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Luxury at the Cost of (2019-2021)

This collection was created for Fashion Fest by MAFB in collaboration with Museum van Loon. The Museum van Loon is a historic house in Amsterdam, owned by the van Loon family, who have a legacy rooted in the colonial past. Willem van Loon was one of the founders of the Dutch East India Company in 1602, and Jan van Loon was a director of the West India Company in the 18th century. Descendants of the family still live in the house, which is filled with family portraits, original furniture, and 19th-century art pieces—portraying the wealthy lifestyle of that time.

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The collection 'Luxury, at the Cost of?' reflects my experience of entering this museum. I immediately saw and felt the colonial references—for example, in their family 'weapon' (i.e logo), which depicts two Black enslaved faces. The house is filled with luxurious furniture that evokes ‘exotic’ and tropical places. It was a deeply absurd experience to be in a historical house with such direct ties to the suffering of my ancestors. The house was filled with wood, tropical wallpaper, and portraits of wealthy white people with Black servants in the background. I did not feel comfortable in the space at all and wanted to question the museum and the way it still benefits from—and actively profits off—the exploitation of Black people.

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The collection features wooden corsets, referencing the 19th-century clothing of the white elite portrayed in the house. These corsets are made from Surinamese wood—invoking the memory of the plantations, the land, and the colonial trade.