What happens when you combine Dutch craft, family, happy hardcore, tea towels, clogs, comic books and one very heroic childhood plushie? In Ruben Jurriën’s world, apparently, you get Maak Nederland weer Gezellig!, a collection that makes a convincing case for bringing gezelligheid back to the Netherlands.
Presented at the monumental Molen van West, Jurriën’s latest collection was as much a celebration of Dutch culture as it was a gentle poke at it. The designer reportedly immersed himself in traditional Dutch craft by learning embroidery techniques from his mother in preparation for the show. The result was a collection where the good, the tacky, the uncouth and the wholesome could happily coexist. In other words: Dutchness, in all its glory.
At the heart of it all was Jurriën’s longstanding relationship with comics. “Parallel to my clothing items, my comics are a way to communicate meaning in an accessible, fun and sweet way,” he explains. “They are both equally important, and inspire each other simultaneously.” Here, his drawings quite literally became part of the clothes. The star of the collection was Toetie, Jurriën’s childhood plushie-turned-superhero, who comes to the rescue whenever unkindness rears its head. A particularly appropriate hero for a collection built around kindness, connection and the radical potential of being nice to one another.
Toetie appeared everywhere. A red-and-blue shirt appeared to be inspired by the humble Dutch tea towel and was covered in sketches of the bunny, its collar tied into a neat bow and even its buttons shaped in his likeness. Elsewhere, oversized denim was patched with Toetie and the words “wees lief”, while another peplum denim jacket carried the much larger declaration “maak ieder land weer gezellig” across its back. In perhaps the most literal manifestation of the Toetie agenda, a life-sized padded red version of his head emerged from the shoulders of a blue checked jacket, wrapping around its wearer like the world’s most oversized hug.
One of the collection’s standout looks was a pink-and-red checked two-piece topped with a chef-inspired jacket, its off-centre closures fastened with tiny white Toetie buttons. A life-sized red Toetie silhouette appeared to hug the front of the jacket, while chunky rubber boots carried enormous, plump pink hearts on top. The bunny ear caps, in both red and white, were almost unbearably cute, while Jurriën’s own take on the clog replaced the traditional wooden form with a 3D-printed version that looked almost good enough to eat, and considerably more fun to wear.
The soundtrack was every bit as Dutch. Ik Hou van Holland and old-school brown café tunes set the tone before the show eventually erupted into happy hardcore, bringing the whole thing to a suitably chaotic close. The models, meanwhile, looked like they were having the time of their lives. Friends, familiar faces and figures from the Dutch creative community walked alongside veterans of the industry, making the runway feel like a very fashionable family reunion. The love in the room was palpable.
Following the show, impeccably dressed guests began posing with giant wheels of Beemster Kaas, because apparently this is what high fashion looks like now. It was an absurdly perfect ending to a collection that found the funny, the familiar and the wonderfully Dutch in all of it.
Beneath the Toeties, hearts and cheeky Dutch references was a sincere belief in kindness as a form of connection. Maak Nederland weer Gezellig! may have been dressed up in comic prints and chunky clogs, but its message was clear: be nice, be open, and for heaven’s sake, make it gezellig.
Images by Resa Steenvoorden