Photographer Jan Hoek and fashion designer Duran Lantink collaborated on the multidisciplinary Sistaaz of the Castle, showing colourful looks of transgender sex workers parading the streets of Cape Town, South Africa. A series of photographs and a fashion collection was created, focusing on their fashionable appearance and their ability to turn everything they find into abundant creations. The photos were presented in photo museum FOAM and the show was part of Amsterdam Fashion Week.

This project, focusing on a group of transgender sex workers in Cape Town (South Africa), shows a surprising new look at fashion. Successful links were entered into with other disciplines. The collection, based on the transgenders’ single-minded clothing choices, forms a natural unity with the photoshoot in South Africa, the exhibition at Foam Amsterdam, and the show during Fashion Week Amsterdam. Lantink and Hoek managed to generate an exceptionally strong impact with Sistaaz of the Castle.

Making and customising garments is part and parcel of the cultures on the African continent. In Sistaaz of the Castle Jan Hoek and Duran Lantink explore the idea that ‘everyone is a designer’, and also challenge notions of ‘the exotic’. Hoek and Lantink’s respect for the Sistaaz is lavishly conveyed in the effervescent couture and photography and, most of all, in how the project impacted the Sistaaz, instilling a powerful sense of pride and self-validation. In the Netherlands, the eye-catching outfits capture your attention, enticing you to discover the stories behind them.