The reality of fashion in the '80s and '90s
Yvonne Vermeulen's career began with an internship at Fiorucci in Milan, which she landed after graduating from the Vogue Academy in Amsterdam. The internship gave her a first look at casualwear, and at denim evolving into statement pieces.
After Fiorucci, Yvonne was hired as head designer and buyer for a major Dutch fashion company, which meant constant travel through the Far East, India, China, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea. She saw factories filled with workers racing against impossible quotas. Children playing in textile landfills. Workers handling toxic dyes with bare hands, and environmental devastation dismissed as standard industry practice. When she asked for cotton, factory owners proudly showed her acrylic instead, completely unaware of the damage their materials caused. This was fashion's reality in the '80s and '90s, long before sustainability became a boardroom buzzword.
Transparency in Italy
By 1995, with almost a decade of experience behind her, Yvonne returned to Italy with a different agenda. Her love for fashion had not diminished; it had matured into something more demanding. She refused to take part in a system that treated ethics as an afterthought. In Italy she found what the Far East lacked: transparency built into the production chain, and fair labour conditions as standard practice rather than a costly extra.
From 1998 to 2002 she was exclusive creative director for the Italian fashion brand Indian Rose. From 2002 to 2015 she designed and produced her own label entirely in Italy, while consulting for Guess, Kenzo and Benetton. After decades in the industry, one conclusion held: exceptional clothing does not require toxic shortcuts. It requires designers and manufacturers willing to say no. That is what The Blue Suit is built on.
From idea to first collection
In 2016, Yvonne joined the THNK Executive Leadership Programme in Amsterdam, where the idea took shape: elevated tailored suits for women, made in toxic-free organic denim.
In 2017 The Blue Suit was founded on a single principle: we actually do it. The following year, the first collection showed at Modefabriek Amsterdam. Italian-made, organic cotton, every supplier documented, every material certified. Women recognised something they had not been offered before: the proof that sustainable and beautiful are not in opposition. That proof is still the only thing The Blue Suit sells.
The certification nobody thought possible
By 2022, The Blue Suit achieved Cradle to Cradle Certified® denim collection: the certification that audits material health, product circularity, climate protection and social fairness across the entire manufacturing process. Cradle to Cradle certification is expensive, slow, and demands manufacturers willing to document every chemical, every process, every supplier. Most brands say they are working toward these standards. The Blue Suit proved they are achievable.
Yvonne also co-founded Circular Clothing, sharing assessment tools with other Swiss textile brands to help them do better.