The rising designer details the fakeness of fashion, her lactose intolerance, and the worst advice a fashion tutor ever gave her
One of the most upsetting words to have entered into the English language must be “blokecore”, which is an adjective used to describe young men who upload OOTDs (scarf around the head, vintage Arsenal tops, Beyond Retro jeans, adidas Sambas) to TikTok while waiting for the tube. Perhaps he stories from a ‘caf’ or the sort of ‘boozer’ that has 70s carpets and lemon cubes in the urinals, thinking himself a Jack the Lad, Liam Gallagher, or George Best type. The whole thing is a reenactment of the testosterone-fuelled subcultures that collect along football terraces, commodified by millennium babies with a free trial of Hinge premium. In truth, they’d probably baulk at the sight of a real-life geezer, but designers like Alyssa Marie Groeneveld have gone straight to the source.
Born in Holland and schooled at Central Saint Martins, Groeneveld has stuck her fingers into the calloused edges of the “bro life” and pulled out its gooey innards. The ascendant designer isn’t a football fan per se, but she is inspired by the “fear, joy, anger, sadness, happiness, and love” that she witnessed when attending matches as a child. Her MA collection looked at the stadium as a place of psychospiritual connection, where players, hooligans, and VIP attendees get more invested in the rituals of the game than winning or losing. That resulted in a violent mash-up of XXL puffer jackets and football jerseys that had been cut and pasted into sinuous corsetry with twisted hems and sliced draping. For AW23, she did much the same, scrambling eBay cast-offs into a jumble of skew-whiff officewear and upside-down ski jackets. Her clothes are about confrontation and vulnerability and the pent-up feelings that burst from our seams.
Below, Groeneveld details the “fakeness of fashion”, her lactose intolerance, and the worst advice a fashion tutor ever gave her.
Hey Alyssa! How and why did you first get into fashion?
Alyssa Marie Groeneveld: Growing up, all kids dressed in the same way and they followed the same trends, but I always tried to be provocative and dress in the complete opposite manner. I didn’t want to stand out, I think I just wanted to be my own person. I was always ‘styling’ as a child: my Barbies, Bratz dolls, and Sims. I never really ‘played’ with them, I just dressed them in outfits. And then, as a teen, I was obsessed with music videos from J.Lo, Missy Elliot, Ciara, Pharrell, and the Dutch rap group Opgezwolle. I tried to dress like them and by the time I was 15, I was a sneaker collector. I knew every single Nike sneaker and followed every drop. It was an amazing time in 2010 when people camped outside stores for releases. I really wanted to start my own streetwear brand and dress my favourite artists so I promised myself I’d be a designer and I never broke that promise. What I’m doing now is a mix between ‘street’ and ‘high’ fashion.
What are some of the characteristics you return to time after time?
Alyssa Marie Groeneveld: My world is of realness, honesty, having zero fucks, and really trying to LIVE. I design for people who are willing to express themselves and feel inspired by music or sports. But my work is about more than just the visual aspect, the concepts I build are always a confrontational conversation with myself. I try to express how I grow, how I make mistakes, and how I learn. I’m an honest person and I can be the nicest in the room but I can be ice cold, too. That’s also the main reason why I drape, to express my energy directly onto the garment. I just act out the honesty of my reality.
Can you guide us through some of the inspirations behind the latest collection? What are some of the themes you wanted to put forth?
Alyssa Marie Groeneveld: The collection was a continuation of my graduate collection at CSM and it was about football culture. Not because I am a huge football fan, but because my dad always brought me to matches when I was younger and I was intrigued by the emotions of the men I witnessed there. Fear, joy, anger, bro life, sadness, happiness, and love. There are lots of different characters in a football stadium and they were all on my mood board: the coaches, the players, the hooligans, the supporters in the sky box, and the mascots. I also did research into a book called Alchemy and Mysticism, which brings religion, astrology, science, history and spirituality altogether. And so the concept was based on angels and devils playing football, the message being that it’s not about winning or losing but about the creation of the game itself. While my dad influenced the football visuals, it was my mum who instilled an idea of faith in me.
Which piece is really totemic of the collection as a whole?
Alyssa Marie Groeneveld: I would say the white puffer jacket I presented during my MA collection is the most important piece of all the collections I’ve created so far.
Did you have a freakum outfit when you were growing up?
Alyssa Marie Groeneveld: Ever since I was young and started dressing myself, or my Bratz and Sims, I knew that fashion can communicate. I remember I had an outfit with an all-over tiger print on a blouse. It’s funny because tigers are still my favourite animasl. It looked horrible back then, but very iconic.
Would you design Rishi Sunak's next TV look for £10,000? What would you design?
Alyssa Marie Groeneveld: No thank you!
What’s your weirdest internet obsession?
Alyssa Marie Groeneveld: Tyler Tarot – please don’t judge me.
The most embarrassing screenshot on your camera roll?
Alyssa Marie Groeneveld: There’s a lot! But I will always make secret screenshots when my friends and I are FaceTiming so I can catch our most embarrassing angles in one shot.
The most recent note on your Notes app?
Alyssa Marie Groeneveld: Call me boring but it’s a list of all the monthly payments I still need to pay.
Your weirdest comfort food?
Alyssa Marie Groeneveld: If I’m at home with my parents in Holland I always eat cheese without bread. Even though I’m lactose intolerant.
The worst advice you’ve ever been given?
Alyssa Marie Groeneveld: One of my BA tutors said, “Alyssa, you only want to be a designer who’s going to wave on the catwalk. I think fashion is not for you.” And then one of my MA tutors said, “this piece looks alien to me, are you sure you are into fashion? This looks like more like marketing.“ I cried for 3 days straight.
Who’s your nemesis?
Alyssa Marie Groeneveld: Myself. I’m only in competition with myself and always try to overpower or challenge where I am.
What’s your star sign and are you typical of that sign?
Alyssa Marie Groeneveld: I’m a Leo, my friends call me a diva and I still don’t understand why xx
The pettiest thing you’ve ever done?
Alyssa Marie Groeneveld: I literally asked all my friends to help on this question but we really can’t think of a particular instant. I always used to prank people when I was younger and made them I had a fake name and stuff.
What Dazed headline would you be?
Alyssa Marie Groeneveld: The Rotterdam x Amsterdam Artist Confronting The Realness of People and The Fakeness of Fashion.
Who would be in your nightmare blunt rotation? And your dream blunt rotation?
Alyssa Marie Groeneveld: I’m boring and I don’t smoke but let me think. Nightmare: I need to pass on this one, I think most people would be on my nightmare list because I get so anxious when I smoke. Dream: Joe Rogan, Emrata, and the boys from the ShxtsNGigs podcast.
What would your ghost outfit be?
Alyssa Marie Groeneveld: Any outfit from Comme des Garçons SS12
What do you reckon you’re most likely to get cancelled for?
Alyssa Marie Groeneveld: I absolutely don’t give a damn about cancel culture?
Title of your biography?
Alyssa Marie Groeneveld: A jowblob is better than no job!