Introducing Studio Unidentified

‘UnIdentified sees the body as a designer’s main tool, which we always have with us standing with one foot in the present and one in the future,’ says Jansen, who himself is a DAE alumnus and worked with Walter Van Beirendonck and Henrik Vibskov before starting his label Survival of the Fashionest. He believes in the preservation of tradition and craft and that without these, a good product cannot be designed.

With a focus on self-expression and the exploration of ‘nowness’ — combined with material sensitivity — studio unIdentified will encourage poly-passionates to develop their personal ‘handwriting’ that will enable them to distinguish themselves as designers in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.

Writer Emma Lucek interviewed Jansen to find out how his experiences have informed his vision for the studio and about being optimistic about the future of design.

→Emma Lucek: You graduated from Design Academy Eindhoven as a product designer with a focus on the human body and how it interacts with space. This has somehow naturally evolved into working in the fashion sphere. Could you tell me a bit about that journey?
Joost Jansen: I did my internship at Walter Van Beirendonck in Antwerp and continued working with him while coming back to school. The day after graduation I was back on the train to Antwerp, where I soon became his right hand, Assistant Designer. We have worked together for eight years. After that I moved to Copenhagen, where I currently reside, to work for Henrik Vibskov as Production and Sourcing Manager for 1-and-a-half years, before starting my own label Survival of the Fashionest.

In 2013 I started working for weavers van Engelen&Evers, where I started the EE Exclusives division, developing textiles for (fashion)designers and artists. I still work there as Creative Director.

→EL: Survival of the Fashionest has been — in a way — a response to your knowledge of the over-commercialisation of the fast-paced fashion industry. Is it a kind of critique or is it more of a sharing of your own values?
JJ: The name started as an online joke, as a wordplay around the ‘survival of the fittest’ concept. As it turned more and more into a philosophy, it really started to make sense for it to become the name of my label. It stands for what I believe in, which is the preservation of textile knowledge, which can not all be taken over by machines.

I am not so much a person for critique, I’m more the educational, sharing type. I would like to be transparent and share the story and people behind the product, to let the consumer realise themselves what it means to them and what they could do themselves.

→EL: You underline the importance of tradition and craft in your work. Where does that fascination come from? Do you think that’s an interest you will aim to pass on to your students?
JJ: I believe it’s the very essence of design. You can’t design a good product without the knowledge of tradition, the time you place it in. The same counts for the way things are made and the (crafts)people behind them. The tradition of DAE, in my eyes, is the conceptual personal identity of each student. The combination is definitely what I aim to pass on.

→EL: You’ve held a teaching position at DAE before. In what ways do you think this studio structure will be beneficial to the tutors and the students? How do you think your own work experience will inform your teaching practice? Is this another step in your own self-exploration?
JJ: First of all, I am a (proud) ‘product’ of the same school, which has always been a pro while finding tutors, as they know the DNA of the school, which is hard to describe. The current team is a very diverse mix of different ages, genders, backgrounds and a mixture of alumni and people from abroad, all of whom are active professionals.

Secondly, I have been teaching in many different design schools but coming back to DAE has been a dream come true. I was a student first, then a workshop instructor and now Studio Leader. I think it makes a great mix for me to understand the structure of the school and how to best organise an interesting balance in the program.

EL: What is your main vision for Studio unIdentified? What are you most looking forward to and what do you think will be your main challenges?
JJ: A vision sounds to me like I have one image in my head of what I would like the students who have been in Studio unIdentified to look like after they are done. I believe more in personal guidance. Next to general assignments and workshops, we will work with a personal assignment, which I will guide personally and develop together with the student.

But if I needed to name something like a vision, it would be diversity, both in assignments and in the guiding tutors. Therefore every class will be a reflection of its own and that is what I am most looking forward to. I think the biggest challenge would be to create a group feeling, mostly amongst the students, but also with the tutors as we only see each other in two-week intervals.

→EL: Are you hopeful about the future of design?
JJ: Always! In general, I am a very positive person, always looking for the bright perspective and seeing possibilities; a problem solver. I like to think that the purest description of a designer is seeing possibilities where others see problems. I believe design is a very powerful tool, especially in these times. I believe and feel there is something going to happen for the good — it’s also about time. Important issues like climate change, (over)production and digitalisation are being taken seriously from the bottom up. I feel a strong essence in the next generation, being shared by my current students. In Studio unIdentified we empower this urge!