Jean School

Globally, Amsterdam has the largest density of denim brands. Dutch brands such as G-Star RAW, Denham, KOI and Scotch & Soda are well-known all over the world. Brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein have their head offices in Amsterdam. This means there is a continuous demand for denim talent in the Netherlands or Dutch talent in the rest of the world. In 2012, the doors of the first and only Jean School in the world opened in Amsterdam. An education during which young, creative and driven people will learn the craftsmanship of denim design and development. This education literally provides them with job opportunities all over the world.

The Jean School is an initiative of James Veenhoff (former director and initiator of the Amsterdam Fashion Week) and Mariette Hoitink (owner HTNK Fashion recruitment & consultancy). In 2009, Veenhoff and Hoitink started the foundation House of Denim, a platform for craftsmanship and innovation in the denim industry. In order to be innovative, education is a crucial element but a jeans-education appeared to be unavailable anywhere in the world. For that reason, the ROC Amsterdam was approached to start a pilot for a proper denim education. In cooperation with a number of leading jeans brands and other experts from the industry, research was conducted on the knowledge that was needed and what the curriculum for the education should be. In addition to the Dutch education, the Jean School in cooperation with House of Denim, recently started a one-year English-speaking education that is especially developed for foreign students and Dutch students with a HAVO-diploma or who have a propaedeutic certificate. Contact: E: jeanschool@rocva.nl Photo credit: Jeans School