Welcome to Baukjen

Welcome! I'm Baukjen de Swaan Arons, Founder and Creative Director. I was born in Amsterdam and raised in London where I still live. I'm married to Geoff who is also my co-founder and together we have 3 kids; Oliver, Sebastian and Pippa. The kids grew up with the business, often helping out in their holidays. We also have two dogs, Popcorn (mum) and Chief (son).

We're a family-run business, home to Baukjen and sister brand Isabella Oliver (which is our maternity wear brand). We originally started with Isabella Oliver and Baukjen followed years later.

I’m named after my Dutch grandmother, Riemke Baukjen. She was always called Riemke. I’m also called Riemke Baukjen but my parents decided to call me Baukjen day to day. Many customers tell me they don’t know how to pronounce my name. Don’t worry, hardly anybody does. If you would like to know how my name is pronounced, just watch this video.

Our collections are designed for the modern woman juggling a busy life. Effortless style is our design signature, premium quality is our standard so our clothes can be worn year after year. Designed for good is our slogan. Good for people, our planet and of course for you. We're firm believers in buy less, buy later.

We have always found it important that the people who make our clothes are well paid and work in factories that look after their staff, but it was only years later when we realised the impact the fashion industry has on our planet. It dawned on us that, while we believe in business as a force for good, we were actually participating in one of the planet’s most harmful industries. That was never our plan. So, we decided to do everything we could to make a positive difference, not just with our brands but for the whole fashion sector as well. We didn’t do this alone of course, the team and our suppliers have been involved all the way.

One of the first things we did was to swap fabrics with a higher environmental impact to more responsible ones. They're more expensive - this is often called the 'green premium' - but we decided not to pass this on to our customers as we didn't want price to be a hurdle to buying lower impact fashion. 100% of our fabrics are now responsibly sourced and we are using more trims made from recycled and natural materials.

However, it’s not just about fibres and fabrics. We’ve halved the carbon footprint associated with an average Baukjen garment from 2019 to present and reduced our water usage by even more, by working with our supply chain and making improvements through collaborations. These have also impacted wages, labour conditions and ethics standards. We’ve won a United Nations Global Climate Action Award, a first for a fashion brand.

Baukjen is more than what we make, it’s how we wear it, share it, and live in it. Our community brings together women who care about style, substance, and choosing better.

On our social channels, fashion comes first. We share styling inspiration, new ways to wear timeless pieces, and a closer look at the thinking behind each collection, alongside stories, ideas, and moments from the people who make Baukjen what it is.

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