"Shoes tell stories, even if they are broken."

Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you found your way into the world of sneaker design and material research?

"I started with fashion at a young age. When I was fourteen, I began a vocational fashion program (BSO) in Belgium. Until I was nineteen, I was pretty much always behind a sewing machine: drawing patterns, attending evening classes, really the practical work. Then I started working as a maker in a studio for two years, but I wanted to develop more conceptually. That's why I went to the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam."

"At the academy, I realized I was strong on the technical side, but I struggled more with purely conceptual thinking. Still, I found my direction when I started diving into sportswear, something I’d always had a soft spot for. Through sportswear, I naturally found my way to sneakers. I literally began taking sneakers apart because I wanted to understand how they were constructed. That was the beginning of everything. During the pandemic, I got the chance to work with a shoemaker in Amsterdam as part of my graduation project, and that really became a turning point for me."

Is there a part of the sneaker that fascinates you the most?

"I’m strongest in the upper, the top part of the shoe, because I’m skilled at stitching. That’s really where I feel most at home. But I’m also deeply fascinated by soles. I recently took a 3D course to gain more insight into sole design. The tricky part is: a sneaker has to feel good to walk in and be technically sound. That makes designing them complex, but that’s exactly what makes it so interesting."

In your project Valorun, you showcase old sneakers and the stories behind them. Why is that important to you?

"I’ve always been fascinated by the value of products, not just economic value, but emotional value too. In the past, people often had just one pair of shoes that they truly cherished. Those shoes carried memories."

"For Valorun, I asked people to fill out a questionnaire about their old sneakers: where they had been, why they were thrown out, what the most beautiful or intense memory was tied to them. I received stories about travel, festivals, but also about home life and even grief. I found that incredibly powerful. What I did was use parts of those sneakers to create new shoes, designs that visually and conceptually reflected those stories. These days, I upcycle more from a formal and technical perspective, but that emotional layer is still a vital foundation."

You’ve said yourself: this isn’t just upcycling, it’s something else. What do you mean by that?

"I prefer not to call it traditional upcycling. For me, it’s not just about making something “new” out of something old, it’s about making something better. That requires technical knowledge and true craftsmanship. I want to honor and elevate the value of the original material."

"I’m looking for ways to rethink materials, to redesign them. I do that now on clothing through techniques like pleating, but also through new forms of assembly. My technical background plays a huge role in that. I believe upcycling only remains relevant if the end product is truly high-quality and sustainable."

What do you hope to do or explore during your time at MAD, from guest designer to Incubator resident?

"I tend to work on a lot of things at once, so from the outside, it’s sometimes unclear what exactly I do. I want to use my time at MAD to communicate the vision of Studio Wolfs more clearly, not just as an individual designer, but as a studio open to collaboration."

"I noticed that I missed the fashion sector in Brussels, which led me to take a break. Now I feel I can really build something here, through MAD Brussels. Very little is happening in the footwear field, and it seems nice to set something in motion there. I'd like to bring more back to this city."

What new or upcoming projects are you working on? What can we look forward to?

"I’m about to launch a project focused on women and sports, something I’ve been working on for over a year and a half. It stems from my interest in sportswear, but approaches it with a critical lens, especially looking at what isn't available for women. Often there’s just one standard kind of sports uniform, and I wanted to question that. For the project, I did research into the history of women and sportswear."

"In September, the project will be exhibited in collaboration with Yana Van Nuffel. The expo will feature visuals, videos and the capsule collection itself, for which I developed the fabrics and designed and created the collection. We also collaborated with famous athletes from Brussels, so I'm super curious to see how the public will react to it."