Does motherhood change everything? Nada van Dalen hopes not. Her last collection before giving birth was partially inspired by serial killers, including the likes of Jeffrey Dahmer. While this matter hasn’t been abandoned in her designs, her latest collection - ‘Giving birth to Death’ -juxtaposes these twisted themes alongside the exploration of the bitter-sweet emotions linked to becoming a mother.

Hi Nada, how are you finding being a new mother?
Fantastic, it's amazing to have this little mini-me around. Just seeing how this little individual is changing with each passing day is such a great experience, especially now that her character is becoming more and more spicy.

You designed the collection, ‘Giving birth to Dying’, whilst you were pregnant with your first child. How do you think this reflected on the design process and the outcomes? At the time of my pregnancy both the past fascination with the dark side and the sweet-scented future of motherhood became a growing dilemma. Would I still be able to retain my past interests or will I too become a frightened milk-smelling, muffin-eating, herbal-tea-drinking mother who stuffs her daughter into pink little dresses and is relentlessly proud of every little fart she makes? This was not the future I had in mind for myself. At the same time, however, I didn't know whether I could allow myself to research the most gruesome murders and serial killers while taking care of such an innocent little girl. The moment I experienced my first echo I realized that there was not even a choice that needed to be made: the first images of my girl, in grainy black and white, captured exactly the dark beauty in which I felt most at home.

What statement are you making by combining such dark themes with the birth of your child?
What I'm trying to say is that you don't have to jump on the whole pinky-mommy-bandwagon to be a good mother. As with all things in life it consists of equal parts dark and light, and so do pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood. Unfortunately however, we live in a highly Disneyfied world that consequently tries to brush away the darker and less alluring aspects of reality, and this especially rings true for the whole newborn-baby-scene. As the gruesome fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm illustrate us, this airbrushed clean facade was not always the set standard for motherhood and newborn life, and I don't think it should be. For me personally, giving birth was a storm of hard stainless steel, bright lights, working surgeons, screaming and blood, with the end result: a beautiful, strong baby girl. And so, even though my home was decorated with girly pink when I got back, my 'baby pinks' will forever be light-blue and deep-red.

What other inspirations did you have for this collection?
This collection is riddled with references to the past darkness, albeit filtered, warped and altered: gruesome murder scenes colored in with kindergarten-crayons run alongside childhood clothing of Richard Ramirez (The Nightstalker) and Jeffrey Dahmer (The Milwaukee Cannibal). While maybe seen as simple aesthetic decisions at first glance, they are readily readable for those who understand and appreciate the references to the horrors of Dahmer, Bundy and Ramirez.

In the past, you’ve spoken about how you don’t design for a particular audience. Did this mentality apply to the latest collection as well?
Yes I suppose it does, mainly because it's just my default mindset when designing. I think it's a needless constraint on the design process that, if not kept in check, can take over the complete process from the start. Besides, I think that if you start to design for a specific audience you tend to veer into the realm of generalisation, which is not necessarily a beneficial addition to the entire process.

Your casting is really interesting, what draws you to choosing a model?
I tend to go for models that do not fall into the strict 'classic model' category but I do try to look for people that have something special in their looks and whose specific looks fit the entire concept. Harmen also tends to work with these off-standard models, so the casting was a thing that came about in perfect tandem.

How did the collaboration between yourself and Harmen Meinsma come about?
Harmen and I met for the first time at a performance I did about gabber-culture, and I've known him for quite some time now. His way of working and his preference for the aforementioned subjects made it a solid fit in my mind. The collaboration with Harmen Meinsma added yet another layer to the collection: on the surface a wildly colored and seemingly joyful series, with doom and gloom seeping through upon closer inspection. At the start of the ‘70s few could have predicted what horrors lay in wait for them that decade; the era of the serial killer emerging through the cracks of the fading ‘60s. Innocence was brutally fused with darkness. This fusion of light and dark echoes through the collaboration with Harmen Meinsma with twilit figures in technicolor.

What are your plans for the near future? Perhaps a baby clothing line…
I hope to start my webshop soon and see how that hits off. I'm definitely going to add some baby clothing to the mix, but it won't be too far removed from the adult equivalent. Other than that, I'm going full steam ahead with continuing to produce new collections and being a full-time mom.

clothing and concept NADA VAN DALEN

@nadavandalen

photography HARMEN MEINSMA
styling INEZ NAOMI
makeup artist ED TIJSEN & ANGELIQUE HOORN
makeup assistance MINOU MEIJERS
help JISKE KOSIAN, VANESSA AFRIFA EN CHRIS NELCKMODELLEN: IHEOMY, HANNAH, MAUD EN DAISY, TIMO, LUKAS, NIKI, CHRIS, BENTE, ANNE, EVELIEN, JEROEN, ED, FLORIAN, GIOVANNI, HANS, PETER, FRANKIE