Saskia van Drimmelen (1968, The Netherlands) graduated from the Fashion Department of the Arnhem Academy of Arts in 1993. She presented her first fashion collection in Paris in 1994 as part of Le Cri Néerlandais, a group of six young and promising Dutch designers, that included Pascale Gatzen, Marcel Verheijen, Lucas Ossendrijver and Viktor & Rolf. 
 

Saskia stood out and her refined and conceptually constructed women’s collection was sold in leading boutiques such as Colette (Paris), Browns (London) and Van Ravenstein (Amsterdam). Museums worldwide exhibited and bought her work, Adidas asked her to design a sneaker. 
 

In 2003, Saskia showed her last collection under the Van Drimmelen brand in Paris. After nine years creating two collections per year, working day and night in the demanding fashion industry she decided to reconsider her work. For some years she layed low and did what she felt like doing; from singing in a band to teaching at art schools and making stage clothes for Dutch rockstar Anouk.

In 2007 she started developing a new label with an embrace of the handmade as opposed to mass production. 
 

This time she was determined to collaborate on all creative and operational aspects and to follow her passion for nearly forgotten crafts. In Bulgaria she discovered beautiful antique family pieces to which several generations have added new elements. These became the starting point for a new way of working. 
 

Together with the designers she invited she took field trips to Bulgaria and managed to enthuse the handful of women who still master classic techniques and started the Painted Series — a story in garments.

See Painted.