Born in The Netherlands in 1989, Tess van Zalinge is a Dutch fashion designer and maker based in Amsterdam. She studied Fashion and Design at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute and graduated cum laude in 2012 with the collection The Same Old Lines. After working in the creative industry, she founded her eponymous label in 2016. Her practice brings together couture, ready-to-wear, textile research and performance, with craftsmanship and material responsibility at its core.
Tess van Zalinge works at the intersection of sculptural form and functional sensuality. Garments are constructed through handmade tailoring, draping and architectural approaches to the body. Historical references, particularly Dutch regional dress and local making traditions, are translated rather than reproduced. Van Zalinge studies how inherited techniques can remain alive by entering a contemporary visual language.
Material use is central to this position. She works with found, reclaimed and repurposed textiles, including luxury remnants and existing garments. Circularity is not treated as an aesthetic theme added after design. It shapes the entire process, from sourcing and construction to the emotional durability of the finished piece. Van Zalinge aims to create work that is kept because it carries memory, labour and a sense of personal attachment.
Storytelling moves through every collection. Techniques, family histories, craft knowledge and cultural references are brought into garments that can be worn, displayed or activated through performance. Her presentations often blur the boundary between fashion show and live art. Collaborations with performers, opera and ballet contexts have expanded the work beyond the runway and made movement part of how the designs are understood.
In 2026, Tess van Zalinge marked ten years since the label's Amsterdam Fashion Week debut. Over that decade, her role developed beyond that of fashion designer alone, encompassing research, curation, collaboration and the preservation of craft. Her work offers a model of contemporary femininity that is expressive, materially conscious and grounded in making. NewHouse Gallery presents selected work by Tess van Zalinge in Amsterdam. Browse available works by Tess van Zalinge and explore her exhibition history.