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How a NATO summit got me sucked in and thought me something

Watching the recap of the concluding second NATO day in The Hague, I couldn’t help but feel enthralled by the spectacle of it. World leaders physically coming together, all with a certain cache, making decisions which will shape the world of tomorrow on topics that are of international significance – it’s a theater show that is hard to look away from, even for someone who doesn’t regularly like to be engrossed in the news cycle at all. It’s particularly interesting to see how the former Dutch prime minister, now NATO secretary general Mark Rutte presents itself, in stark contrast to the current Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof. And then the Beast as they call him; Donald Trump, whose second term as president of the US is developing quite differently to its first it seems. Where his first term was more about being a frontier and fighting the establishment, now it seems he is developing more as a leader of his newly formed establishment – he seems more likable and universally political. But this is where I’m also confronted with the horror of the whole spectacle, as the confidence of Trump is also a sign of dictatorial quality that is developing within him and his regime.

I don’t like to get sucked into the new cycle because it’s based on entertainment en awe, more than information and education. Most things that are covered in the news don’t have direct influence on my day to day life and life decisions, and they therefor feel only distracting to that which matters most to me; my family, health and creative pursuits. When being distracted by the news, you are being entertained with thoughts of a world that is colliding and collapsing all the time; negativity is the main protagonists. Change and growth happens by being aspirational to a future that can be better and improved. For that you do need problems to solve and issues to deal with, but you mostly need a positive and change mindset, which can’t be fueled with doomsday thinking.

The NATO top was an amalgamation of these thoughts coming together for me; the scale of the theater was so huge that by being entertained I could see more clearly the thoughts I have had lingering in my mind for a while.

I’m interested in developing a brand that can talk about world issues in an inspiring and positive way. Today has brought me this HMW (How Might We) question; How might we use tactics of political leaders and news cycles to take part in – and form a conversation about – restorative change and inspirational development around the world?

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Different profitability mindsets

No sales-discounts

Good products deserve reasonable pricing. This works two ways; neither should a product be overpriced to create a false perception of value and quality, nor should a product be underpriced to encourage impulse buying and the idea of a good deal. A good product has a price that is linked to its production process and quality manufacturing. These days brands either work with economies of scale (Primark) or economies of exclusivity (Dior) to determine their pricing. When something seems too cheap or expensive to be realistic and fair, it probably is. Sales-discounts play a part in this too. When a product can still be sold for a significantly reduced price without a loss, it means the consumer has been fooled with the original product sales-price.

[BRAND NAME] wants to offer products that are priced fairly to sustain a good product quality and a reasonable and publicly communicated growth percentage (revenue). This means products shall be priced accordingly, and any devaluation in pricing won’t be possible nor necessary.

No out of stock items

Sales-drops and limited edition products have become a mainstay within the global (fashion)economy. They are a sales tactic with revenue as the prime incentive, not creativity. Why else would a great product design only be offered to a limited amount of people. This sales-tactic is used mostly to lure customers to a baseline product offering by creating the perception of scarcity and belonging. The scarcity is false, as it’s entirely within a brand’s power to make as many items of any product as they wish. The sense of belonging is created by making people think they are part of a select group of people that are “in-the-know” or these special editions/drops. Even if they couldn’t actually make a purchase of said item, by buying any other mainline product they feel connected to this urge they have to belong to the in-crowd.

[BRAND NAME] wants to offer products fairly and indefinitely based on people’s desire to purchase, through either pre-order listings, item inventory or archive reproductions. A product might be produced and launched in a specific quantity at first. Afterwards it might immediately be reproduced based on consumer demand or placed into a product archive from where re-runs and reproductions can be requested by prospect buyers (in active communication with the brand).

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Donut economy

The original TED talk in which Kate Raworth proposes a new perspective on growth – not forever growth, but regenerative and distributive.

