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‘These Artists Need Us Most’: Dutch Collector Han Nefkens Explains Why He Became a Patron of Fashion and Video Art

Han Nefkens is putting his weight behind Dutch designers Viktor&Rolf, and funding work in the upcoming Manifesta.

Kate Brown, May 25, 2018

Dutch philanthropist and activist Han Nefkens has announced a major donation today of eight pieces of haute couture from the Dutch fashion house Viktor&Rolf. The works will join previous gifts from Nefkens at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. The large gift marks a milestone in an ongoing collaborative relationship between the collector and the Dutch institution, who have been collaborating since 2001, as the museum now solidifies itself as the foremost collection of Viktor&Rolf pieces in Netherlands.

“I think they are a part not only of the Dutch cultural heritage but of the global cultural heritage,” says Nefkens of the designers. “That’s why it’s so important for me that their works remain in a museum to be seen by future generations. They need to be able to see how Victor&Rolf looked at our times.”

The former art collector, who boasts a collection of some 400 to 500 pieces (10 to 15 percent of it fashion), was first introduced to the designers’ work back in 2006 when he saw their Silver Collection—a season that featured fanned-out dresses with details of the garments dipped in silver.

“That was actually the first time that I saw that clothing could be more than just something nice to wear, and that there was an idea behind it,” he says.

When Nefkens learned, to his surprise, about the financial constraints that bind even the most preeminent couture designers when it comes to producing pieces that are essentially noncommercial (and sometimes unwearable), he decided to help finance Viktor&Rolf’s production. The fashion house and Nefkens now work closely together.

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https://news.artnet.com/art-world/viktor-rolf-museum-boijmans-1292405