Bouke ten Broek
Fashion Design Student
Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam

About me:

I create because I am driven by the things I don’t understand. The world often feels chaotic, irrational, and absurd, yet we are expected to navigate it as though it follows a clear logic. I see a world that clings to structure and normality, even when those concepts are unstable or contradictory. My work challenges this by exposing the absurdity beneath the surface of everyday life.

I want to make people pause and question the things they take for granted—whether it's social norms, systems, or even their own perceptions. My goal is not to provide answers but to create spaces for curiosity, introspection, and reevaluation.

I seek to make the intangible visible and to provoke thought through unexpected juxtapositions.

Through my work, I aim to express the strangeness of reality. I want people to feel a sense of discomfort, intrigue, or fascination—something that pulls them out of their usual way of seeing. I work with themes of absurdity and contradiction, using them as tools to disrupt expectations and create new perspectives. I want people to question their assumptions and reconsider the structures they live within.

My design process usually starts by making (digital) collages, they allow me to efficiently create tension and contrast between things we know and deem normal. I use digital tools to form my designs and patterns allowing me to bring them into the real world as efficiently as possible. I place high importance on perfecting my patterns to allow for complex and unusual silhouettes and details.

bouketenbroek@outlook.com
+31 6 14147167

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INDECORUM Collection

Fisherman’s Apron

Embroidery Projects