Koos van den Akker (1939-2015) was born in The Hague, the Netherlands, and as a child designed clothing for his sister. He enrolled in the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague at age 15 and studied fashion before beginning his mandatory military service at age 18. During his service he made clothing for officers’ wives and daughters. After his service he moved to Paris, worked for Galeries Lafayette (an upscale department store), and enrolled in L’École Guerre Lavigne. The prestigious school was located in the same building as the Christian Dior workrooms, and van den Akker apprenticed there for a few years in the mid-1960s.
Van den Akker then returned to The Hague and opened a boutique, sleeping in a room in the back, but the store did not succeed. He moved to New York City in 1968, worked as a designer for lingerie manufacturer Eve Stillman, and sewed and sold his own designs on the side. In 1971 he opened a women’s ready-to-wear store on the Upper West Side, and in 1975 he moved his boutique to Madison Avenue.
Two piece ensemble (Object ID #2008.12.04.ab) with patchwork style and bias tape
Source: Mount Mary University Digital Fashion Archive
For van den Akker, fabric was more important than shape, silhouette, or even a precise fit. His garments generally include fabrics in a wide variety of types, colors, and textures mixed together in patchwork style. Bias tape is used extensively to frame different fabrics, and other embellishments like appliqué, quilting, beading, and lace provide additional texture. Van den Akker disregarded some elements of couture, such as an individualized fit, and created some designs that were mass-produced, but the quality of his materials and his work remained extremely high.
His flamboyant, bright, often floral designs were popular with people looking for more idiosyncratic or unique styles. He became famous for bold, collaged sweaters after actor Bill Cosby began wearing them on his long-running sitcom, and numerous other celebrities wore his garments as well.
Van den Akker considered himself a craftsman rather than a fashion designer, and his garments are often called works of art. Unlike some designers, he loved to sew and continued to do so until he physically couldn’t. He died of cancer in 2015.
