats is the translation of the blossoming of a flower. When the pleats are pulled out, you can puff up the garment. When puffed up to its fullest, it resembles a peony. When the fabric smoothly hangs down, it is a blouse, a closed flower. The display was a translation of a closed flower that blossoms and opens up. I wanted to produce an emotion, one you don’t have to think about. It is a nice thing to animate people. I will always have a conceptual undertone in my work.”