Fashion Designer Sander Bos from ‘Making the Cut’ Talks Vision and Aesthetic
We are so excited to have had the chance to interview Sander Bos, the incredibly talented Belgian fashion designer whose passion and personality stole our hearts on Amazon Prime’s first season of ‘Making the Cut’. Read to learn about how Sander got into fashion design, his advice to young designers and the inspiration behind his current collection, Miss Bos.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you first got started with fashion design.
Well, I was born and raised in Hasselt, Belgium. From a young age, I have been captivated by fine arts. Drawing, sculpting, graphics etc. is where I started my high school studies, in Pikoh Hasselt. Although I have art in my heart, I wanted my art to be able to stand up and walk out of the room and enter the living world. Fine arts could not do that for me, so I turned to fashion.
Your international debut and journey as a young designer on Making the Cut was extremely inspiring. From working at a fast food restaurant to seeing your designs on the runway in Paris, New York, and Tokyo with Naomi Campbell and Heidi Klum as judges must have been an incredible shift for a 24-year-old. What advice can you give to aspiring designers who are looking to get their foot in the door when it comes to the fashion industry?
Thank you, yes it was quite a crazy ride. That’s a difficult question because when I was starting out, I was getting a lot of advice, left and right. Quite unsolicited to be honest, and in all truth I didn’t care for the advice. I truly believe in finding your own way in this world and in the fashion industry. This Eddie Murphy’s quote sums it all up for me: “The advice i would give to someone is to not take anyone’s advice.”
What are some of the most important lessons you learned from being one of the final three contestants on the show? How have you applied what you’ve learned on Making the Cut to your business?
I went into the show with a personal mission. I wanted to challenge myself to create more accessible garments. Going into the final three, and having the pop-up, I felt a sense of accomplishment for my personal mission. It was the beginning of the “Miss Bos” line, which is now a critical building block for my brand.
Sander’s pop-up shop in New York City, complete with two in-person tailors for Making the Cut Episode 9
Your ability to design clothing that is both wearable and a reflection of modern art at the same time is impeccable. How would you describe the clothing and aesthetic you create with your brand?
The aesthetic of the brand is very diverse and eclectic but the formula is always the same. The brand’s pieces always have a unique cut of garment, strong color choices and a story behind it. This is sort of the checklist I go by when we are creating in the atelier.
Do you have an all-time favorite piece you’ve designed?
No, I don’t have a specific favorite piece. It’s hard to even choose a favorite collection because I love all of them for different reasons. And dislike them for different reasons (laughs).
What was your inspiration behind the Miss Bos line?
The inspiration behind the Miss Bos line is to create accessible, affordable and sustainable garments for the woman with a conscious mind, who loves fashion. The inspiration per collection is the same as for the Sander Bos line, I wanted to synchronize them, to create a stronger sense of the vision.
Tell us about the sustainable production of the Miss Bos collection and why the concept of slow fashion is important to you.
Sustainability is important to me, for the obvious reason, climate change. We work with an order-made concept to not overproduce and be wasteful. We only produce on order per customer, which also allows us to customize garments size wise, which I think is a great advantage of having a webshop.
What can we look forward to from upcoming SANDER BOS collections?
Haha, I don’t like to give away too much. What I can tell you is that the upcoming collections will embody the essence of Sander Bos collections. But there will also be some unexpected turns.
MISS UNDERSTOOD SS21 x Sander Bos
“Inspired by The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and Hill’s womans’ view on love and life. Female misrepresentation in art and fashion in life. Miss Misunderstood underlines the misrepresentation, miseducation, misunderstanding and miscommunication of “what it is to be a lady.” For the woman who is misunderstood by our society and misrepresented in our art. Those who define instead of being defined.” -Sander Bos
Shop the Miss Bos collection now at missboss.be
Stay updated with future collections on sanderbos.be
Follow the SANDER BOS Fashion House at @sanderbosofficial
Keep up with Sander on Instagram at @theyoungbelgian
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
