about
Camiel Fortgens was founded in 2014 in Amsterdam. We create unpolished reinterpretations of ready-to-wear archetypes, executed as perfectly imperfect garments. Made in Europe using signature fabrics, our process is defined by fast-paced prototyping and trial-and-error experimentation, resulting in collections known for exposed construction and deconstructed detailing.
The brand was catapulted into existence when Camiel graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven. His decision not to attend fashion school gave him an outsider’s perspective on the industry and a DIY-attitude toward fashion design, free from traditional rules and conventions.
Today, Camiel Fortgens exists as an open-ended, research-driven hub of people where new ideas emerge intuitively and through informal collaborations. With our team, we seek to uncover the real nature of human behavior, where flaws, mistakes and errors play a central role, translating these into handmade garments that create room for imperfections.
As a process-oriented brand, we explore how the fashion industry can become a more authentic and honest entity, one that feels relatable to all. Our runway shows in Paris and Amsterdam have taken place outside traditional settings, blurring the boundaries between fashion and everyday life.
process
Camiel Fortgens takes a playful and slightly absurd approach to fashion, combining quick-and-dirty experimentation with skill and craftsmanship to create unpolished garments from high-end fabrics. We aim to question, investigate and break with industry conventions, rethinking garment design from scratch again and again.
All our ideas are born in Amsterdam, drawing inspiration from the clothes around us — worn on the street, found at flea markets, or seen online. Our creative process involves trial-and-error experiments with washes, textures and unorthodox construction techniques, and thrives on spontaneous ideas, material research, and fast-paced prototyping.
The collections are handcrafted in small-scale ateliers across Europe, mainly in Portugal, Ukraine and Bulgaria, by people we know personally. The use of non-industrial machinery gives every garment a lived-in feel and an irregular human touch. We source high-quality utilitarian fabrics from mills and factories in Japan, Italy and the United Kingdom, which we visit ourselves each year.