Freedom
How savage are you? Do you chart your own course, even in the middle of a crazy storm? The glorious female pirates in this magazine are savage for sure, but they weren’t all born that way. Each of them reached a point where they felt they HAD to break free. The universe was telling them: do it, NOW!
Reading about 18th-century pirate Mary Read deciding to put on men’s clothes and join the navy reminded me of my own transformation when I changed my future as a young woman by signing up for art school. I never looked back. During the making of this season’s Feminine/Feminist magazine however, the universe started pushing me again (and not only to cross-dress for the first time, the result of which you see on the opposite page). Believe me, I fought it at first. Shooting the campaign pictures myself? Me, a designer? After legendary photographer Ellen von Unwerth‘s stunning series for us? But there I was a few weeks later, on a cold, wind-swept beach in the south of the Netherlands with my cameras. Yes, I was nervous, but as soon as I started to shoot the first of our modern-day female pirates, I knew I was doing the right thing. I felt savage, 100%.
From flaming-haired pirate queen Anne Bonny to Chinese lady boss Cheng I Sao, the historical pirates that inspired these collections were a diverse gang of women, all looking for the same treasure: freedom. The freedom to use their talents, to shape their own destiny. I think you can see the same diversity and drive in the women I interviewed. Dutch Moroccan hairstylist to the stars Ilham Mestour for example, who took her destiny into her own hands at only nine (!) years old, or American Laura Sook Duncombe who gave up her legal career to write the defining book on pirate women. And then there are the ten brave women who channeled their inner pirate for me that day on the beach. Ranging in color, size and age (18 to 48), working a variety of jobs from dancer to journalist to domestic violence activist; they all felt transformed by the experience, empowered. I hope the swashbuckling pictures and stories in this magazine inspire you to undertake a similar journey. Yes, there will be dangers, threats and storms, but as long as it’s YOUR journey, you’ll be savage enough to handle it.
Good luck and godspeed!
— Marlies Dekkers
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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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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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