For this LVMH Prize finalist, adjusting to fame and acclaim is “still a process”. It’s his creative process that has brought the industry to his doorstep. The Dutch designer talks to veteran talent-spotter Julie Gilhart about creative responsibilities, and the exhilarating freedoms of his first collaboration with JOYCE.
Lantink upcycled his first garment aged 11: his stepdad’s Diesel jeans became pleated schoolgirl skirts. “That was before Diesel started doing it!”, he swears with a laugh. During his MFA, improvising with the materials at hand became an artistic imperative. While he still struggles with the label “artist”, the world has no trouble applying it for him. His provocative designer mashups are most liberating when he works with mixed-brand inventory like JOYCE’s, he explains – no egos, no singular brand identity to preserve. Just fashion alchemy.
Those collage collections aren’t an endpoint, but a beginning. Forging relationships is key to longer garment life-cycles that preserve great design for new generations. Lantink relishes connecting with customers and style-lovers of all stripes  - including SistaazHood, a Cape Town collective of trans sex workers whose salvage style chimes with his own. For the connected, the curious, the relentlessly creative, it’s clear Lantink believes fashion’s future can be bright.