In a world where fashion often trades in noise and novelty, HEIGS is a brand that speaks in quiet, deliberate gestures. Founded by Dutch duo Johanna van der Drift and Daan van Luijn, the label emerged as an intuitive dialogue between form, function, and feeling — a reflection of their shared obsession with tactility, restraint, and emotionally charged design.
Both van der Drift and van Luijn come from distinctly creative backgrounds: she from the world of textile experimentation and soft sculpture, he from a design practice rooted in narrative minimalism and subcultural reference. After years of working separately — Johanna in the slow craft scene of Amsterdam, Daan navigating conceptual design and visual storytelling — the two found common ground in a mutual fascination with quiet tension, emotive construction, and the ritual of dressing.
What followed was HEIGS: a brand that feels more like a study than a statement. Centered around what they call “garments of memory”, HEIGS collections unfold like visual essays — emotionally restrained, deeply tactile, and often drawn from personal archive and artifact. There’s a consistent dialogue between softness and severity, heritage and dissonance. Pieces might recall workwear uniforms, ecclesiastical garments, or something worn in a dream — but always reimagined with a kind of clinical intimacy.
Since its inception, HEIGS has steadily garnered a cult following across Europe and Japan, finding resonance with those disillusioned by fast-paced fashion cycles and instead seeking clothing that speaks to inner worlds. Whether through their use of deadstock fabrics, hand-finished techniques, or their penchant for poetic ambiguity, HEIGS isn’t about dressing up — it’s about dressing inward.
As the brand prepares for its next chapter, we sit down with Johanna and Daan to explore the emotional architecture of HEIGS, the friction between anonymity and expression, and how they navigate the industry while remaining deeply attuned to feeling.
Interview setup by SVPR Copenhagen
Q’s for BOTH Johanna and Daan:
Let’s start with the name — why “HEIGS”? What does it mean to you personally and conceptually?
Johanna: HEIGS stands for Heidi Goes Safari—a reimagining of the classic character Heidi, not bound to a specific gender. For me, she symbolizes someone grounded in nature and tradition, yet endlessly curious and driven to explore. The name reflects my deep connection to Switzerland, where I lived for over 20 years. The culture there— precision, craftsmanship, clarity—has profoundly shaped my sensibility. HEIGS is about merging that solid heritage with a global, forward-thinking attitude. Rooted, but always in motion.
And what inspired you both to start the brand?
Johanna: I was deeply moved by a documentary about Coco Chanel—it made me realize that true creation comes from within, from a strong personal vision. I had previously designed tableware for my hotels under the name Heigs, and that creative spark evolved into the idea of crafting a timeless bag—a heritage piece meant to last a lifetime and be passed on. I envisioned it clearly. I was also inspired by the fading authenticity in today’s luxury industry, which pushed me to return to the roots of haute couture and haute maroquinerie—where craftsmanship and meaning come first.
Daan: When Johanna asked me to come on board as co-founder, I was inspired by her vision, made-to-order luxury, and creating bags entirely by hand. I’ve worked with a lot of global brands, including in the luxury space, and I kept seeing the same thing: most bags are made in factories, just for one season. The idea of doing the opposite — building something lasting, intentional, and truly crafted — felt both necessary and exciting. That feeling only deepened when I visited the atelier for the first time and saw, up close, the level of care and craftsmanship that goes into every piece.
Your brand has strong references to Swiss heritage, French craftsmanship, and personal storytelling. How did you develop this visual and narrative identity?
Johanna: Swiss design is known for its integrity—durability, quality, and clarity. French craftsmanship brings in another layer: elegance, flair, and that intangible sense of romance. Having lived in both places, I’ve drawn deeply from each. HEIGS is a marriage of those traditions—disciplined yet expressive, structured yet poetic.
You often refer to HEIGS as “allegorical” and connected to the character of Heidi. Can you expand on how that narrative drives your collections?
Daan: At HEIGS, Heidi is our compass—a timeless figure reimagined as a modern, non- binary adventurer. Rooted in the Alps, she ventures outward on a global safari. This journey inspires everything: our materials, our sustainable choices, even the way our designs evolve. Take our full-grain ‘Safari’ calfskin leather—it ages with its owner, developing a unique patina that tells a story. Our removable linings offer customization that evolves with the wearer’s life. For us, every collection is a new chapter, an invitation to explore identity, movement, and transformation. HEIGS isn’t just fashion—it’s a metaphor for adventure.
DAAN, what does “quiet luxury” mean to you—and how does HEIGS embody it differently from other brands in that space?
