Après nous, le déluge
2023
“Après nous, le déluge”: A sentence I have heard my grandmother say for as long as I can remember
Although she always insisted it was not a decent expression, it reflects a mentality that can still be recognised within much of Western society and the way we relate to the planet. Originally a French phrase attributed to Madame de Pompadour during the disastrous Battle of Rossbach, it has been interpreted in multiple ways, such as “after me, the flood may come.”
Beyond this expression, my 92-year-old grandmother has been a continuous source of inspiration throughout my life. As age confined her mostly to her home, only close family members witnessed her remarkable sense of extravagance and rituals. Every morning, the process of preparing herself took hours. Even when ill, she refused to stay in bed, convinced that “most people die in their beds.” What drove her to keep up appearances? Her resilience, discipline, and dedication became the starting point for this collection.
It kept me wondering: what drives humanity to maintain appearance? The collection explores the psychological influence of social status within Western culture and how this is expressed within my own surroundings. The abundance of contrasts within our values and the irony of their expressions became central themes throughout the work.
Fashion film & campaign
A short fashion film and campaign created around the world of Après nous le déluge, filmed in my grandmother’s home, a sacred place for me, where the entire idea for the collection first emerged. It was the place where I continuously witnessed her rituals, discipline and everyday extravagance, which became the starting point of the work. Through film and image, these habits and routines were reinterpreted into a personal visual narrative.
Created together with young creatives and close family, the project captured the emotional world, contrasts, and social themes surrounding the collection.
Directed by
Daan Kamphorst, Yana Engelbrecht
Photography
Eva Welten, Daan Kamphorst
The collection
Through research and abstract conceptual drawings, innovative shapes and experimental silhouettes emerged as the foundation of the collection. These sculptural forms became the core of the work and were translated into silhouette and print. The collection is created almost entirely from waste and discarded materials, transformed through upcycling into garments that question value, consumption, and perception.
