We would like to introduce several people from the Yoek team to you, and first of all to brand-owner Johanna!
We would like to introduce several people from the Yoek team to you, and first of all to brand-owner Johanna! She has launched the Yoek brand in 1985 and it grew into a well-known plus size brand with its head office in The Netherlands.
"What sparks your never-ending interest in fashion? What are you fascinated by at the moment and how does it feed into your work?" 'Fashion has my interest since a very young age. I have always been interested in innovative trends, colours and designs. I get inspired by travelling and by the new impressions in all the different countries I visit, but I also come to new, beautiful ideas when I have inner peace in my head. What I think is fascinating nowadays, is the fast pace in which we can design and create the latest fashion, in this way we are always able to offer the latest trends directly to our customers.'
"How has your brand evolved since you began your own label back in the 80’s?"
'Being a young entrepreneur, I started very small, almost from my living room. Over time we have found more and more partners, in The Netherlands as well as in other European countries, who wanted to cooperate with us. The company grew step by step to the current size. Yoek has been a quality brand since the early beginning and with the developments of the last few years we increased the extent of brand awareness abroad as well. Especially the online sales we started six years ago, provided a quick growth of the business. And not to forget; we used to launch two collections a year and now we have ten. Together with our customers (the shops) we can easily serve the fast-moving wishes of the fashion consumer.'
"What advice would you give to young designers?"
'Be close to the market, follow your heart and make sure to have good people around you.'
"Where should we go for our holidays?"
'Being born and raised in Amsterdam, and absolutely loving my hometown, I also lost my heart to Italy where I partly live since a couple of years. But also Argentina, and especially Buenos Aires are my favourite because of the amazing music the tango orchestras play on every street corner. And actually the entire world is beautiful, as long as you go to pure, unspoiled places and destinations.'
"What are you currently reading in your spare-time?"
'I just finished the book about the Ladies Cécile and Elsa (‘De Strijdbare Freules: Cécile en Elsa’) by Elisabeth Leijnse and absolutely adored it. I love history and I believe this book definitely deserved its Libris History Award 2016.'
"What is your all-time favourite beauty product?"
'It’s the Pure Marula Oil (Face Oil) by African Botanics.'
"How do you start your day?"
'I start every day by using the Headspace app, a great meditation app with sessions of only 10 minutes. It helps to train your mind.'