Joost Jansen is a Dutch designer and is behind the brand Survival of the Fashionest , which makes hand-knitted clothes.
The motivation behind the brand is to preserve knitwear and the value of traditional craftsmanship in Europe. And after 10 years in the industry, it dawned on Joost that the knowledge and skills associated with traditional craftsmanship are being forgotten. His motivation and long-standing dream of creating the best knitwear began when he was given the opportunity to "adopt" 250 grandmothers, as he says. Since then, he has worked with European knitters, creating the finest handmade sweaters with traditional techniques, meticulous detailing and unique designs.
The collaboration has turned into a series of cool pictures with Solimano's and MoroMoro's heads in Joost's hand-knitted sweaters from the AW19 collection and with beautiful bouquets styled by Plant Copenhagen .
"Survival of the Fashionest is a vibrant hand-knitted clothing brand founded in 2017 by Dutch designer Joost Jansen. As an ironic statement about the fashion industry and the "survival of the fittest" theory, the brand puts creativity & craftsmanship far beyond any commercial interest. The motivation behind the label is to preserve the knitwear heritage and the values of traditional craftsmanship in Europe.”
"Joost Jansen graduated as a product designer from the Design Academy Eindhoven where he focused on the human body and its surroundings. He was then offered a teaching position at the school where he worked for 4 years.”
"During his studies, Walter Van Beirendonck invited Joost to join his team where he started his professional career and became Walter's First Assistant and Production Manager for 8 years. He then moved to Henrik Vibskov where he worked as a Production and Research Manager for more than a year before deciding to launch his own label.”
"All sweaters are handmade from 100% Irish traditional Donegal wool and have a carefully thought knitted label. Designed stitch by stitch, they take at least 2 weeks to be created. They also come in a specially designed keep-forever Box of Wonders, to store your favorite belongings.”