#012 — Suza Vos

Hi Suza! I’m excited to talk to you about fashion, digital fashion and sustainability in design. But before we get to all of that, could you introduce yourself? 

‍Hey, I’m excited to talk to you! Thank you for the invitation—I really appreciate Blauw Films’ collaborative approach. My name is Suza Vos, and I’m fascinated by how society is gradually evolving into a digital realm. I find it intriguing how we experiment with different personas, identities, worlds, and communities online.

As a digital fashion artist and lecturer within this space, sustainability has always been a key focus for me—it was even one of the main reasons I got into digital design in the first place.

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You come from a physical fashion design background, and over the years decided to transition into digital design. I’m interested if your former creative experiences in physical design play a role in your current design process?

I went to tailoring school, where I learned pattern drafting by hand. We used to have classes where we drafted at a ¼ scale using a special measuring tape called the ‘meter maatje’ (measure buddy). After finishing the pattern, you’d cut it out and fold it—almost like origami. I was obsessed with it.

When I transitioned to digital design, I brought all that knowledge with me, and my skills advanced rapidly. Even tho I loved physical pattern construction, Digital design, in my opinion, is not only more efficient but also easier and quicker to learn.

I love creating pieces in 3D that push beyond realism, but I still incorporate the ‘rules’ of the physical world—like pattern drafting, specific stitches, or the tactile qualities of fabrics. For me, this approach creates a fascinating tension and invites questions about what’s real and what’s not.

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I know that learning about sustainability in the fashion industry has been a huge part of your artistic journey. Could you talk about how and why sustainability informs your art?

I prefer to call it ethical art or design rather than sustainable art. Sustainability is such a complicated word, often focused on energy and resources. It’s become so political. We should also be talking about humans, behavior, and awareness in these discussions.

In my second year of fashion school, I watched The True Cost. Before that, I was the kind of person who’d say, “At least they have work.” The documentary shocked me so much that I wanted to quit fashion altogether. But I realized that real change only comes from within. So, I started experimenting—growing fabrics from kombucha, dyeing with natural pigments, volunteering at second-hand clothing collection centers, and making my final school collection entirely from deadstock. I was on a mission to change the world.

When digital design entered my life, I thought, This is it! Now no one ever has to waste materials again. I began prototyping for companies to help them reduce their samples. A couple of years later, I read reports claiming they could go from design to shelf much faster. But that wasn’t my intention at all.

That’s when I realized—change isn’t something we should want for others; it’s something we should want for ourselves. To do what we love most. That’s how we emit light and share love and passion. For me, that’s the deepest form of ‘sustainability’.

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When looking at the projects on your website, I can see how you like to utilize and play with everything that digital fashion has to offer. What are currently your favorite things/ideas to explore with digital fashion?

I’m a curious person, and I love to explore and experiment. Lately, my favorite ideas in digital design revolve around playing with light or unconventional materials. For example, I created a design inspired by ctenophores, also known as comb jellies. They’re some of the earliest life forms, with fascinating shapes, structures, and vibrant colors. Digital allows me to emit fabrics, and loop certain movements. 

But also ideas of concepts of sports combined with fashion intrigue me. I think the way and place I grew up influenced that big time. I am from an industrial city where subcultures played a big role. Now with having a digital identity extension, I love to push those boundaries. 

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How important are the tools you work with for your practice? Are you always looking for the latest equipment or software?

A lot of people assume I’ve always been a tech geek, but that’s not true. I’ve just always been around tech—mainly because of my brother, who’s an engineer.

When we were kids, he bought one of the first 3D printers, built a robot, and created his own games. Later, while studying, he built a hydraulic car with his school team. He would tell me about spaceships, lab-grown meat, and all kinds of futuristic ideas. That inspired me.

I love hearing, reading, and watching things about software, cutting-edge equipment, and innovation. For the last few years I’ve mastered my main softwares which are CLO3D, Blender and Substance. But I like to approach them with a beginner mindset, so I like to explore new softwares and tools to shape my workflow. I like to be surprised and experiment..

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Digital design within fashion context is a relatively new practice. Creators like yourself, who are at the forefront of innovation, have seen the artform grow from its infancy to…. what it is now. From your perspective, at what stage is Digital Fashion now? How far have we come, and what is on the horizon?

It depends on how you view digital fashion. For me, fashion is culture. Since the ‘90s, we’ve become increasingly digital, and as a ‘90s baby, I’ve witnessed our society transition from having a dedicated PC room in the house to carrying a computer in our pockets at all times.