“But as well as being regenerative by design, our economies must be distributive by design […] focus on thriving and balance within the social and the ecological boundaries of the doughnut.”

by Kate Raworth

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Business model v1

Ideas to be more fully formed and formulated:

Direct to consumer. Describe what that means for this brand and for me. Make a diagram in which you can see how currently my income is fully made up of my paid job, and my brand is secondary to that. This means that time spent on the brand is limited but income from it also will be, so product costs can stay relatively low as they mainly need to support production instead of generating a living wage. A projected diagram can show how shifting the time spend and income earned through each channel can affect creative output and pricing, although it doesn’t necessarily have to mean products get more expensive. Maybe it’s more about the profit being used to support different things (at first it’s about stimulating growth and R&D, and once that has been achieved, income can and will support wages).

Think about a business model of funding, where a product will be released/produced once there has been enough backing in place. This can be done with time limits in place; if not reached before so-and-so the fund will be refunded.

Describe why these models are important to the brand’s ethos; forever growth is hurting the planet, our quality of life and our pockets too. There are different ways to undertake a business endeavour and this is one of them. Production in itself doesn’t have to be the problem, over production at the wrong cost can.

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The What, How & Why

The original TED talk in which Simon explains the basic principles of the What, How, Why with some brand examples.

Simon Sinek’s why as described on his website: We are here to inspire people to do the things that inspire them so that, together, each of us can change our world for the better. Why = what is your purpose or cause or believe

Those are the 3 steps on how to sell a product en why a product can be successful or not. […] The Why is about why you begin with selling products and what therein is the end-goal.

Said by Olaf Hussein (said in Dutch) in the Neyenrode Podcast

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Lessons from our holiday

Our trip to Australia via Singapore has been incredible relaxing and we made so many beautiful memories as a family. During the past six weeks we have not had to worry about many things other then when we would go for a swim, where we would go to explore and what we would eat. It has been amazing to spend so much time together with the three of us and to spend so much time with Mathilde together. She has grown so much during this trip and has had so many experiences, it’s amazing to have been able to enable her in that way through this trip. And as husband and wife/father and mother, we have been able to focus on the things that are most important to us as a family; each other.

Now being back home after arriving early in a dreary and wet country, coming from sunnier and warmer parts of the world, it’s hard to stay positive and keep that warm and happy feeling we have had all throughout our holiday. After having had a good nights sleep and being together in our own quite and peaceful home again, and by talking about our feelings and experiences of the holiday and return home we start to feel a little better again. We won’t be able to have the sunshine all year round, or the warmt either, while we live in NL. But we will be able to have other things that are unique and special to our life here.

This trip has thought us some important lessons as well about where we want to go in life as a family and what we can do to get there. About how we can make our time in NL be great and what we want to prepare for for life in AUS. Before our trip we were getting bogged down by all the improvements we could and maybe would make to our current house. We treated this house as if it’s would maybe be our forever home, and were thinking of many ways to spend lots of money towards that. However, that was not our intention with buying this house or even by moving to NL. This holiday has been a reality check in that regard and we are happy about that.

There are a few things that we do want to do now we are back, and they are mostly all based on these lessons we learned from our trip. They are roughly the following things listed:

  • Make our house and its rooms more gezellig:
    • Printing photos of our trip will keep our memories alive and will give a warmer feeling to the house. Other artworks or objects can also help towards this.
    • Soft furnishings will help to warm up the house and make it feel more cozy. Think about curtains, rugs, lamps, furnishings like a chest in the bedroom or a bookshelf in Mathilde’s room.
    • Plants will also help with this. Our time in Singapore has been very inspiring in this regard (for interior and exterior planting). Tropical plants that can do well in our climate and evergreen plants in particular are good to look into. But also orchids are something I want to get for our house.
    • Spend money on things that will last us, and be critical on the money spend on the house itself:
      • Don’t try to redo everything in this house. Work with what you got and improve where possible/necessary in a way that is economical and practical.
      • Focus on the living areas and make those work, don’t focus too much on the areas of use (garage, cellar).
      • Improve on the garden but don’t do an overhaul.
      • Don’t start with redoing work that has been done already. Even if your not 100% happy with the result, first focus on areas that haven’t been touched or finalised yet.
      • Discuss more often the state of our finances and our wishes in saving and spending for the future. Where do we want to go and how will we get there financially.

