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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, Koos moved back to the Netherlands and started his own business, opening up his first store
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Koos set up a string of stores including ones on
Madison Avenue, Columbus Avenue, Thomson Street Soho, 10th on Bleeker and Beverley Hills, LA featuring clothes from his Koos fashion label. In the mid seventies, Van Den Akker had a wholesale line with a showroom where major upscale stores, such as
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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
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where he studied fashion and made window displays for a department store until he was 18. Koos 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.
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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.
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In 2002, Van den Akker 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
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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
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wore Van Den Akker's wild collaged sweaters on television, further promoting the designer's reputation with the rich and famous. Soon after Cosby was seen sporting Koos' vibrant sweaters, notables such as
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in The Hague where he slept in a small room in the back. The window displays were lavish, chic, and theatrical; with influences from
American movies such as
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but realizing he needed more formal training. In 1961, Koos enrolled in L'Ecole Guerre
Lavigne (l'Ecole Supérieure des Arts et techniques de la Mode,
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Fall '06 Line. More recently Koos has inspired and been working with
Illustrator/Designer Christopher Holloran - Holzor.
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fashion label (1969-2015) which featured flamboyant idiosyncratic garments adorned with Koos' unique
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Sweaters his success was everywhere with more celebrities donning Koos garments with the likes of
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in San
Francisco and in April 2009 also gave a masterclass for Vogue Patterns in Canada.
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Until his death, Koos had a store at 1263 Madison Avenue, New York and a studio in the
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506:"NEW YORKERS & CO.; Dutch Designer Mixes Luxury With a Slash Technique"
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In 2014, he was one of fourteen designers chosen to be in the exhibition
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Koos' innovations in fashion have inspired a spectrum of designers from
95:. During his 50+ year long career, Van Den Akker was recognized for his
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440:"Koos van den Akker Dies at 75; Designed Bill Cosby's Vivid Sweaters"
578:"Hemmed In by Art, Designed Garments Still Shine (Published 2014)"
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Van Den Akker died on
February 3, 2015, at the age of 75.
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148:) which was located in the same building as the
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746:"Meet the Creator of the Bill Cosby Sweater"
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140:to design window displays for the renowned
706:"Koos Van den Akker, Painted with Fabrics"
83:(March 16, 1939 – February 3, 2015) was a
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554:"Remembering designer Koos Van Den Akker"
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266:Council of Fashion Designers of America
225:were clients. After the success of the
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291:"Folk Couture: Fashion and Folk Art"
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504:McGinley, Alexandra (1999-03-07).
198:, bought their supplies of Koos'.
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538:van den Akker "CDFA Koos Profile"
627:"The Truth About Cosby Sweaters"
598:"Remembering Koos van den Akker"
410:"Koos Van Den Akker Dies at 75"
16:Dutch-American fashion designer
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796:Businesspeople from The Hague
740:Christopher Holloran - Holzor
552:Garchik, Leah (2015-02-13).
412:. wwd.com. February 4, 2015.
438:Roberts, Sam (2015-02-14).
115:Born Koos van den Akker in
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801:Artists from New York City
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625:Oatman-Stanford, Hunter.
279:Academy of Art University
264:Koos was a member of the
365:Spring '02 Line, to the
295:American Folk Art Museum
157:and movie stars such as
111:Early life and education
91:who lived and worked in
786:LGBTQ fashion designers
781:Dutch fashion designers
558:San Francisco Chronicle
310:The Bill Cosby Sweaters
735:Christian Francis Roth
473:"Fashion Takes a Seat"
536:This is his profile.
261:wearing his designs.
685:Christopher Holloran
602:Fashion School Daily
125:Royal Academy of Art
243:Isabella Rossellini
691:2009-07-31 at the
658:2008-09-20 at the
650:Nicolas Ghesquière
583:The New York Times
510:The New York Times
477:The New York Times
444:The New York Times
363:Nicolas Ghesquière
349:Inspired Designers
285:Exhibition history
163:Hubert de Givenchy
142:Galeries Lafayette
81:Koos Van Den Akker
33:Koos van den Akker
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334:Josephine Premice
184:Saks Fifth Avenue
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373:Koos on Koos
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46:(2015-02-03)
36:3 March 1939
771:2015 deaths
766:1939 births
671:Marc Jacobs
367:Marc Jacobs
247:Glenn Close
196:Frost Bros.
161:dressed by
121:Netherlands
53:Nationality
811:QVC people
760:Categories
712:2021-01-29
636:2021-01-28
608:2021-01-28
563:2021-01-29
523:2020-09-27
490:2020-09-27
457:2020-09-27
393:References
359:Balenciaga
315:Bill Cosby
227:Bill Cosby
173:KOOS label
61:Occupation
518:0362-4331
485:0362-4331
452:0362-4331
117:The Hague
103:work and
689:Archived
656:Archived
378:basic."
268:(CFDA).
155:Carousel
751:YouTube
730:of Koos
695:Holzor.
357:to the
343:Camille
293:at the
101:collage
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272:Awards
119:, the
87:-born
382:Death
146:Esmod
138:Paris
85:Dutch
71:Label
56:Dutch
514:ISSN
481:ISSN
448:ISSN
326:and
257:and
221:and
211:Cher
194:and
105:cuts
97:Koos
74:KOOS
41:Died
29:Born
23:Koos
749:on
361:by
301:QVC
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