Daan: Quiet luxury, to me, is about subtlety. It’s the confidence to not shout. With HEIGS, we aren’t trend-chasing—we’re creating heirloom-quality pieces that reveal their value through touch, form, and intention. It’s about precision, not spectacle. And most importantly, about meaning.
Your handbags are made-to-order and involve over 150 steps of haute maroquinerie. Can you walk us through what goes into the making of a HEIGS bag?
Daan: Each bag is made-to-order, crafted through over 150 meticulous steps rooted in French saddlery tradition. The flap and handles are saddle-stitched by hand using linen thread—a technique chosen for durability and elegance.
The edges of the leather are hand-dyed in three layers and sealed with beeswax, creating a soft satin sheen. Every part of the process takes place in a small French workshop led by a highly skilled female craftswoman. It takes about four weeks from order to delivery. That time isn’t a delay—it’s part of the essence of HEIGS. In a world obsessed with immediacy, we choose care, intention, and depth. It’s our stand against fast fashion. Craft matters.
You’ve said that each bag should reflect the owner’s life journey. What role do memory and storytelling play in your design process?
Johanna: Storytelling is everything. Our lives leave traces—and so should our bags. Whether it’s a scuff, a softening of the leather, or the way a bag is worn, it becomes a record. Daan is precise—his bag stays pristine. I’m more chaotic—I throw mine down, let it live. And that’s the beauty. One bag, many lives. HEIGS bags are meant to grow with you, to reflect who you are and how you move through the world.
Your choice of materials—from antique textiles to ballet shoe linings—is very intentional. How do you source and select these?
Johanna: That’s my world. I’m always searching—in flea markets, brocantes, ateliers across France and Switzerland. I look for materials that carry soul and history. The ballet linings, for example, come from a small atelier in Paris that crafts shoes for dancers. That idea came through my husband, a former Paris Opera dancer. I wanted to channel the intimacy, discipline, and elegance of that world into our work. Every fabric holds memory—it’s never just for decoration. It adds narrative.
You’ve known each other since childhood. How does that shared history shape your creative collaboration today? And what have been some of the biggest challenges so far?
Johanna: I’ve known Daan since he was little—his mother, a talented seamstress and woodworker, was my best friend. We created many things together for my hotels, and Daan was always quietly there, absorbing it all. Even after her passing, we stayed close. When HEIGS began, it felt natural to work together again. We come from different generations—I’m a baby boomer, he’s a millennial—but that contrast is our strength. We speak the same visual language, even though we’ve arrived at it differently. The biggest challenge? Doing everything ourselves. From concept to execution, we run the brand independently, with the help of a freelance team per collection. No external investors. It’s tough, but it gives us freedom. HEIGS grows slowly, but on our terms.
What’s the biggest risk you’ve taken with HEIGS—and was it worth it?
Johanna: The biggest risk we’ve taken with HEIGS is that we’ve financed everything ourselves —no banks, no shareholders, just the two of us. We put all our savings into building this brand from the ground up. It meant putting our own financial security on the line to invest in something still young, still uncertain, but deeply meaningful to us. That choice wasn’t easy—but it felt necessary. Without that risk, HEIGS wouldn’t exist as it does today. That decision gave the brand space—literally and figuratively—to grow on our own terms. Now, four years in, HEIGS has begun to firmly plant its roots. We’ve built a presence and a reputation that reflect exactly what we hoped for: a label known for craftsmanship, authenticity, and quiet confidence.
The response from our community has been incredibly affirming—thoughtful, respectful, and deeply engaged. It tells us we made the right decision. What fueled that risk was a shared conviction we had five years ago: that the luxury industry had lost touch with its origins. The era of haute couture—where quality, locality, and care were non-negotiable—had been replaced by mass production and noise. We believed a shift was coming. That people would long again for the handmade, the lasting, the sincere. HEIGS was our answer to that intuition—and we still believe in it, more than ever.
Q’s FOR JOHANNA
Can you tell me about your background before founding HEIGS?
Johanna: I’ve always followed my intuition in creative work. Before HEIGS, I worked in television, interior design, and hospitality—creating entire experiences. I wasn’t just styling spaces, but also managing hotel operations, crafting every aspect of how people felt and interacted with the environment. That sense of storytelling carried over into HEIGS. Fashion is a more personal, abstract medium—but the impulse remains the same.
You transitioned from hotel styling into luxury fashion. What creative impulses carried over—and what changed?
Johanna: The transition felt natural. The core remained: designing with emotion, with vision. What changed is the audience. In hospitality, you’re creating for someone you meet daily. In fashion, the wearer may remain anonymous—but the design must still connect. There’s more freedom in that—less functionality, more poetry.
Your designs often feel emotional as much as functional. How do you balance sentiment with practicality?
