MARCEL WANDERS: ‘I grew up in Boxtel, in
the south of the Netherlands. The middle of
five children, I was a curious kid who loved
making stuff. My parents owned a small
store that sold household goods. Whenever
something broke, I’d take it apart or repair it,
which led to my understanding of the archi-
tecture of things. I was constantly making
presents for people. When I gifted my aunt
with one of my handicrafts, I became the
coolest and sweetest nephew in the world.
I felt that people would love me if I made
things for them. And in the end, that’s what
we’re here for: to feel loved.’‘After finishing high school I wanted a crea-
tive career, but design wasn’t even on the
map. Art seemed too far from reality; I felt
a desire to do something more meaningful
for society. It’s not that art has no meaning,
but that’s what I thought at the time. I loved
plants and looked into landscape architec-
ture. When I visited the school, everyone was
wearing green boots. I’m not going to wear
those all my life, I thought, so there goes that
idea. When you’re 16 you don’t have much to
go on, so my decisions were black and white.
Luckily, I heard about design as an industry –
that it could be a profession.’‘I was the last one accepted to what’s now
Design Academy Eindhoven [DAE] at the
tender age of 17. I’m sure I was a wildcard.
I had no portfolio like the other applicants.
I was just hammering stuff together and
tinkering with my bike. After a year, DAE
kicked me out. Looking back, I find it easy
to understand why. In those days the school
was very strict and Bauhaus orientated. We
had to follow rules to achieve so-called good
results – almost like a technical education
with a creative side. About six months in, I
encountered the Memphis Group. It was a
revelation. I realized design could be more
than a strategy; it could be culture. I knew
design was going to change our world and
that I could be part of the movement. But
my ambitions didn’t fit with DAE’s ideas.’‘I enrolled at the art academy in Maastricht –
the only school that wanted me. After a year
there, I entered a simultaneous industrial-
design course in Hasselt and later attended
ArtEZ University of the Arts in Arnhem. My
education followed a rocky path, but I think
it was good for me to be exposed to so many
different teachers, students and opinions. I
didn’t want an explanation about how things
are; I wanted a lot of input and ideas.’‘Alongside my studies I worked on self-
initiated projects. By the time I graduated,
I already had two products being manu-
factured by professional companies – one
with Artifort and another with ceramics
brand Tichelaar. I was featured in important
exhibitions, I’d won three design prizes,
and my graduation project was on the
cover of national design magazine Items.
Nobody worked as hard as I did. No-one
went to Milan or visited the likes of Sottsass,
Mendini and Branzi. I did.’‘My work is my communication with the
world. If I say something, I hope it’s rel-
evant – otherwise why say anything? When
I finished school, it was clear the world had
material problems. There was a group in the
Netherlands called Eternally Yours, which
questioned how products could age grace-
fully and be more durable. A lot of its mem-
bers were from technical universities; theyassessed energy levels, material recycling and
so on. That’s not where I come in, I thought.
Human psychology is my terrain. I’m going to
tell people how to interact with their sur-
roundings. That’s what designers should do.
They follow, but they also lead. I remember
a girl from Eindhoven who made a beautiful
velvet fabric. When the top layer wore away,
a floral pattern was revealed beneath. A great
design, but it also made me wonder why we
can’t just accept that things age. Is that so
terrible? Our society suffers from baby-face
fixation. Everything has to look clean, new
and pristine. Designers are even worse; if we
don’t constantly come up with something
new, we feel as if we’re running behind. But
nothing grows old faster than the new. Going
against this cultural obsession became one of
the fundaments of my work.’‘In 1990 I joined Landmark in Rotterdam,
remaining for a few years on the condition
that I could pick my own projects. Around
the time I started, my girlfriend became
gravely ill. Every morning I’d check to see if
she was still alive. The only way to react to
such seemingly powerless situations is to
start focusing on what you can do. We dived
into all kinds of alternative medicines and
philosophies. I mastered neuro-emotional
integration, reiki and neuro-linguistic pro-
gramming – whatever I could do to
ensure we were in the best position to »MARCEL
‘I’ve not
spoken
about it in
this way
before, but
that’s how
I’ve built
my thinking
over the
years – I
have to be
100 per
cent sure’
48 PORTRAITS