We love the whole idea of the Volcom SEED project, getting young up and coming design talents to relive old threads, and the latest collection by Diana Jap tickled our fancy especially well, with fringes and cuttings all over the place…

Interview by Anna Langer, photos by Achaf Issami/Volcom

Hey Diana, your SEED collection looks epic – what was your inspiration?
They basically told me I could do whatever I wanted, it was a bit hard to get focused with that being the direction… But I wanted to do something out of a story everybody could understand. So I had this picture of a friend of mine, and I knew I wanted to create clothes for THAT girl. I am a very artistic person being a dancer and having a lot of friends in the performance art, so making a collection you wear to be seen, is quite obvious.

How long have you been creating fashion?
I started the fashion design program at Atelier Chardon Savard in Paris 3 years ago. Before that I had only made my school prom dress!

Have you always know that you wanted to work as a designer one day?
No, since I was at the Royal Swedish Balletschool since early age, I always thought I would be a dancer for my whole life. But since early age I’ve always loved to draw and paint, and once you get the chance to try other tempting opportunities, it’s hard not to try them!

How did you get involved with the SEED project?
Volcom had chosen my school (Atelier Chardon Savard) for their 2011 edition of the SEED competition. I won and the winner got a 6 months placement at their design departement in the southwest of France.

Did you know Volcom as a brand before?
I honestly didn’t. When I told my friends we were involved with his competition, it was mostly my male friends that knew about it.

What was your image of the brand before? And has it changed now?
All I knew was that it was a streetwear brand with a passion for boardsports. My image of it was quite neutral. I hadn’t seen much of the girl line before, but now I know it’s one of the more creative brands within it’s area, and I would love to go back there.

Are you connected to boardsports yourself?
I have only TRIED skateboard, and you need a good balance for that! I got so embaressed doing it, so I gave up! But unfortunately I don’t do any boardsports. I’ve always wanted to try, when I’ve been in the south west and wanted to try surfing the waves have always been very intimidating, and being from the city of Stockholm, I’m not very used to it. But I hope there will be other opportunities, even for snowboard.

Check out the full collection on volcomeurope.com