AMFI - Amsterdam Fashion Institute (English programme)

From an early age, Coco van Haren knew she wanted to do ‘something with fashion’. She grew up in Roermond, but had no intention of staying there. In secondary school, she attended an open day at AMFI. ‘I was a bit nervous, because Amsterdam felt like a big step. But the building, the atmosphere and the way of learning – where you also get a lot of practical experience – immediately appealed to me. I thought: I’ll take this step.’

Graphic design and storytelling

Coco first decided to do Fashion & Media Styling as prior education, after which she was admitted to AMFI. She chose the Fashion & Branding specialisation and immediately felt at home. ‘During the first year, I was able to get a taste of different specialisations, but I always stuck with Branding. There, I was able to combine my love for graphic design and storytelling.’

Coco had already discovered this passion for visual communication during her prior education. ‘Working with collages, mood boards and graphic designs gave me so much energy. That foundation helped me to really shape how I did things at AMFI. I was very much set free and challenged to work independently. That was very nice while also being instructive.’

Learning by doing

In her third year, Coco deliberately chose the Independent Fashion Magazine minor and then the iNDiViDUALS project. ‘While dividing the tasks, a lecturer suggested that my talent lay in maintaining an overview and organising things.’ Thus, I became the Project & Operations brand manager of the team. In retrospect, that was the perfect role: it allowed me to plan, organise and at the same time contribute to the creative process. That combination of graphic design skills and introducing structure has really become my strength.’

Fast switching, tight deadlines and collaboration

Within projects, Coco often automatically took the lead. ‘I like to stay in control of things, and I learned a lot about collaboration during my degree programme,’ she says. ‘I’m reaping the benefits of that to this day. Whether I am facing a tight deadline or collaborating with very different people, I know I can do it.’ At AMFI, Coco learned not only to move quickly and prioritise, but also to develop her own working process. ‘And perhaps most importantly: to put things into perspective.’

A unique final project

For her final project, Coco chose to rebrand and reposition the tennis brand K-Swiss. ‘The idea came from my personal family history: my grandmothers met on the tennis court. I linked that story to the history of K-Swiss. The elaboration took the form of a new line of shoes and a poster campaign. During the process, I accidentally discovered a photo of my grandmothers in an old family album, which showed exactly the same tennis racket I had used as a prop. That made the presentation extra special. The judges were impressed by how personal it was and the thought I’d put into it.’