Amid the competing statements on display at Marc Jacobs's Spring 2017 show in New York last month — wool faux dreadlocks! baby-doll dresses with platform heels! a set inspired by Blade Runner! — there was Julie Verhoeven, fashion illustrator, artist, and perennial design collaborator. Her patchwork prints adorned sweatshirts, jackets, tote bags, and box clutches throughout the collection, adding a dark kind of whimsy to the already pretty whimsical presentation (pills, hearts jammed into toasters, eerily unblinking eyes). Verhoeven, a veteran of previous collaborations with Versace, Louis Vuitton, and Mulberry, is also a prolific artist in her own right — this month, she's staging an installation in the bathrooms of the Frieze London art fair, entitled The Toilet Attendant... Now Wash Your Hands. Here, Verhoeven — known for her eccentric fashion inclinations, which she describes as "budget pantomime" — shares her style essentials, including her favorite London hangs, the vintage pieces she's coveting, and the elements of style she just can't stand.
Age:
47
Describe your style:
Budget pantomine.
Favorite store in London:
Poundlands.
Favorite vintage stores in London:
Retromania , Upper Tachbrook Street, and Beyond Retro, Cheshire Street.
Nighttime look:
More or less same as day, minus bra.
Style icons:
Mathilde Willink, Freddie Mercury.
Best recent discovery:
Rottingdean Bazaar.
Style pet peeve:
Jeans in general, because they say nothing.
Last purchase:
Emma Greenhill swan and caterpillar leather pouch with matching scarf.
Lusting after:
Vintage Marimekko.
Something you always carry in your bag:
Makeup bag.
Travel essential:
Mirror.
Something you would never wear:
Trousers and halter-necks.
Most prized possession in your closet:
I have a Paul Poiret-inspired yellow and black velvet bell coat from Galliano, circa 1990.
Favorite accessory you own:
I have an outsize wooden screw on a chain which I love.
Fashion week go-to:
Peter Jensen presentations.
Something you've loved this season:
Matty Bovan of Fashion East.
Something you can't wait to wear when it gets cold out:
Vintage blue teddy bear fur full-length coat.
Last museum exhibition you loved:
Neo Naturists at Studio Voltaire, London.
Music you're listening to right now:
Fat White Family.
Something you're reading right now:
Nora Ephron, I Feel Bad About My Neck.
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