Photo Ilja Bouwknegt You see the most fabulous-looking people and the coolest outfits around the Wageningen campus. In this feature, we shine the spotlight on them. This time, Maxime Brandt (24, on the left) and Judith Su (26), Master’s students of Resilient Farming and Food Systems.
Maxime: ‘My favourite colours to wear are red, purple and blue, and Judith’s are green and orange. I’ve been knitting quite a lot over the past couple of years. I made these gloves and this scarf, and under my coat I’m wearing a knitted bolero.’
Judith: ‘Max can make literally everything herself. I haven’t been knitting very long, but I’ve made the same gloves and scarf. I come from Amsterdam, where people are very preoccupied with what they look like. I’m not all that interested in that, but through the knitting it’s happening a bit – you always get a unique item of clothing. And you see how yarn is transformed into something you can wear.’
Maxime: ‘When I was very young, I once said: “When I grow up I want to be a Dutch knitter in New York”. Now I’m a half-Dutch knitter in Wageningen, so that’s nice. It takes a long time to knit something, and it makes you realize how much effort goes into every garment. An advantage is that if you get a hole in it, you can just darn it.’
Judith: ‘We both place a lot of importance on durability, functionality and style. And I think it’s lovely to put so much effort into something. And then to give it away, too.’
Maxime: ‘To some extent our friendship developed as we knitted together. It’s a real conversation starter.’
