Virginie de Vinster has ploughed an unusual furrow. She did not go to design school. Neither did she work at the big fashion houses. Her university was Africa, where she worked for 15 years. She learned during her travels through the Sahel, Ivory Coast, Benin, Togo and Ghana.
In Africa, Virginie started to observe weavers and dyers. She wandered through the markets and browsed the stalls filled with multicoloured traditional African cloth. She was always amazed by the incredible creativity of the craftsmen and by the urban cultures of West Africa... While travelling through the bush, she experienced high levels of community spirit and a slower pace of life. She also learnt about the power of symbols, conviviality and a different set of values. After leaving Africa, Virginie travelled to India and South-East Asia, Peru and the Andes; there, she observed other crafts, other customs and other people.
These experiences in different parts of the world inspired Virginie to love and support these people who have now become her friends. She wanted to bring them together through their artistic talent. Her skill is to create wonderful combinations of styles and materials and to weave together different cultures through the most simple and natural of objects: clothing. Designed following the completion of a trip, each of her clothing collections is an adventure.
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