dye hards.
Project type Collection shoot & Marketing campaign
Roles Art direction, photography
Client Kinki Kappers
Date May 2022
Location Amsterdam
Art Direction by Leroy Leijtens, Casper Wigbels
Hair by Kinki Kappers
MUA Giana Alfons
Styling by Untitled Rubber
the concept.
Dye Hards is a collection about visibility, resistance, and self-definition. In a world that moves fast and judges quickly, expressing your true self can feel like an act of defiance. The work honours those who embrace individuality even when it puts them at odds with expectation.
Each of the five looks was developed in close dialogue with the model’s personality, strength, and presence. Rather than chasing a single aesthetic, the collection treats difference as power. It plays with the idea of the “villain”, a label often assigned to those who refuse to conform, and reclaims it as something unapologetic, confident, and necessary.
Not everyone is meant to fit in, and that’s exactly the point.
visual language.
The visual language of Dye Hards was built around contrast, colour, and control. Coloured gels were placed on flash units aimed at the background, allowing for precise manipulation of colour combinations and layered effects directly in-camera.
By separating subject and background lighting, the images achieve a striking, graphic quality. Bold silhouettes, saturated colour fields, and images full of personality.
The approach reinforces the core idea of the collection: standing apart, owning difference, and using visual intensity as a form of expression rather than decoration.