Entrepreneur and stylist Danie Bles has long navigated the world of fashion with the assurance of someone who possesses an innate sense of style and is fueled by her unending drive to learn more. Born into a textile family, she began styling Elite Model Look test shoots at just 18, before building a career across television, magazines, and celebrity styling—working with clients such as Sylvie Meis, Renate Gerschtanowitz, Patty Brard, and Leontine Borsato—developing a signature mode of eclectic polish.
As an entrepreneur, Bles founded ByDanie, a store of intentionally curated vintage and new pieces, followed by Maison365, her personal-styling platform created for the ‘everywoman.’ Like all her ventures, it centers on her ‘mix-and-match’ philosophy: something old, something new, each piece carrying the sensation of a newly discovered treasure. Her most recent venture, 8 The Agency, is an international creative marketing agency that uses its expansive network to build connections for both established companies and emerging creatives.
Her boldest move came in 2017 with her acquisition of Amsterdam Fashion Week, which she rebuilt into a more contemporary, commercially connected platform. By introducing elements like ‘see-now, buy-now,’ she pushed the event toward immediacy and greater international relevance, distinguishing it from other fashion weeks, following its own rules and—crucially—its own schedule. As the fashion industry faces ongoing financial challenges, Bles’ exceptional understanding of the structural reset needed to support designers and companies alike has proven integral in rebuilding Amsterdam’s Fashion Week into its strongest iteration yet. Her eye may shape the picture, but her instinct shapes the system—Danie Bles is a visionary worth heeding, particularly for an industry trying to break free of a system that everyone can agree no longer works.
hube: Could you tell us about the very beginning of your professional journey? What first drew you toward the creative industries, and was there a defining moment or person that set your path in motion?
Danie Bles: I liked styling because I grew up in textiles. My grandfather had a company here which used fabrics only from Italy. My mother used to work with the Dutch Fashion Institute, and my father always had a wholesale business. When I was young, I always said, ‘I’m never going to work in fashion because the only thing you talk about at home is fashion.’ But when I turned 16, I knew I wanted to go in that direction, become a make-up artist combined with styling or something like that.
I ended up leaving Amsterdam to do a Penn State art course as an au pair at 18. I was doubting what I was going to be. My father told me ‘Danny, take a piece of paper and write down three words that you really like, and anything else you’re not going to do when you go back to Amsterdam.’ I always remembered that because in this small square that I pencilled on the paper, I wrote down ‘styling, stylist, fashion’—everything had to do with style. When I came back, I continued my internships as a stylist for TV and shoots.
I started doing this internship as a stylist, and after one good year, I saw that Elite Model Look always had this stylist coming in for the new Elite Model Look of the Year. I called the office and asked, ‘Can I please do the styling?’ After three weeks of calling every morning at nine, I decided to pass by their office. I entered and said, ‘I’m the girl who’s calling you every day.’ I got the job and came into a studio with the photographer Ray Christian, and we did the shoot. He said to me afterwards, ‘I don’t know if it’s my lucky day, but I want to work with you again.’ That was the first moment I felt that if you really want something, you need to follow your passion, continue, and believe in yourself. I didn’t finish school, so I don’t have my diploma from school. My diploma was going to be my life experience in fashion. When you have the whole picture, there always needs to be a certain amount where you’re learning and a certain amount where it can be on automatic pilot, but you always need to be learning.
I became fashion director of Jackie Magazine. By then, I had already done many fashion shows. I wrote my column, wrote a book, and had my own magazine at a certain point. The journey continued. I had a styling school for eight years where we taught many new kids on the block, which was very inspiring. When I turned 40, I took over Amsterdam Fashion Week, and that journey continues today.
h: Do you think that your determined spirit is innate or something that developed with time, something learned?
DB: I love my work until today, and I love the diversity of the work, but I also like this whole vibe of power. I don’t know if I am able to do it, but I’ve never done it, yet I’ll try. Everything I did was out of passion and curiosity. Curiosity is also one of my biggest qualities, something that I have always had, specifically within this field. Everything that is creative, I love. I was one of the first in Holland to start doing celebrity styling. There was no such job. It was at the time of Rachel Zoe in the United States. It had never been a true job; it was only a job for people who worked in television. I had the ambition to produce shows, but I thought, how am I going to do it? I’m not a designer, but I would love to do it. People know me in the Benelux mainly for my mix and match concept—always something vintage, something new. I did the first show where everything you saw on the catwalk you could immediately buy—see now, buy now. At that time, that was quite unique.
When I was fashion director at Jackie, the owner of the publishing house came to me and said, ‘You always wanted to do a fashion show. Why don’t you just do it? Here’s 10K—what do you need?’ I called the number; I believe it was 10K or something that I mentioned, which was completely unrealistic because I was not able to produce a fashion show for 10K. I thought, if I make it ‘mix and match’ and have all the brands pay me to be part of the show, then I can make it happen. I made that concept on paper, and we did it, and at a certain point, I even sold it to Amelia, and they took over. I like to explore new things and connect people, brands, and designers.
Photography by KATERINA BEZEDE
Photography by RESA STEENVOORDEN
