Tell us what you’d like us to know about yourself:
Ohh, that’s a tricky one! I come from a generation that is not like the kids today who share everything on social media; I am much more used to keeping personal things to myself. However, I guess there are some things I’d like you to know about myself:
I am called Kathleen (most people call me Kath), I am Dutch, married, 48 years old, and I have 3 children, 16, 14, and 10 years. Due to my father’s job, we lived abroad when I was young, and I spent some of my most crucial teenage years living in France near Paris. I loved every minute of it, and moving to Amsterdam to start University was, in the beginning, not easy but eventually probably the best choice.
Still, after more than 28 happy years in Holland, I long for France. U may say I am a dreamer. The inside and the outside world have always been two of my main fields of interest: my inside world can be very intense and turbulent and take- at times- almost everything over. I guess that is why I love Fashion‘s “superficiality” and positivity; composing a row of beautiful seasonal colors can make me intensely happy. Creating a mood board with the right summer vibe will make me feel the sun’s heat even if we are in mid-winter. Almost as if it were a meditation. Fashion reflects how we live and what’s happening in the world today, and I love it.
Women starting to wear men’s stuff, gender fluidity, it’s all “Dans l’air du temps” in the mood of our time. There is a constant movement; nothing stands still; Fashion is about ideas, colors, concepts, and art. Clothes allow you to express yourself, they influence your mood, and they can empower you. I love Fashion; it has, with my Calvinistic background, sadly, almost taken me a lifetime to admit it.
What can you tell us about your career and ambitions?
Work has always come in a somewhat organic way. At 24 ( I was studying Spanish), I needed money and took a job, thinking it would be for a month or so. Instead, I stayed 23 years. The company (Tommy Hilfiger) had just started (1997), and the energy was addictive, almost dazzling.
In January 2020, I stopped working at Tommy Hilfiger; I could no longer see myself working there. There was a need to do something good. The urge to contribute becomes more significant when you age; I wanted to be proud again, be a good example, and do good. Then came Covid, which made it even more clear that we cannot continue with overconsumption and need to change our behavior. We should all Re-Use, Re-invent, and Recycle.
The idea came to give the same love and attention to second-hand clothes as you would do when you built a brand new collection. I am doing the same job as I used to at Tommy but now with vintage products. Starting with a mood, then a color card, a silhouette, pattern, details, etc., and selecting your vintage pieces from there on. Women (and men) my age have less time and energy to go thrifting than young people; they are willing to buy beautiful second-hand. They are often eager to be sustainable but are short in time or do not know how to combine.
By offering them a mixture of branded and non-branded vintage at a not too high-end price, I hope to seduce them into buying second-hand.
If I dream big, Kath-a-Porter has a Unisex main line and a Kid line. We do a monthly shoot with a renowned photographer and work with vintage platforms. We make an inspirational style out pages and are trend-driven. The government reduces the VAT on vintage clothes. It encourages everyone who works with the circular product instead of encouraging people to make new stuff. Unfortunately, the profit on new products is still so much more extensive.
What Keeps You Up At Night?
Many things can keep me up at night. I find it difficult to see things in perspective and be rational, so at night, when everybody sleeps, and I am alone with my thoughts, everything can get big and bigger. I also dislike going to bed; I am a worrier.
What’s your fantasy version of your 80-year-old self?
We live half-time in France, romantic house, pool, a lot of grandchildren that absolutely adore me, love, energy, time, and money. I read books and make fabulous drawings (and I flirt with the postman).
Most fervent wish for the second half of this year?
Get some financial aid with my business. I am so not a numerical person.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My most recent achievement is that I have stepped out of my corporate comfort zone, followed my heart, and created my own business. My most outstanding achievements are my 3 children and my husband, thanks to them, I am rooted, free, and able to blossom.
What’s the worst part of getting older for you?
There is this sentence from French poet Baudelaire that says, “le temps mange la vie,” with means “Time eats up life.” To me, that’s the worst part; you cannot stop time; it keeps eating (like a pace-man), even when you sleep. Time is actually the most precious gift we have.
In terms of physical appearance, I complain, but I do not suffer. My golden rule is that I do not want to become Sean Connery, as in short hair and looking like my husband (that’s the joke, right? All men grow old looking like Sean Connery but so do their wives.) I want to grow old like a French lady with elegant, mid-length hair, slim, a 501, a white blouse, and some lipstick.
Then there is a technical aspect of getting old that I find challenging to assume: social media. I did not grow up with it and find it challenging to keep up with the speed at which it develops. My fear would be in hospice later that. Everybody communicates only with avatars, and I keep thinking it’s my granddaughter. This is just an example, but you get what I am saying.
What’s the best part?
Aha, the good part is the mind. So, the body starts missing out a bit, but the mind is definitely blowing. Omg, it is so much better than it used to be. It is still my mind -so often complicated,-exciting, and exhausting at times, but it feels as if that mind has been set free. Looking at another 40(?) years with this mind feels definitely more liberating and exciting than reliving the first 40 years with a splendid young body but a captive mind
Motherhood, you have three children; what did you learn from motherhood?
Motherhood is like a new dimension. Before it, you were flatly looking at the world, and suddenly, you realize it’s more of a 3-D model. I learned to be less greedy; children are never yours, u give birth and love, and they walk a little next to you, but they have their own lives; you do not own them.
If I think about it, motherhood has made me feel more substantial (they are my clan) and more vulnerable ( I can only be happy if they all go well). It has – at times- imprisoned me, but in the end, it has liberated me.
I wanted them so desperately; now they are here, healthy, beautiful, strong, their own beautiful creatures.
I am proud.
Funny enough, motherhood has also taught me that I want more out of life than being a mum; I have a drive; I want to go somewhere, spread my wings, and fly
What’s your age, and how old do you feel?
I am 48, turning 49 in November, and I think I feel 16, but I guess that’s very young? So I say 28, but that’s really the maximum. I realize I am old because I have my picture taken frequently, but if you ask me how I feel, it’s very young, most certainly not 48.
You find Kath and her shop at: www.kathaporter.com
Kath provided her own all vintage outfit.
Studio stylist Dayenne Bekker.
Hair and Makeup Ellen van Berkel.
