Eva Van Den Top

Open / Fashion Category

"My grandmothers allowed me to sniff around in their sewing-boxes and shared their knowledge and needlework techniques"

— Eva Van Den Top
Mentor – Angie Wyman

All is well when I am in nature. Nature comforts me, walking through the forests where I grew up in and cycling alongside the riverbanks where I live now. But in these past months of forced isolation, I could only travel in my mind.
My dress design is as rich and luxurious as the colours I found, adding my touch of escapism. Accordingly, my embroidery textures are created from familiar structures found in nature with my abstract interpretation on top of that. Think flowers made from feathers and a bird with butterfly wings.

The end result: a dreamy dress that you can escape in time after time, discovering new details and colour combinations every time you wear it or look at it.
My entire life I have played with threads, fabrics and wool. My grandmothers allowed me to sniff around in their sewing-boxes and shared their knowledge and needlework techniques. They encouraged me to keep on learning and educate myself. My own box of treasures grew and grew, and in the end, I graduated at the fashion academy of Rotterdam.

I never succeeded in making it my daytime job, although I always made one-off dresses on request. Through the years I gradually returned to needle-and-thread work that I knew so well from my grandmothers. I started giving it my own twist and developed my own style of embroidery. With this precise and detailed handwork, I hope to focus more attention to earnest labour and contribute to a future where buying honest clothing is the standard.

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Eva Van Den Top
Eva Van Den Top - image from the official 2020 Prize shoot
Eva Van Den Top - Supporting materials
Eva Van Den Top - Supporting materials
Eva Van Den Top - image from the official 2020 Prize shoot
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