Success Stories

Tom van der Borght

Tom van der Borght is a multidisciplinary artist with a focus on fashion, artistic research and performance. He started studying at the Toneelacademie Maastricht after he graduated from Stedelijke Academie Voor Schone Kunsten Sint Niklaas (SASK) in 2012. Tom has been working professionally since 2013, with a daily variety that consists of doing research, pattern making, surface design and handwork. He would love to broaden his skills to some other fields like photography, video making, and 3D modeling - he describes himself as a ‘d.i.y. person’; “I think current times mainly trigger me to learn new things in order to become ultra self-sufficient as a designer and an artist.”

A piece created by Tom is instantly recognizable by the use of diverse vibrant colours, layered materials and bricolage with a queer identity. He participated in FASHIONCLASH Festival in 2013,2014 and 2019 and in 2019 he was the winner of the FASHIONCLASH Festival Award. One of the highlights in Tom’s career so far is being selected as one of the finalists for the 35th edition of the prestigious Festival de Mode de Hyères - that due to COVID-19 restrictions is postponed until October 2020.

“I always found FASHIONCLASH a platform where freedom of expression, creativity and ‘unique ways of thinking’ are given. (…) It gave me a lot of visibility and it really worked as a launching board to other steps in my career. The fact that it is based in Maastricht, Limburg, the region that I'm from myself, gives it an extra special place in my heart.”