She’s not even graduated but that’s not holding Indiana Roma Voss back for already making a name as a stylist in the Dutch fashion industry. Following the first footsteps of her mom as a stylist, she’s now turning left to make her own dream come true. In 2016 she won the Dutch Elle Style award, and now her name is seen in the credits of many fashion editorials. Besides styling, Voss owns the Amsterdam night scene with her crew of performers called Nightclub Disaster and she’s fighting for the rights of women as a feminist. We are curious to know more about this ambitious woman, so we invited her for a chat with us.
Can you give us a short introduction about who Indiana Roma Voss is?
My name is Indiana Roma Voss, I was born in New York City and raised in Amsterdam. I work as a stylist, concept developer and art director, and I also run a nightclub performance group called Nightclub Disaster, together with my partner Dennis Schreuder. I am a student at Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam, currently in the final year of my bachelor.
At what age did you start becoming fascinated with fashion?
I have been picky about what I wore and how I expressed myself with fashion ever since I can remember. I was raised by my mother, who was a brilliant visionary fashion stylist. She never looked like any of the other moms and used clothing as a tool for expression, so I suppose that rubbed off on me at a very early age.
Could we say that, in a way, she was the one who inspired you to become a fashion stylist?
My mom inspired me to believe in myself and instilled in me the belief that I could become anything I wanted to. In a way, fashion and styling have always been a part of my life because I was raised with them so I am sure there is some sort of connection there. But I believe that me becoming a stylist has to do with who I am and what I love more than with the fact that it is something that my mother did before me. The only advice my mother ever gave me about becoming a stylist was not to become one (laughs). I think she didn’t want me to follow her footsteps because she knew first hand that as a stylist you usually receive the least amount of recognition for one of the more laborious jobs whether it’s for print, runway, TV or film (which, as any creative can tell you, is frustrating.)
How did you prepare for a career in styling?
I started assisting my mother at fifteen and started doing my own shoots with girlfriends around sixteen. I decided to go to art school because I wanted to be more than just another fashion stylist. Break the proverbial mold of the superficiality of the industry, I suppose.
Who is the most inspiring person in the fashion industry today and why?
There are a few that inspire me. It may be a cliché but I truly love Iris Apfel, she is just such an original figure. And of course the queen herself, Vivienne Westwood (as a punk at heart, I can’t not love Westwood). Then there are inspirations from a younger generation like Demna Gvasalia, currently creative director at Balenciaga and head designer at Vétements. His vision for the future of fashion is a vision I could get along with!
What does styling mean for you? What do you want to express through fashion?
I want to give my fantasy and creativity shape and at the moment styling is my medium. Styling is a tool of expression everyone uses, even the people who say they don’t care about how they look or what they wear – all are expressing something through their clothing. This is something that has always fascinated me to the point that it has grown to be more than a personal expression; it has become a tool of communication and a recreation of my vision and fantasy, a way to tell a story. For now, fashion is my greatest tool but I do not like to limit myself to this discipline only.
How would you describe your personal style? Is there a statement you want to make with the way you dress?
I tend not to be affected too much by trends and I like to dress originally and to my own liking, whether the rest of the world thinks I look like a lunatic or not. Dressing the way you want takes confidence and guts, lord knows people like to make fun of that which they don’t know or understand. I suppose that this is my consistent statement, and if I have a more specific message I want to send out, I will write it on my sweaters or on the back of my leather jacket like I did when I wrote ‘feminist’ across my back.
You won the Dutch Elle stylist award in 2016. What was the philosophy behind your work?
With the Elle Styling Award 2016, each of the four nominees needed to create an original concept to fill in their show. My core concept stemmed from the dark and seedy underground techno and punk scene, so I wanted to respect the philosophy of these two subcultures whilst twisting it into my personal interpretation. I suppose that working conceptually from a vast knowledge of culture/subculture is my style as creative.
What exciting projects are you working on now? Where will we see your name in the near future?
There are various projects I am working on at the moment. One that I’m excited for is a collaboration series in which photographer Lois Cohen and I have been working on for over a year (and is nearly finished and ready to be sent out into the world). Also, I just finished famous Dutch singer Roxeanne Hazes’s album cover and video, which was a nod to Dolly Parton in the 1970s. And then I am off to New York City to work on a series of shoots for which I’m most excited about: one, because of the theme of the shoot; the other, because I’m able to return to my birthplace (a city I love while doing something I love).
Besides your career as a stylist you also have your own company, called Nightclub Disaster. Can you tell us more about it?
The fashion designer genius Dennis Schreuder – who also happens to be my best friend – and I started the Nightclub Disaster two years ago as a way to have fun and express ourselves in ways that society wouldn’t usually allow. Now, we have grown to a family of sixteen performers. We are known as the club kids of Amsterdam and are booked to perform in clubs such as the SupperClub and the NYX. This summer we will also be seen getting crazy on various festival stages through out the Netherlands. The Nightclub Disaster is all about inclusivity, celebrating life, and insanity. Shaking up the club scene and getting people out of their comfort zone is what we do best.
What impact would you like to generate with it?
We hope a new wave of Amsterdam club kids will follow us, creating a nightlife scene in our city that we sorely miss at the moment. A nightlife where you are free to express what you can’t during the day, be free and be a freak, and have no one judging you or holding you back!
If your name was in the news headline what would it say?
In 2032: Indiana Roma Voss, third female in history to be elected as President of the United States!
