Meet Dille Ach of Belgium, a 21 year old artist redefining what fashion looks like. Through mediums such as drawing, film, and performance art, he produces whimsical work akin to something one may find in a Grimm Brother's fairytale.
Ach sat down with The Collective to share his creative journey, reflecting on where he started and how he grew to be the artist he is today.
His story is proof that there is nothing you cannot accomplish if you just put your mind to it. Coming from a background of science, in an area where the arts weren't a common career path, he had to be his own advocate for his dreams.
“My teacher asked me what I wanted to study after secondary school and I said I wanted to do fashion. He was like ‘Yeah, sure...you’re in science and you want to do fashion?’ Then, every time he asked me again, I was like, 'I want to do fashion. I want to do fashion.' Because of him, I really went through with it."
Wanting to make sure he was serious about this career path, his teacher connected him with fashion students from Amsterdam. After meeting them, Ach was absolutely sure that this was what he wanted to do.
Having no formal art background, Ach decided to start from the basics. He spent a year in art school learning to print, draw, make sculptures, and paint. He was surrounded by people who had been honing their crafts for years and, at times, he felt that he would never find a way to express himself as an artist.
"I had to put in 10 times more effort than other people," said Ach. "In the beginning, I sucked so bad, but I drew and painted for nights and for days... Eventually, I found a way that I wanted to work."
He described his creative process, detailing the order in which his art unfolds:
"I always start with drawings. Drawings and words and stories. A series of black and white pencil drawings. Then I scan them and draw over them and see, 'Okay, what do I want to make with my drawings? Installations?' After, I always finish with a collection about it."
When asked who inspires him, he spoke about his friends.
"I have a big group of friends who are also in the arts--all different kinds of art. We can converse for hours; for days. We're always talking about what we want to do as an artist and, from that, I get my inspiration."
In terms of what inspires him, Ach's answer was short and sweet: everything.
"I make lists of things I find interesting in life," he said. "It's all about the feelings you get from things."
His approach to art is, perhaps, the reason behind the fresh and somewhat otherworldly ambience of his creations. Though he expressed a desire to work with artists such as Michèle Lamy, Rick Owens, and Martin Margiela, there is no imitation of these--or any other--creatives within his work. His art is bold and unapologetic. It asks that the onlooker suspend judgement and do away with the notion of "normal".
"If I can change the way they think, I would love that," said Ach. "If they see my work and after weeks and months it's still in their head, my art succeeded.
His message to artists just starting out is simple: don't give up.
"For every twenty bad drawings, there is one good drawing," said Ach. "You'll find who you are as an artist eventually. If it takes a year, it takes a year, but you will find it."
Next on his journey, Ach will be spending six months in a small village in the south of France where he plans to write a book that he will then adapt into a French-Belgian movie. This will be his second film, the first of which you can watch here.
Follow him on Instagram to stay up to date with what he creates next and watch the video below to see his latest exhibition titled "In My Head It's Different".
Photo Credit: Jinzen Visuals and Yomi Rabiu.