Image: Harmen de Jong for Het Parool (Anna is wearing our Rosa top in blue)
Anna Gimbrère is one of our favourite women on Dutch tv right now. She keeps herself very busy with making tv shows about science and we love that. Everything she sets her mind to has a purpose, with the main goal to make science more popular and relatable for everyone. We are big fans and so we loved seeing her wearing some of our pieces in the past few months. As we were very curious about her vision on Fashion we jumped on a call with Anna - and asked her about how she slows down on her Sundays too.
What role does fashion have in your life?
I love trying new things. I have been exploring so many different styles and I enjoy having a lot of different outings in what I wear. I loved experimenting with my style and outfits as a teenager and I still really enjoy the flexibility of it. Clothing changes how the world perceives you, so when I get dressed for tv or a party I ask myself: “who do I want to be today?”. Now that I am on television my style has become more subtle because I want to be taken seriously as a journalist. Also, the scope of brands I buy has shrunk because I only buy or rent sustainable and ethical brands now.
Has being on TV changed your sense of fashion?
Absolutely. I definitely spend more time thinking about how my clothing will be perceived by the audience. I’ll dress completely different when it’s a show for kids than when it’s an evening talk show. And you know what, I even swore never to wear a bathing suit on TV, because I didn’t want to sexualize myself on tv like that. But then this past summer, I had to do an experiment in the water for a show for teenagers, it was warm and it made the most sense to wear a bathing suit to shoot the scene. And so I did and I actually felt quite like a badass at that moment! Like, I really did that and did not care!
You’ve mentioned to us before that you only shop ethically responsible brands, can you explain to us why that is important to you?
I’ve always been concerned about how we treat our planet and what we do to protect it. And I feel that currently how we consume is hurting the planet way too much. Unfortunately, a big part of that is fashion. I feel a great responsibility to choose a better future for our environment. There may not be many ways for us as individuals to help, but fashion is certainly one of them. Fashion is an enormous polluter, so I hope more brands will shift to sustainable production like CharlieMary, while keeping their designs fashion-forward and unique. I feel that, as a tv host, I have to give the right example. So I try to rent more than I buy and only buy from ethical brands.
You have so many big ideas, we love to hear them. So, let’s say tomorrow you wake up and you can change two things in the world, what would they be?
First off, the capitalist system, with big companies only making more money for their shareholders and being able to pollute the planet, without taking responsibility. I think system changes are vital! Right now people make a stupid amount of money while destroying the planet and that is really something I would want to change. If we attached more value to the planet and less value to money, I think society will have a bright future ahead. We could do that by giving rights to nature and being able to sue the ones that take advantage of it. Like an ecocide-law or simply giving rights to rivers and forests.
So that’s number one, then my second big change would be the amount of trash we produce. We put so much pressure on nature. There isn’t much time left to change our ways, once biodiversity is gone or lessened it is extremely hard to get it back. So I would definitely change our relationship with nature for the better. I think we can start by putting taxes on any form of pollution, like CO2 and plastic, but also oil spills. That would give companies an incentive to start designing better and cleaner products.
We love your energy, and it has made us extremely curious what your Sunday would look like with no plans, your Slow Sunday?
Well... I love the morning, but I also love to sleep. So if I do get a good night sleep, I get up happy, fresh and early and will go for coffee and a croissant with my boyfriend. While munching we read the newspaper together and fill in the Crypto in the NRC. We love a good puzzle! He is a nerd too. Then I would like to enjoy the outdoors, for a walk, a bike ride, as long as I’m outside. After which, of course, I finish the day with wine and some friends. If I’m not too tired I’ll also watch a comedy, my all-time favourite is Anchorman. I’m not sure if this is considered a Slow Sunday, but it’s definitely my favourite kind of Sunday!