Meet Anouk Wipprecht | FashionTech Designer / Engineer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Anouk Wipprecht and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anouk, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I wanted more freedom and the possibility to work on a broad range of projects, freelancing gives me the possibility to work with a diverse orbit of clients while working on themes like fashion, technology, interaction design, product, entertainment, automotive, and even aerospace and space tourism. It’s really fun – as every month / week you are doing something different!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a FashionTech Designer and moved to Miami two years ago. I create Wearable Robotics, Electronics, and sensoric garments that take sensor data from the body or the surroundings, and then react to that. My designs can react to your heartbeat, your brainsignals, people getting to close in your personal space like my robotic Spider Dress , but also environmental data or even data from space: meteor observation data for example. My designs have little electronic elements in them like little motors for movement, lights for luminescence, sound to hear, fragrance to smell, and even serve you little cocktails – like my robotic Cocktail Dress that I created for Cirque Du Soleil. Through these projects, prototypes and case studies I work together with brands and companies like Intel, Swarovski, Disney, Audi, Ubisoft, Autodesk, and many more. It is really fun as everyday there is another fun and exciting project on your desk. It is a very niche-field, but there is a lot of interest in it, since of my specialization. I do this professionally for about 18 years now.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
ARCHITECTURE! Miami is full with it. Wynwood is a creat place for culture, fashion, art and streetarts, and above all – it’s always a great place to meet people and brands as there is always something going on. Furthermore – Miami Design District, and the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science are all amazing places. Or go see if there is something going on in The New World Center designed by Frank Gehry. A little bit outside of Miami are the Vizcaya Museum & Gardens which are worth a visit too. My favorite building in Miami is designed by Zaha Hadid (One Thousand Museum) – amazing female architect that sadly passed away a few years ago, but her legacy lives on through her studio. You will see it while driving around Miami.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
To keep the Miami-vibes: I am from Dutch origin and want to give a big shout-out to the Netherlands consulate general in Miami: Ruth Emmerink and her team. As they are always super keen to make and upkeep relationships between Miami, the Netherlands, and who-ever they can help. When there is a Dutch artists or designer comes through Miami, they know about it. When someone with Dutch roots wants to start a company in Miami – they are there for them. When Miami is trying to deal with water-rise issues in the cities – they deploy their experience. When Art Miami is happening – they are part of it featuring Dutch Design. It’s great to have that kind of representation of Dutch culture in Miami. Makes me feel at home, while far away!

Website: http://www.anoukwipprecht.nl/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anoukwipprecht/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anouk-wipprecht-551b75123/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/anoukwipprecht

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anouk.wipprecht/

Other: https://vimeo.com/anoukwipprecht

Image Credits
SpiderDress – Jason Perry, Viktoria Modesta – Anouk Wipprecht, DrinkbotDress – Allan Amato, Smoke Dress – Criss Gomez,  Meteor Dress – Jeff Cacossa