This autumn, Museum JAN and Museum MORE | Ruurlo Castle present the revolutionary creations of Dutch fashion icon Fong-Leng. The exhibition at Ruurlo Castle focuses on the flamboyant 1970s, and on Fong-Leng’s relationship with the ‘living artwork’ Mathilde Willink. Alongside a selection of unique, sculptural garments, MORE also presents denim designs that Fong-Leng created for Levi’s. New work by fashion photographer Ferry van der Nat shows just how contemporary Fong-Leng’s fashion remains today.
The exhibition Fong-Leng & Mathilde | Chic Le Freak will be on view at Ruurlo Castle from 22 November 2025 to 28 June 2026
Fashion as art
This year marks exactly 60 years since Dutch-Chinese fashion designer Carla Maria Fong Leng Tsang (1937) launched her turbulent career. At the time, she was one of the few female fashion designers, and in the early 1970s, she broke with the conventions of Dutch haute couture. Everything about Fong-Leng exuded the energy of the Amsterdam of the time. Her exuberant, theatrical creations – and her groundbreaking fashion shows with thumping disco soundtracks – caused quite a stir in the otherwise prim Dutch fashion world.
Fong-Leng developed a truly distinctive signature style, drawing inspiration from her Chinese roots and from Asian flora and fauna. She used materials such as leather, suede, silk and marabou feathers, and incorporated handcraft techniques like pleating, smocking and appliqué into her imaginative, exotic creations. Fong-Leng never regarded herself as a designer, but as a fashion artist. She saw her pieces as autonomous works of art. ‘I want to create something that does not perish. Yes, call it a search for immortality’, she once said.
Mathilde
It is Fong-Leng’s fashion art that forges a strong connection with another nonconformist woman. The Zeeland-born Mathilde Willink-de Doelder (1938–1977) visits Fong-Leng’s newly opened store in 1971, together with her husband, painter Carel Willink (1900–1983). Studio Fong Leng on Amsterdam’s P.C. Hoofststraat is furnished with glass and industrial metal, champagne is served, clothes are tried on, and people dance. The address soon becomes the place to be for the Dutch A-list and even the international jet set. Mathilde’s first purchase marks the beginning of an enduring friendship between her and Fong-Leng. They seem destined to shine together. The costly Fong-Leng creations that Mathilde wears from then on are financed by her husband.
Mathilde becomes an iconic figure in Amsterdam’s streets and nightlife. She considers herself a living artwork, does the groceries dressed to the nines, and wears opulent make-up applied by Willink. In Fong-Leng’s creations, Mathilde’s outward appearance finally mirrors how she has always felt on the inside. Conversely, the statuesque Mathilde is a marvellous ambassador for Fong-Leng’s work. In 1974, Fong-Leng says: ‘She is one of the loveliest people I know. She’s truly a darling – a type without those tiresome feminine trifles. And so honest. She can wear absolutely anything, so perfectly. And she goes everywhere. She carries my name out into the world. Fong-Leng makes fashion history, while Mathilde becomes so famous, that her first name alone suffices.
Intimate bond
In 1975, Carel Willink captures Mathilde – dressed in a metallic leopard-print cloak – in a monumental painting. It is also the last portrait he makes of his muse and third wife. The painter decides to divorce her, breaking the triangle of Fong-Leng, Mathilde and Willink. Mathilde becomes adrift and, in 1977, dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances. For her funeral, Fong-Leng dresses her in an exceptional trouser suit: a final tribute to an intimate bond. Eighteen months later, Mathilde’s carefully curated wardrobe goes up for auction. It is said that Mathilde hoped her Fong-Leng creations would one day end up in a museum. In a way, that dream has come true: several Dutch museums, including Museum MORE, now hold pieces by Fong-Leng in their collections.
Kate Bush, Levi's...
Fong-Leng’s career does not end with Mathilde’s death. In 1979, the young British pop star Kate Bush poses in a flowing golden Fong-Leng creation during a legendary shoot by pop photographer Claude Vanheye, held in a multi-storey car park in Amsterdam. And in the early 1980s, Fong-Leng designs a collection of jeans for Levi’s – one of her denim jackets has since become a sought-after collector’s item. Even 40 years later, her Levi’s trousers can still be worn as effortlessly modern design.
Fong-Leng’s creativity and craftsmanship make her arguably the greatest fashion designer the Netherlands has ever known.
Big shows
In her work, she blurs the boundary between fashion and art. She refuses to be restrained by convention – and thinks big, quite literally. Together with her team, Fong-Leng stages spectacular fashion events in iconic venues such as Amsterdam’s Beurs van Berlage, Tropenmuseum and Theater Carré, culminating in a grand fashion show at the PSV football stadium in Eindhoven. It is Saturday afternoon, 20 August 1983. Pop music blasts out of the stadium speakers as more than 15,000 fans watch from the stands. Towards the end of the show the heavens open; models walk beneath umbrellas, while the crowd cheers the fashion diva and chants her name.
Fong-Leng remains active today as an independent artist.
Highlights
The exhibition at Ruurlo Castle features the monumental portrait of Mathilde, alongside an exquisite selection from Museum MORE’s collection: from unique Fong-Leng creations to denim designs and Levi’s garments. Some of the pieces are being exhibited for the first time.
We will also show photographs by Ferry van der Nat (1965). This Dutch photographer, who has studios in Antwerp and Paris, first made his name as a stylist and make-up artist in the fashion world, working for clients including Vogue and Viktor & Rolf. Nowadays, he focuses on photography, experimenting with artificial intelligence. Van der Nat recently created a photo series featuring androgynous models posing in Fong-Leng’s designs. He manipulates the images using AI to create a sense of estrangement. The garments are real, but whether the models and their poses truly are remains ambiguous. Ferry van der Nat is also an avid collector of Fong-Leng pieces.
Book – Fong-Leng: 60 Years of Fashion and Fame
The accompanying richly-illustrated publication looks at the Netherlands’ greatest fashion icon from a 21st-century perspective. With contributions by Lisa Goudsmit and Julia Dijkstra. Published by Waanders Uitgevers, the book is a collaboration between Museum JAN and Museum MORE.
The exhibition at Museum MORE | Ruurlo Castle is curated by Sito Rozema and Julia Dijkstra, who also contributed an essay to the publication.
Collaboration with Museum JAN
The project is a collaboration between Museum JAN and Museum MORE | Ruurlo Castle. The exhibition Fong-Leng & Fans – 60 Years of Fashion & Fame at Museum JAN in Amstelveen runs from 15 October 2025 to 6 April 2026.
Fashion show
On Saturday 21 March 2026, Ruurlo Castle hosts a fashion show featuring owners of unique Fong-Leng creations or ready-to-wear pieces by brands such as Levi’s and adidas. Email a photograph of your Fong-Leng garment and register yourself, a friend or (grand)child to take part in the show. And don’t forget to put on your dancing shoes, because of course there will be pounding pop music! If your clothing is selected, you and a guest will receive free entry on Saturday 21 March. Contact fong-leng@museummore.nl.
Spotify playlist
Get in the mood with music from the 1970s and ‘80s. Listen to our Spotify playlist featuring tracks from artists including Chic, Blondie, The Trammps, Divine, Grace Jones, Donna Summer, The Pointer Sisters and Roxy Music.
