Cooking for almost ten years, Ferry now works as professional make-up artist including directional fashion magazines like L'officiel or L'uomo Vogue and catwalk shows such as Chanel or Gaultier. Soon, his work got honored with the Icon Homme Award by the dutch fashion foundation. Apart from creating make-up design concepts, Ferry also gained reputation for his styling skills and collection vintage treasures. LigaStudios met him at his homebase in Amsterdam, talking about now and then!

Pssst...

Planning a trip to Amsterdam? Then have a further look right here with some special shopping tips provided by Ferry!

Ferry, thanks for having us in Amsterdam. Are you a native Amsterdamer by the way? 

No, I am not. I was raised in a small village close to Rotterdam – but i moved to Amsterdam about 18 years ago.

Is Amsterdam YOUR place under the sun or are there any other cities where you’d like to live in?

I’d really like to live in Paris for a while! I love the sense of refinement and style which is born in with french people. And: they're not afraid of beauty. Personally, i have a love & hate relationship with Amsterdam: I love it because it is very safe and protected - almost village like and at the same time it has quite a city vibe. But nevertheless there seems a very low taste level in all different kind of aspects, such as the way how people dress up - which is hard to draw any inspiration from. Still, Amsterdam has changed enormously in a positive way, influenced by international visitors and tourists. 

Ferry, you are quite known for your make-up and styling skills, professional photography and shop experience. Originally you started out as chef - how did Fashion win you in its team?

Actually, i’ve always been interested in clothes and how they define our look. I joined my mother when she went shopping and trying clothes on from a very young age. 

An interesting add on to your biography is your passion for vintage clothing which turned out very professionally. How did it all start?

My first shoot for Elle Magazine was about old dutch couture with fabulous dresses that were found in attics from older wives of diplomats and designers. Beautiful items. A few weeks later i found three creations of my favourite dutch designer Fong Leng and decided to buy them. From this point i just bumped into stunning dresses and discovered i had a keen sense for finding great pieces. Such as a few Ossie Clark pieces without even knowing who Ossie Clark was at this time. By researching the designer names, i discovered the importance and value of their designs and kept on collecting and buying them via Internet or local markets. Soon, people started to hear about my preference for vintage clothing and gave me tips and insights that helped my collection to expand very fast. I even have two 1960’s Givenchy Couture tops - specially made for Queen Fabiola of Belgium that i bought at an auction.

A small part of Ferry's vintage couture collection

A few years later, Arnhem Mode Biennale asked you to open a temporary shop during their event...

Yes, that was pretty exciting and internationally quite successful! I did a mix between selling pieces and my best samples for a period of 30 days – resulting in a few other projects to follow, such as a collaboration with Elle Magazine to do a little „Black Boutique“ where we only sold little black vintage dresses for 30 days or a pop-up shop in Rotterdam called „60 Days Left“, happening during the exhibition „The Art of Fashion“ in the Boijmans van Beuningen Museum. Later that year my Mom and i opend our own shop in Amsterdam called „Kabinet“ which we still run together. 

How many pieces do you carry right now and is there a favorite one? 

At the moment i still have about 150-200 pieces left. I’ve sold quite a lot but bought new pieces as well. I know a few collectors and a lot of good shops all over the world who i can ask advice regarding pricing or selling. My favorites change from time to time: I'm in my oversized Issey Miyake period as we speak. Also i'm in love with my 60’s Hermès silk jersey hostess dress!  Still, my alltime favorite remains my scarlett red Fong Leng piece!  Sometimes i rent them to somebody or museums. There is quite a demand for Vintage Couture these days. It all started with Julia Roberts, wearing a vintage YSL dress at the Oscars – today it is quite common to dress in an archive gown or vintage dress for red carpet events.

Who counts amongst your favorite Haute Couture Designers?

I love the old Balenciaga, Ossie Clark, YSL, Lanvin, Thierry Mugler Couture, 80’s Miyake, Yamamoto, Elsa Shiaperelli...As from the new generation i adore McQueen, Givenchy, Margiela Artisane, Iris van Herpen and the earlier work of Marjan Pejosky.

Dior silk dress from the late 80''s

What is the secret of being well dressed? 

The most fabulous thing is to dress up effortlessly. Just a simple but perfectly flattering dress, which shows your best assets. Good shoes are essential (flats during the day and heels for the evening) as is the right bag – that’s what you should invest in. If you wear vintage pieces, always try to combine it with new designs for a fresh and new look. A smart combination of couture, street-style, brands and no-names…

Your personal fashion icons?

From the past it is  the Dutchess of Windsor, Coco Chanel and Steve McQueen. Currently i like  Tilda Swinton, Kate Moss and - from time to time Madonna.

Thanks for your time, Ferry!

Thierry Mugler sculptured cocktail dress from the 90's