Hellen van Rees

Hellen van Rees is a fashion and textile designer, researcher and founder of her own design studio, which she set up in 2012. Her work has, amongst other honours, won the Humanity in Fashion Award and been nominated for the LVMH Prize, and has been published internationally.

Hellen works at the intersection of fashion, textile innovation, art and science. In doing so, she combines hands-on experimentation with materials and techniques with research and project-based collaborations. She has worked with partners from the fashion, workwear and healthcare sectors, the media, and knowledge and educational institutions, amongst others. In addition to her design practice, Hellen is also a senior researcher at Saxion and a PhD candidate at the University of Twente. In her PhD research, she focuses on systemic approaches to complex textile innovation. Hellen enjoys bringing together different disciplines and translating research into concrete, innovative solutions.

Hellen van Rees can be commissioned to tackle issues at the intersection of textiles, design, innovation and sustainability. Drawing on her experience as a designer and researcher, she brings together creative, technical and systemic perspectives. She is open to design and research projects, co-creation, innovation projects and strategic consultancy. She also enjoys collaborating with students on their projects to share knowledge and experience.

Hellen’s areas of expertise are primarily:

  • Textile and materials innovation: designing and co-creating new textile applications and products.
  • Design for circularity: designing products, materials and processes with a focus on reuse, recycling, lifespan and minimal material impact.
  • Systemic design: providing clarity on complex innovation challenges and the interdependencies between users, technology, organisations and supply chain partners.
  • Participatory and interdisciplinary working: bringing together a diverse range of stakeholders, such as designers, researchers, businesses, specialists and users.
  • From research to practice: developing concepts, prototypes and experiments, and translating these into concrete innovations.