This Iconic Hairstylist Now Has His Own Vetements-Inspired Label

Look like Barbie, Smoke like Marley

POSTED 13.02.18 14:51 BY DEE CUNNING

If you haven't heard of Ward Stegerhoek, you'll definitely know him through his hair. The iconic Dutch hairstylist hit the big time in the early '90s working alongside stylist Carlyne Cerf De Dudzeele and gracing the heads of the likes of Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Claudia Schiffer, and Cindy Crawford. Now, in a rather unexpected career move – to himself as well as the fashion world – Stegerhoek has launched his own fully fledged fashion label. Wardements, his own witty take on Vetements kitsch, launches for Spring 2018, with a pop-up shop now open in New York.

“Starting a fashion line was not a decision I consciously made,” Stegerhoek tells V Magazine. “Since the age of 12, I was on my mother's sewing machine. I was this kind of strange kid who wanted to wear Vivienne Westwood and my mom would say, ‘A thousand dollars for a pair of jogging pants? You can forget that.’” Instead, he ended up making his own. “Even before I did hair, I did clothes,” he reflects.

Despite being a busy hairstylist, Stegerhoek never shelved his passion for design, making the occasional piece while on trips to Venice Beach. “I would go to those random T-shirt shops and I would always make a T-shirt for myself, really oversized with something funny and my name ‘Ward’ on it,” he says. “Then last January and February [2017], I was on a shoot with Inez and Vinoodh and I made one that said, ‘Look like Barbie, Smoke like Marley’ on the front and put ‘Wardements’ on my butt, and everyone wanted one.”

Photo courtesy of Heath Grout

After an unexpected wave of social media hype, Stegerhoek started listening, moving from one-off pieces repped by the likes of Gigi Hadid to an entire collection of recycled jeans, sparkly leggings and dresses. “I thought everyone would have a good giggle over it, the haters would hate me more, [and] the lovers would love me more, but so far it's all been good,” he continues. “This is crazy, insane, even...After all the hard work and all I've achieved in hair, I've never seen a reaction like this. Fashion wasn't something I was planning.”

We love Stegerhoek's humor, with slogans like, “Strangers have the best candy” and “No bra club,” and a limited-edition 'Cash Me Outside' oversized hoodie with seven dollar signs across the front. Swag.

The Wardements pop-up is open now until March 3 at 11 Mercer Street in SoHo, with a portion of proceeds from special Orange Babies pieces being donated to the Orange Babies Foundation. Head to Blend Stories to shop Wardements online.