Ward Stegerhoek is a man of many trades. The Dutch-born Vogue-minted hairstylist rose to fame in the early 1990s, taming the coifs of supermodels like Cindy Crawford, and has been working in the industry ever since. Now, however, he’s also making waves for his Instagram account @ward_hair. The feed features images of his editorial work; an aggregation of hilarious memes similar to what one would see on @FuckJerry or the @Fatjewish; and posts that comment on political events.
So popular is the account (it has over 33,000 followers) that it has spawned another tongue-in-cheek feed, @Wardements_official, a portfolio of Stegerhoek’s newest endeavor: a clothing label. The name’s resemblance to Vetements is no coincidence: Pieces include cheeky but luxury XXL hoodies (made from three Champion hoodies), drop-crotch sweatpants, and hefty leather bombers decorated with patches. (Another fun touch? Each item comes with a black and white tag of Stegerhoek’s face.) Already, the line has received the model stamp of approval, finding fans in Toni Garrn and Daphne Groenwald. And some followers have even created their own campaigns around the label. “The reaction on Instagram is coming without instruction,” says Stegerhoek. “It’s almost like a model bought one, she’s photographed backstage, and then the campaign is on a ‘billboard.’ ”
For Stegerhoek, Wardements was a natural progression. “As a kid during the ’80s, they had all the fashion shows from Paris live from television during the day, so I would come home and sit there and watch Pat Cleveland walk,” he remembers. “Then I got really inspired by fashion, like by Vivienne Westwood but, of course, I couldn’t afford it. So, I got my mother’s sewing machine and started making clothes.” Years later, Stegerhoek would make one-off shirts and hoodies for himself that he would wear on set.
Don’t expect Wardements to stop at hoodies, though. As with Vetements, Stegerhoek has some collaborations in the works, in his case with labels such as Kangol and Diana Broussard, the accessories company that makes LCD-infused plexiglas jewelry, which will translate Stegerhoek’s vision to handbags. “We’ll probably put memes on them!” he says. Wardements will drop more double-tap-worthy pieces just before fashion week. Look out for their funny, elevated cameos on the street cycle circuit. view all work for wardements.
