Fashion moves fast. Modelijn doesn’t.
Martje started Modelijn as a personal exploration: sewing, upcycling, making things with her hands. But the more she dove into the world of fashion, the more she saw what was going wrong. The industry’s pace, its waste, its disconnection from the people who actually wear the clothes. That realisation didn’t stop her. It gave her a direction.
Modelijn is Martje’s answer to all of that. Text on garments that nudges people to think. Pieces that started as something else and were remade into something worth keeping. And a growing collection of free clothing for anyone who wants it.
Martje doesn’t source from catalogues. She works with what comes her way. Through a network of people in Arnhem who know what she’s doing, donations flow in like fabrics, garments, materials with a second life waiting. What can be transformed, gets transformed. What can be given away freely, gets given away freely. Nothing is forced into a category it doesn’t fit.
Modelijn doesn’t commit to a single aesthetic or a rigid offering. There’s no house style you’ll recognise from a lookbook. The inventory shifts with what arrives, and the work shifts with what’s possible. Martje is honest about this: she doesn’t have a formal fashion education, and she won’t pretend otherwise. She won’t offer repairs as a service just because she has a sewing machine. What she will do is keep making, keep questioning, and keep sharing.
Whether you’re looking for something to wear, something to think about, or just a place that feels different from everywhere else on the high street, Modelijn is worth your time.