Johanna: My creative process is deeply emotional—it’s where I begin. But Daan grounds it. He brings structure and utility into the picture. That symbiosis is HEIGS. I dream, he refines. Together, we find balance.
What inspired the modular, interchangeable linings in your bags?
Johanna: I believe one well-made object should last a lifetime. But we also crave renewal. The interchangeable lining allows change without waste—like changing cushions to shift a room’s mood. It’s also practical—you can clean it. Plus, it invites collaboration. This fall, we’re debuting a lining with Parisian label Brigitte Tanaka at Palais Royal, and another with BillyNou in the South of France, who presses wildflowers into fabric. These linings carry soul.
Is there a recurring theme, color, or material that you always return to?
Johanna: Elegance. Simplicity. Nature. I’m drawn to contrast—like soft linings with bold black zippers, or two-tone piping. I love the Parisian BCBG style of the ’80s, but also the moods and colors of Switzerland. That culture of clarity—it’s in my DNA.
What part of the design process brings you the most joy—sketching, prototyping, or seeing someone wear the final product?
Johanna: Being in the atelier with Eloise, my magnificently trained maroquinière, brings me the most joy. We’re completely aligned when it comes to translating my ideas into reality. A design often begins when something moves me—I can express that vision clearly to her, and with her incredible expertise, something truly special always emerges. Holding the final master in my hands, perfectly reflecting what I had imagined, is such a beautiful moment—and one I always share with Eloise. For me, it’s all about that personal exchange. That’s where the real meaning lies in life.
Q’s for Daan:
Same for you Daan. Can you tell me a little bit about your background and what you did before starting HEIGS?
Daan: My background is in marketing and brand building, with over a decade of experience working across fashion, tech, luxury, and advertising, I’ve led creative teams both in-house and on the agency side — most recently as Head of Creative at an advertising company living in New York. Before that, I worked at Meta, where I helped luxury brands like Balenciaga, and Burberry experiment with merging platforms like AR, VR, and the Metaverse, and at Amazon, where I directed campaigns across digital for the Weeknd.
Throughout all of it, I’ve been focused on the intersection of storytelling and innovation making brands feel human, relevant, and culturally grounded. HEIGS felt like the right moment to apply all of that experience toward something slower, more personal, and more long-term.
With that in mind… You’ve worked at major tech companies like Meta and Amazon. What did you learn there that you’ve applied to building a luxury brand?
Daan: Working at Meta and Amazon taught me how to think big — how to build systems that scale, move fast, and reach millions of people. But when I joined Heigs as co-founder, I realized the opposite was more important. We work with intentionality, and depth. In tech, everything is about speed and optimization. In luxury, it’s about emotion, craft, and meaning. What I brought with me was the understanding of how to build something people actually want — and how to get it in front of them. But with Heigs, every decision is more personal. It’s not about growth at all costs. It’s about creating something I’m proud of — something timeless and this I want to bring to our customers.
How do you approach building a brand today in an age of saturated digital marketing and fast fashion?
Daan: The luxury customer is changing and it’s important for new brands to understand why. The only real way to stand out is to be honest — and to make something people feel. HEIGS is intentionally built around that principle. We don’t rush to push products or chase trends. Instead, we create objects with emotional depth and a point of view, but still deeply luxurious, we source the best leather and make sure your bag stands the test of time. We’re not trying to be everywhere — just there where it matters.
Luxury is often slow and deliberate, while tech is fast and iterative. How do you navigate those contrasting rhythms as HEIGS scales?
Daan: I think both mindsets have value — and part of my role is knowing when to apply which. The product itself has to be slow: we respect the pace of craftsmanship and the importance of taking time. But when it comes to strategy, brand building, and communication — that’s where the tech mindset helps. I’m used to prototyping fast, reading data, and adjusting based on feedback. We apply that agility to brand and community decisions, while keeping the physical product sacred. That balance is what allows HEIGS to stay relevant without losing its soul. So you will see us show up in traditional customer touch points, but our rhythm stays slow.
You’ve spoken about building a creative community around HEIGS. What does that ecosystem look like, and how do you foster it?
Daan: From the beginning, we’ve worked with artists, artisans, designers, and thinkers who resonate with our values. Every lining collaboration, photo campaign, or showroom activation is an opportunity to bring someone new into the fold. We foster community by being intentional: we collaborate slowly, build relationships organically, and make sure everyone we work with feels seen and valued.
Where do you see HEIGS in five years? Will it remain intimate and niche, or do you envision broader global expansion?
Daan: In five years, I see HEIGS as a recognised and established international brand with a strong position in redefined luxury — known for its commitment to honesty, quality, and craftsmanship, while remaining true to its niche character and independent spirit.