Muijs puts part of ESSĒN’s simple, no-nonsense aesthetic down to her Dutch background. She was born and brought up in the Netherlands: the land of sneakers and bicycles and changeable weather, known for the kind of fashion where practicality indexes just as highly (if not higher) than trendiness. But she herself has always gravitated towards simplicity and cleanness in her own wardrobe. “I’ve had my crazy phases, for sure… but really, I’ve always been about classic pieces. I still have things in my wardrobe from when I was 17 or 18 years old.”

Sustainability in its most everyday, practical sense, was also always a part of her life. “I grew up with a mother who was very into repair and reusing things.” 

Now, Muijs focuses on infusing those principles—of long-term care and repair, of slow consumption, of an appreciation for timelessness and classicism—into her own label. Early on in her trajectory, Muijs decided that she wouldn’t let ESSĒN be held hostage to seasonal drops. Instead, she would create small first batches of new styles, which would only be developed as she saw the need, usually in black and see how they sold. If they were popular, she would go back and create larger runs, or experiment with other colours. It’s a way for ESSĒN to reduce its excess stock, and avoid contributing to the problem of overproduction in the fashion industry as a whole.  Even now, ESSĒN doesn’t produce according to seasons, and only releases new styles when Muijs feels the time is right. Or when she feels that there is a gap that needs filling. “I always come at my design from a practical point of view. ‘What do I need in my wardrobe?’”

“Because I don’t have to constantly produce newness, I can really focus on getting the details right,” she explains.