Velvet voice
All my work as a feminist designer is inspired by muses. Powerful female icons from past and present. Although women have been marginalized for centuries, archetypes of female power have always been there. Through my designs, I bring them to you. To help us shape the world of modern-day feminism.
This season, I sing the ballad of Billie Holiday: musical supernova, freedom fighter, bad-ass Queen of Blues. ‘There’s two kinds of blues, happy blues and sad blues,” Billie used to say. “Everything I sing is part of my life.” And indeed, as the Frida Kahlo of the music world, ‘Lady Day’ used her voluptuous voice to turn female anger, pain and sadness into creations of staggering beauty. As an early feminine feminist, she wore heels and lipstick but could kick any man’s ass (she once single-handedly beat up two racist sailors). More importantly, Billie Holiday always spoke and sang her truth; inspiring generations of women to march to their own beats and roar their convictions.
Growing up in a world that was still spectacularly cruel to young black girls (her great-grandmother had been a slave), Billie Holiday dared to dream, deciding at an early age to burn bright, no matter the price. Daring to grow, she overcame poverty and childhood sexual abuse to become one of the greatest singers of all time. Brilliantly beautiful with fragrant, white flowers in her hair, the self-taught jazz legend hypnotized audiences with songs like the shocking, seminal ‘Strange Fruit‘ and the ballsy ‘Ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do‘, but still had to enter through the back entrance when performing with her all-white band. Fed up, Billie Holiday would spend the rest of her short, explosive life daring to be; fighting injustice with dazzling glamour, luminous self-destruction, and a refusal to be silenced. Lady Day sang nobody’s blues but her own.
My new Couture Collection is designed for ladies in the mood for (self-) love. Drape your curves in luscious lace and sensual, deep-scarlet velvet. Queen of Blues-inspired details -think corset lacing and ‘feminine feminist’ lettering- invoke Billie Holiday’s smoky glamour and velvet-cloaked voice. Wear my Velvet Voice collection and sway to the rhythm of your own blues!
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MD Friends
Building bridges
From the Erasmus Bridge and the Mercedes-Benz Museum to Qatar’s metro network; Ben van Berkel’s iconic landmarks bring people together in rapturous beauty, again and again. I talked with the Dutch architect and educator about sensuality, ‘healthy’ buildings and the remarkable parallels between our designs.
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MD Friends
More than a feeling
Don’t ignore your emotions; they are much more powerful than you can imagine. By linking the magical world of emotions with hard science, Dutch scientist Pierre Capel, professor emeritus in experimental immunology, shows us the consequences of our feelings and the power of our minds. The message: we can do much more than we think. “Meditate. It’s the single best thing you can do for your health.”
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Marlies Says
Keto curious?
The fact that I feel bikini-confident all year round is, of course, a nice bonus. But for me, the biggest payoff of following the keto diet is the way it optimizes my health and gives me tons of energy.
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Marlies Says
Super (skin) food
‘If you can’t eat it, why put it on your skin?’. I pretty much live by this beauty adage. After all, with your skin being one of your body’s largest organs, anything – and I mean anything! – you put onto your skin will end up in your bloodstream.
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