Scraps in the Canopy
RVDK Ronald Van Der Kemp‘s Fall 2025 couture fashion review
By Mackenzie Richard Zuckerman
Ronald van der Kemp’s latest offering, Wardrobe #22, doesn’t merely step into the rainforest—it unfurls there, leaf by upcycled leaf. The first look appears in deep-green drapery, with birds-of-paradise stitched like secret guardians into the folds, declaring a thesis as clear as birdsong: constraint can be opulent. Every scrap of silk, orphaned bead, and deadstock sequin on this runway once teetered on the edge of oblivion; now they shimmer in a verdant dreamscape, proving that discarded materials can rival—and even outshine—virgin fabric when steered by fearless imagination.
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Wardrobe Ecosystem & Birds-of-Paradise
Wardrobe #22 takes flight from van der Kemp’s belief that birds know no borders. Tree-bark coats sprout from layered chiffon. A Baloo-sized scrap-yarn cardigan ambles down the runway with gentle swagger. Insect-shell tailoring glimmers with a hypnotic sheen. The rainforest theme is ever-present, yet it never veers into costume. House signatures—bold shoulders, cinched waists, razor-sharp cuts—keep the exuberance grounded.
Each textile begins as someone else’s excess: luxury deadstock, refugee-made embroideries, a friend’s bag of scraps. Micro-collaborations with Indigenous Brazilian artisans and UK knitters aren’t decorative gestures—they deepen the story and raise the bar on craft. The result is a collection that feels both instinctive and intentional, spirited yet strikingly coherent.
THE DIRECTION
THE QUOTE
I was starting to lose a little faith in humanity, so it was the perfect moment to look at nature and let it teach us; when you build wardrobes instead of seasons you automatically become more sustainable—people come for something unexpected, something with a soul.
THE WRAP UP
Van der Kemp doesn’t pose the question of whether couture can be sustainable—he’s already answered it with a thriving, couture-only business that sidesteps ready-to-wear entirely and operates with near-zero waste. Wardrobe #22 builds on that foundation, offering a vision that is at once commercially viable, ethically uncompromising, and aesthetically uncompromised. Every look is composed entirely from reclaimed materials: luxury deadstock, salvaged trimmings, and gifted remnants transformed through sheer ingenuity into garments that feel singular, not secondhand.
While many heritage houses revisit icons of the past, van der Kemp shapes a future from what others discard—and his voice is all the more resonant for it. Wardrobe #22 doesn’t treat sustainability as a constraint, but as creative oxygen. The result is a collection that is not only thoughtful and principled, but also—most importantly—strikingly beautiful. It’s proof that circularity and couture can not only coexist, but elevate one another.
