ABOUT
Rena Jansen (1996) is a Dutch fashion designer with a bold,
colorful style and a passion for sustainability and self-expression
colorful style and a passion for sustainability and self-expression
From a young age, Rena experimented with her own style, exploring multiple subcultures and experiencing the influence clothing can have on its wearer. These years of experimenting sparked a fascination for fashion design and a love for a colorful and playful aesthetic. After obtaining her Honors BA diploma from HKU in 2018, Rena worked as an intern for Flemish designer Walter Van Beirendonck. Here she worked on the SS20 collection WITBLITZ, which incited her interest in print design and menswear.
Youth rebellion and childhood nostalgia are returning themes in Rena’s work. In her concepts she often explores what it means to grow up as a millennial in the current social climate. Her starting point is always a personal experience or a feeling that is felt collectively within her generation. Using bright colors and a naïve, conceptual approach, her collections often feel innocent and joyous. Rena questions the world as we know it by creating contradictions and by reshaping clothing archetypes. In her work she often references surrealist art and uses symbolism to tell her story.
To Rena, fashion is a form of art and a way to express herself. She invites others to reinterpret her concepts through their own style: “Fashion is not meant to be a contemporary collection that walks the runway once, but it is an artform that should live its own life through wearers.” Rena makes her work accessible by loaning pieces to clothing libraries and by opening her webshop in early 2021.
As a designer with a passion for sustainability, Rena works almost exclusively with overstock- or ecologically produced materials. This way she tries minimizes the impact of her work on the environment.
To Rena, fashion is a form of art and a way to express herself. She invites others to reinterpret her concepts through their own style: “Fashion is not meant to be a contemporary collection that walks the runway once, but it is an artform that should live its own life through wearers.” Rena makes her work accessible by loaning pieces to clothing libraries and by opening her webshop in early 2021.
As a designer with a passion for sustainability, Rena works almost exclusively with overstock- or ecologically produced materials. This way she tries minimizes the impact of her work on the environment.
