Barbara de Vries

Amsterdam-born Barbara de Vries is a designer, book maker, activist and USA ambassador to the World Hope Forum. She entered the design world as a model, appearing in runway shows in Paris (Yves Saint Laurent), commercials (Razzmatazz in Australia) and editorials for Vogue as well as a Cosmopolitan Cover. After studying fashion design at Central Saint Martin and the Royal College of Art, she had her own critically acclaimed fashion label in London before moving to New York in the late eighties. In 1991, as head designer, she created and helped launch the CK collections at Calvin Klein. Barbara subsequently started her own fashion company with namesake collections in the US and Japan. Her clothing was sold at prestigious stores like Barneys New York and Harvey Nichols in London. She is a recipient of the WWD Fresh Face Award. In 2008 she co-founded Gordon de Vries Studio with her husband, author Alastair Gordon. Together they create books, podcasts, and films on design, architecture, fashion, and lifestyle. Barbara has been a passionate anti-plastic pollution activist since 2005, and uses art and design to raise awareness of this urgent environmental issue. Her activism was featured in the Sundance movie “One Beach,” in Vogue, and at Art Basel, Miami. She has given talks on plastic pollution including a TED talk. She is a recipient of the Dutch American Heritage Day award. Her first book was the illustrated memoir Stupid Model, a #MeToo style journal of her days as a model in Paris and Australia. She writes for select publications about lifestyle, design, and plastic pollution activism. When her twin daughters moved to the Netherlands to study design, Barbara decided to make a book about the inspiring lifestyles of creative people in her native country. She lives in Milford, PA with her husband and daughters. Her latest book Coming Home: Modern Rustic, Creative Living in Dutch Interiors is published by Rizzoli and available now.

A fun podcast on her life and latest book can be heard here: https://www.ballarddesigns.com/howtodecorate/2021/09/podcast-ep-218-dutch-interiors-with-barbara-de-vries/