    Itinerary for reference (2024)

    AMS 10:25 21 Jan (Sun) Amsterdam, Schiphol Intl.
    SIN 05:55 22 Jan (Mon) Singapore, Changi
    SQ 323 Airbus A350-900 – Flying time: 12hrs 30mins

    SIN 21:35 24 Jan (Wed) Singapore, Changi , Terminal 3
    BNE 07:15 25 Jan (Thu) Brisbane, Brisbane Intl , Terminal Intl
    SQ 235 Airbus A350-900 – Flying time: 7hrs 40mins

    BNE 14:45 25 Feb (Sun) Brisbane, Brisbane Intl , Terminal Intl.
    SIN 20:35 25 Feb (Sun) Singapore, Changi
    SQ 236 Airbus A350-900 – Flying time: 7hrs 50mins

    SIN 23:55 28 Feb (Wed) Singapore, Changi , Terminal 3
    AMS 06:45 29 Feb (Thu) Amsterdam, Schiphol Intl
    SQ 324 Airbus A350-900 – Flying time: 13hrs 50mins

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    Unconscious ideation

    In the background I’m slowly working, building on this concept of a clothing brand (and sometimes an online gallery/store). Fleeting thoughts get stored away into a section where they brew until they have formed into a more substantial idea. Soon, I will have to capture some of them, for I can’t risk loosing them. But I have also realised that for me to actually progress towards these concepts of entrepreneurial endeavours, I have to mostly create and action things. It is important to get my thinking straight (and formalised into writing), but it shouldn’t stop me from progressing with intuition. The next steps are therefor not in order, but give a general overview of things to finalise and start semi-simultaneously;

    • Write down core business manifesto/principles
    ‏‏‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ • Ideas for business operations (how things are sold)
    ‏‏‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ • Ideas for brand identity

    • Start designing (print-out inspiration, create mood-board and draw designs)

    • Make outstanding pieces
    ‏‏‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ • Paris sweater
    ‏‏‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ • Mathilde’s pants/overshirt
    ‏‏‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ • London handkerchief
    ‏‏‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ • Shorts (Chinese handloom fabric)

    • Educate myself on clothing making
    ‏‏‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ • Pattern drafting course

    One big change has been that my almost decade long ‘obsession’ and main focus on China as an inspiration and reference point, has made way for other wider arrays of interests and inspirations. This, to be honest, has been a big step in the right direction for my ideas of starting up the clothing brand that I keep envisioning. To be able to have a broader range of inspirations to work from, gives me a wider scope and that is something I needed right now. It is motivating and I’m looking forward to see what I’ll be looking at for inspiration and will come up with in my designs.

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    On how 2020 changed the course of the fashion industry

    Here at Hermès we use an equestrian phrase that seems particularly apt in this day and age: ‘Straight ahead, calm and poised.’ Fashion maintains a strange relationship with time: it consumes it. Yesterday tends to be devalued in favour of novelty, supposedly the only carrier of the future, but modernising does not mean throwing away the time that came before. We can’t erase the past. The frantic and superficial aspect of fashion is not helpful and doesn’t interest me. We should focus on creation first. I am optimistic: we are all artisans of innovation!

    Véronique Nichanian of Hermès, in Fantastic Man No.32 (F/W 2020/21)

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    Change in fashion

    Fashion brings joy, inspiration and beauty to many, but increasingly it seems like an unmanageable beast stuck in a rigid and unsustainable set of parameters that is has constructed around itself as it tries to plough ahead in the distracting and pleasurable business of producing new and desirable garments.

    Issue No. 32 (FW20/21) of Fantastic Man