People often talk about our identities shifting from physical to digital, but I think that shift has already happened. We have different personas on social media, and we believe they’re real. We seek connections online and genuinely feel connected. A major example of this is gaming and people buying skins. But even that isn’t entirely new.

In my early teenage years, I played The Sims and Habbo Hotel. Back then, you had to go to a physical store like Free Record Shop to buy a card, upload it as calling credit to your mobile phone, and then convert it to coins on Habbo! I’d spend those coins on items for my avatar and my room.

It’s not so different from the real world, or from where we are now with digital fashion. I think the realism and quality of characters and virtual worlds are only continuing to expand.

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So as you gain more experience within the Digital Fashion space, how has your relationship with Digital Fashion evolved?

I see it as a tool, not a solution. Just like a painter uses pencils and paint, I use a PC and software to express my creativity. I am just constantly surprised and learn new things every day. For me the internet and technology are such interesting developments to find information, learn skills, be inspired by other work and seek connections and collaborations.

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Back when you were the Creative Lead Assistant at The Fabricant, you worked on a mix of client and creative work. Within the context of a studio and leading a team, what was your experience like working on client work vs creative projects?

In my experience, when working with clients on digital projects, they often don’t fully grasp the potential of digital design. Most of the time, they aim to recreate real life—whether for practical reasons or presentations. There’s nothing wrong with that; in fact, mimicking real life can be a challenge in itself. It’s also part of convincing people that digital tools can present fashion in new ways that make processes more efficient and durable.

For example, digital prototyping can be incredibly useful for presenting designs to buyers when the collection isn’t ready yet. Or when creating ghost renders for website assets. Producing clean ghost images can be a painstaking process with lots of post-production, whereas in 3D, you can simply hide the avatar and explore the garment from the inside.

But when it comes to creative projects—working with a team that’s free to explore and create together—that’s where the magic happens. Because design doesn’t have to meet specific standards or hit targets. It’s free. And that freedom is often why most designers and artists began their practice in the first place.

Looking back at our most creative work, I feel it’s some of the most exciting and beautiful work we’ve done. Usually, creative work is a solitary process. But when you have a full team on board, you can go beyond anything and everything.

That’s not to say it’s always easy; these collaborations come with their own challenges, like communication and responsibilities. Because, who are we, really, when we are allowed to be free?

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Now that you’re independent, are you working on any personal projects right now? 

I am always working on amazing projects, I feel very blessed with that. Whatever if they are my own or collaborations or clients. They all feel personal to me. There are pieces of Suza there. It's not less than my own project when working together with others- and sometimes they are even more intriguing then my own work. That I am like... wow I didn't even know I was able to create that! For me independence doesn’t mean I am alone. I am surrounded by great artists that influence my work constantly. 

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Professionally, did you know many people in the fashion (or digital fashion) industry before entering this space? How do you approach networking?

No, I didn’t know many people at all when I started. The first time I came across digital fashion was through a friend who worked in the gaming industry and introduced me to Marvelous Designer. Around the same time, I went to Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven and saw the work of The Fabricant. I sat there for a long time, and just knew... This is what I want to do.

So, I searched for them on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and started following them and their talks. I even wrote about it on my LinkedIn, and that’s how I got in touch with the founders.

My approach hasn’t changed much since then. Sometimes I meet people randomly, and I ask questions to see if there’s a way we can collaborate and learn from each other. Or I see interesting projects out there, start following them, learn about them, and see how my skills can contribute.

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I’d love to know what have been some personal highlights for you in your career? And do you have any specific goal or ambitions as of right now?

A few things come to mind. The first are my students. There’s nothing more beautiful than seeing a student get sparked and inspired by the classes I provide, and witnessing their growth as I’m part of that journey.

Another big highlight for me was landing the job I wanted with The Fabricant. It was an amazing opportunity to work with so many big brands early on in my career, and I’m still grateful for that period. 

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As a closing question we like to ask the artists: do you have any good recommendations for the audience? A book to read, habits to pick up, places to visit?

A book that inspires me a lot is Other Shore by Thich Nhat Hanh. Another book I love, more related to tech, is A Cyborg Manifesto by Donna Haraway. Her approach to technology is utopian, suggesting that nature, animals, people, and computers are merging into one. She argues that there’s never really been a difference between them, and that we don’t become cyborgs:

We already are.

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