The Swoosh tribe: Swoosh Studio
The tribe is growing! On the gram I came across one close to home: Stephanie is based in the Netherlands. She's in her third year of her Fashion & Technology studies and at home she makes beautiful (and funny) items from old Nike products under her new found label @swoosh.studio. On her instagram she now posts her designs and takes us along in her journey. You’ll see stools made from sweatpants, cushions made from pink socks and a bag made from track pants. Items I loveee, items I want to have. Since all the items had my favourite logo on them I had to chase her down and talk to her.
A mutual love: The Swoosh
“I can’t really describe it, it’s a feeling, it’s the cherry on the cake of an item”. During our (online) interview she’s wearing a grey crew neck with white little swooshes all over it. “When I wear Nike I feel I can reach my goals, I don’t have that feeling with other brands”. It started with a Nike Dunk. “I bought the shoe in high school and from there on my love started growing”. Her favourite shoe at the moment? “It has to be an Air Max 1, the shoes finishes off any outfit”. When she’s wearing an outfit with a Swoosh it gives her the feeling she’s part of a community “If someone wears a dope item, you do look”. It’s the power the brand has, even those working with it find it hard to put their feelings into words. Is it the ‘Just Do It’ tagline that makes us feel like kings and queens in the clothes? No, there’s more. Stephanie emphasizes their research and innovative materials “They’re also good at innovation, they keep on improving designs and materials”.
Rona made her do it
Early march 2020 Europe turned upside down. The Coronavirus entered our continent and big shifts were made; forced by governments and initiated by the people. The virus is for most of us a burden, for some it brings out an interesting, different time where new things happen. Stephanie is one of the girls who turned this negative into a positive. She had to stop her minor in Portugal and returned home. At home Stephanie got bored, like many of us, and decided to turn her skills and passion into a new hobby; she set up an Instagram account, Swoosh Studio, under which she makes items with the Nike Swoosh. Inspiration came from Instagram “I was scrolling on the gram and saw some dope items. All of a sudden I thought - I can make something like this from old Nike items!” at home she started to play around with neglected Nike items, the rest is history.
Sustainability is important
The focus of her work are Nike items, hence the name. Vintage items ideally, “With my designs I want to solve problems, I want to take dead stock out of closets and bring it back to life by designing it into something refreshing”. The design that caught my eye is a holder for a hanging plant, made from an old Nike shoe “When I have a new idea I normally ask friends and family if they have old Nike items, a friend gave me the shoes for the holder”. Sustainability is important to Stephanie “I like to turn some old neglected items into a new one”, she wants us to limit our impact on society “I probably will make one-off items, where I ask the client what (s)he wants and then design something on demand”. Often her designs are interior related “I study fashion but I’m also interested in interior design”. At the moment she is designing for leisure and not taking orders yet. In future she will.
Soon an interesting (still secret) collaboration will be launched. In the meantime Stephanie is working from home on personal projects and pillow orders. Slide in her DM and go get yours now!
