Annemiek Kessels has always followed a deep, intuitive sense of aesthetics. Long before she stepped into her role as Creative Director at MORJAS, she was shaping her own visual world — launching the fashion blog Modedamour at just 17, and cultivating an eye for detail, balance, and beauty that now defines the MORJAS Women’s collection.
Influenced by the elegance of Parisian everyday life and grounded by a Nordic commitment to quality and function, Kessels designs with longevity in mind. Every piece she touches begins with a feeling — an image, a mood, a silhouette — and ends in something quietly powerful: footwear that is timeless, feminine, and made to move through life with grace.
Under her direction, the MORJAS Women’s line speaks a language of modern classicism. It complements the brand’s heritage while carving its own identity, and her design process is meticulous, from materials to proportion, and always led by the belief that the best pieces are those you come back to, season after season.
As MORJAS enters this new chapter, Annemiek Kessels chats with Schön! about her career, her creative vision for MORJAS, and more.
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Your journey from starting a fashion blog at 17 to leading creative direction at MORJAS is inspiring. How did your early experiences with Modedamour shape your approach to brand aesthetics today?
Having been immersed in fashion from a young age, through my blog and beyond, I’ve had the chance to experiment with a wide range of styles, silhouettes, and materials. Over time, I developed a clear sense of what I value most: refined design, enduring quality, and true comfort. That foundation has been instrumental in shaping the women’s collection, ensuring every piece feels both timeless and personal.
Growing up in the Netherlands and now residing in Paris, how have these diverse cultural environments influenced your design sensibilities and vision for the MORJAS Women’s collection?
I grew up in a quiet Dutch town, Venlo, where fashion wasn’t front and centre. I turned to the internet, where I found most of my inspiration. Paris, on the other hand, has been a constant source of inspiration, from the way people express themselves through style to the creative energy in every corner of the city. It’s also made comfort a non-negotiable; walking everywhere has deepened my appreciation for shoes that combine elegance with all-day wearability.
You mentioned a deep appreciation for timeless, feminine looks that exude quality and elegance. How do you ensure these values are consistently reflected in each piece of the collection?
Every piece begins with a commitment to quality, comfort, and timeless beauty. We refine each design through multiple sampling rounds, paying close attention to proportions, materials, and feel. It’s a meticulous process, but essential to ensure each shoe truly lives up to our values.
The MORJAS Women’s line maintains a distinct identity while aligning with the men’s collection. What strategies do you employ to achieve this balance between cohesion and individuality?
Both collections speak the same design language and share a core vision of modern timelessness. But the women’s line has its own tone and character. I work closely with the team, who have a strong sense of taste, while also bringing in my own point of view. It’s about expanding the world of MORJAS with subtle but meaningful differences.
How do you envision the MORJAS woman, and in what ways does this persona guide your creative decisions and storytelling within the brand?
The MORJAS woman is elegant, confident, and sophisticated. She doesn’t follow trends for the sake of it but always feels current. As we shaped the collection, getting to know this persona helped guide both the design and the storytelling. She became the reference point for everything we created.
Could you elaborate on the process you follow when conceptualizing a new creative campaign, from initial ideation to execution?
I usually begin with a feeling or a mood that sparks the concept. That initial idea helps guide everything else — from styling and location to casting. We want to show how the shoes fit into different lives and settings. The aim is to inspire a sense that this collection is made for all women, whatever their lifestyle or personal style may be.
With the launch of the Women’s collection, what challenges have you encountered in translating MORJAS’s established brand identity to a new audience, and how have you addressed them?
MORJAS has been around since 2017, so there was a strong foundation and identity from the get-go, which gave us a great starting point. It already aligned closely with my own vision, which made it feel natural to build on. Rather than trying to change it, I focused on adding new layers, introducing softness, femininity, and emotion while keeping the same core values.
Sustainability and longevity are increasingly important in fashion. How do these considerations influence your choices in materials and design for the MORJAS Women’s line?
These principles are central to everything we do. Every material we select and each construction choice is made with durability and responsibility in mind. The Penny Loafer is a good example — instead of chasing a trend, we focused on a timeless design with a construction that makes it easy to replace the sole, so it can be worn and loved for years. It’s about creating pieces that earn their place in a woman’s wardrobe, season after season.
Looking ahead, what are your aspirations for the evolution of the MORJAS Women’s collection, and how do you plan to continue innovating while staying true to the brand’s core values?
This is just the beginning. We’re launching a new drop this summer and have more projects in development with seasonal relevance. But our foundation stays the same: timeless design, quality craftsmanship, and a focus on essentials. I’m lucky to work closely with our designer and Head of Product, Martina Strågefors, to keep building collections that feel both fresh and enduring.
Learn more about MORJAS at morjas.com.
