Koos Van Den Akker


Koos Van Den Akker was a Dutch-born fashion designer based in New York City, United States. He was famed for his unique collaged 'Koos' designed clothing and notably the creator of the 'Bill Cosby' Sweaters.

Biography

Van Den Akker was born "Koos van den Akker" in the Hague, Netherlands. He taught himself to sew using a simple sewing machine and his first creation was a dress made from a white bed sheet for his sister. With a prolific disposition and a comprehensive portfolio at just age 15 he bypassed the 18-year-old requirement age to attend the Royal Academy of Art where he studied fashion and made window displays for a department store until he was 18. He then had to spend two years in the Dutch army where his skills were recognized and a workroom in a basement was set up for him where he made clothes for the officers wives and daughters.
After the two years Koos voyaged to Paris to design window displays for the famous Galeries Lafayette but realizing he needed more formal training, in 1961 he enrolled in L'Ecole Guerre Lavigne which was located in the same building as the Christian Dior workrooms. Every year Christian Dior picked the most gifted students for an apprenticeship and in 1963 Koos was selected. After three years at Dior and learning every detail about crafting beautiful clothes he moved back to the Netherlands and started his own business opened up his first store in The Hague where he slept in a small room in the back. The window displays were lavish with chic and theatrical with influences from American movies such as Carousel and movie stars such as Audrey Hepburn dressed by Hubert de Givenchy. His stores failed to be profitable so after his father's death in 1968 Koos left for the United States, in particular New York City.
Koos set up a string of stores including ones on Madison Avenue, Columbus Avenue, Thomson Street Soho, 10th on Bleeker and Beverley Hills, LA. In the mid seventies he even had a wholesale line with a showroom where major upscale stores such as Bonwit Teller, Saks Fifth Avenue, Marshall Fields, Bloomingdale's and Frost Bros., bought their supplies of Koos'. Overspending and stagnating sales by Koos' business eventually led it to obtain a tax-debt of a half a million dollars.
Until his death Koos had a store at 1263 Madison Avenue, New York and a studio in the Garment District.
Koos maintained a high profile in New York and LA where entertainers such as Julie & Harry Belafonte, Cher, Elizabeth Taylor, Diahann Carroll and Barbara Walters were clients. After the success of the Bill Cosby Sweaters his success was everywhere with more celebrities donning Koos garments with the likes of Stevie Wonder, Chita Rivera, Brooke Shields, Isabella Rossellini, Glenn Close, Lauren Hutton and NBA stars Isaiah Thomas and Magic Johnson wearing his designs.
In 1991 Koos' life-partner John Bell died.
Van Den Akker died on February 3, 2015 at the age of 75.

The Bill Cosby Sweaters

The attention gained by Bill Cosby's wearing of Van Den Akker's wild collaged sweaters on television established the designer's reputation with the rich and famous. Soon after Cosby was seen sporting Koos' vibrant sweaters, notables such as Erik Estrada, Chuck Norris and Richard Simmons donned them.
Josephine Premice, a singer in the 1980s and a good friend of Koos's, asked him to make a sweater as present for Bill Cosby. She took it to the set of The Cosby Show where Bill immediately put it on and wore it for the taping. It was an instantaneous hit. Cosby then began giving his friends presents made by Koos. Cosby invited friends to New York for a weekend to celebrate his wife Camille's birthday and he asked Koos to open the store on Sunday especially for his guests and told them to choose something they liked. Many of them are still loyal customers today.

Career

Koos was a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America
His House Model Edna L.Perkins from Fashion Institute of Technology a fashion design student was an apprentice of Koos as well as his Fit model, showroom, Runway, Commercial Print, Editoral she was Koos IT model and Friend. currently Edna L Perkins is the International Senior Advisor Fashion and Public Relations and Senior Fashion Editor Society Diplomatic Review accredited United Nations Magazine as well as Creative Director and Partner with Gloria Starr Kins for Malcolm Starr Fashion House and Foundation members of Fashion Group International.Edna with the first Fashion family which with five others. Frank Starr, Gloria Starr Kins father was first in textiles and import and export to india and china and his wife Claire Starr was Costume designer for Ziefeld Follies and their son Malcolm Starr
Fashion Designer to the Country Club society Socialite Gloria Starr
Of The Kinsgroup New York Gloria Starr kins President of the Malcolm Starr Foundation and Publisher and Editor-in -Chief of United Nations accredited Magazine Society Diplomatic Review. Edna fashion designer she will be doing
A tribute to both legacy Koos van den Akker and Malcolm Starr Fashion Foundation with her project "Legacy 5R's Project " Fashion contributors.
And a student of fashion institute of technology Edna L Perkins his House Model and fashion design apprentice for Koos arranged A lecture at FIT for the students with the fashion design department
In 2002 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the San Francisco Academy of Art College as a Doctor of Humane Letters. In the summer of 2008 he became an artist in residence and gave a masterclass for the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and in April 2009 also gave a masterclass for Vogue Patterns in Canada.
In 2014, he was one of fourteen designers chosen to be in the exhibition at the American Folk Art Museum.

QVC

In 1998 Koos started a label for television retailer QVC called 'Koos of Course!' and presented his own show with the collection selling out in 30 minutes. The line continued on QVC until his final show in February 2006.

Inspired Designers

Countless people have inspiration from Koos such as the designer Geoffrey Beene did.
Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière Spring '02 Line was inspired by Koos.
Marc Jacobs Fall '06 Line was also publicized as Koos inspired.
More recently Koos has inspired and been working with Illustrator/Designer - Holzor.
In his own words Koos said: "I think of myself as very basic. I am a craftsperson and I sew like that. I sew beautiful clothes. i am nothing more than a worker sitting behind a sewing machine. That's where I feel most comfortable, that's where I am the best. That's what I do best and it's very basic."