Above: Tim Groen, Jojanneke Wannabeastar, Amsterdam, 2010

Rumor has it that when DJ Wannabeastar shows up at a fashion show in Amsterdam, alarms go off, and security comes rushing to the door.
That is, if the show has fur in it. Jojanneke Wannabestar (as she’s known to most), the underground pole-dancing DJ/performer, has been on a mission to create, in her own words “a counter offensive” against the fur lobby. And it’s working; her voice is being used in PSAs by the Dutch WSPA* affiliate Fur for Animals (Bont voor Dieren), and she has put a fantastically simple campaign together which allows for Amsterdam Fashion Week participants to simply declare themselves fur free during the shows (NY, please take note). In addition she started Fashion Against Fur!, a Facebook page.
“Having a kid has really opened up my eyes,” she explains. “Look, I know I’m no Brigitte Bardot or anything, but it’s become really important to me that we’re aware of how we’re treating this planet.”
And on Wannabeastar’s planet animals have rights. “I don’t hurt them, I don’t eat them, I don’t wear them,” says Wannabeastar, who stated in a previous interview that she has no need for leather, because all she wears is “plastic hooker shoes.” Wannabeastar’s enthusiasm is infectious, and there’s no denying that she is responsible for Holland’s new fur-free wave.

TG: You just released a single, you’re raising a kid, you educate fashion designers on their choices. There’s so much to talk about with you. First things first: what triggered your anti-fur stance?
JW: When I grew up in the eighties, the fur discussion was very much alive, and that always resonated with me. At age 11 I became a vegetarian, and I’d forever be buying T-shirts against animal testing, donating a little money, that kind of stuff. So caring about animal exploitation was always part of me.
But more recently, when the Fur Innovation Awards were being held during Amsterdam Fashion Week, I took it as a sign for me to send out a major signal; something that would undermine the notion that the entire fashion scene thinks that fur is OK. I used to be a stylist, and have many friends working in fashion, so I know there are plenty of designers who don’t work with fur.
While I was thinking about what to do, I started Fashion Against Fur! on Facebook, just as a loose platform for—initially mainly Dutch—people to unite and inform each other.

TG: And in the meantime you started something new; the “Fur Free Fashion” campaign, which gives fashion designers the opportunity to declare their shows fur free during Fashion Week. Did you tone down the militant aspect a little?
JW: Ha! Well, there’s that little word; “against,” that can really turn people off. But I am passionately against! The thing is, the more I spoke to designers, the more I heard the same argument: “We are anti-fur, but as professionals we can’t sound aggressive about it.” They would tell me that they would have no problem saying that they are fur free. So me and DJ-colleague Femke Dekker decided that that was exactly how we were going to approach the Fur Free Fashion campaign. With a website, a press release, and goodie-bag inserts. And then I realized it’s all in the nuances; “anti” and “against” can sound as if you’re shaking your finger at them; ”You’re a bad, bad person!”
So I get it. Even though I’m personally inclined to shake that finger; fur people are bad people, how could they be my friends? (laughs).

TG: But you don’t get very far when you’re shouting that from the rooftops…
JW: No, not really. It’s better to establish a dialogue, explain what you’re talking about, show alternatives. Now my attitude is more like; “Listen, we’re still friends, but…I really think you ought to reconsider this thing you’re doing.”

TG: So you’re getting the hang of the art of diplomacy…
JW: Yes, I suppose so. There is nothing confrontational about a designer simply stating that he or she is fur free. It isn’t even an invitation to debate the subject. It’s just a simple statement, and yet it makes people think. And this way suddenly a whole bunch of fashion people are willing to carry out that message.
Now we’re already focusing on next season, and since the first season some fantastic people—each with their own networks and ideas—have attached themselves to Fur Free Fashion. But Fashion Against Fur on Facebook will stay alive as well; you never know who clicks the ‘like’ button. It could be someone from an ad agency who is beginning to realize that fur ads are problematic, for example.

TG: A lot of people in Holland know who you are. Are you using that to your advantage now?
JW: Last week I was spinning, and this girl comes up to me, ”You’re that anti-fur chick, right?” So I said, “Yes, hi,” and she goes on: “I was talking to my friends, who said that fur is ridiculous because Wannabeastar said so.”
And that was an amazing moment for me; in a fairly superficial setting, there’s suddenly this other layer. And if that is the result of people paying attention to me, I’m all for it.
Now I’ve decided to work on it even harder, really sink my teeth into every aspect of performing and being on the radar.

TG: Every aspect? What about pole dancing?
JW: I hadn’t really done it for three years, but the other night I was spinning in Turkey and they kind of insisted. Oops, it turns out you can’t really stop and pick it up again. That’s when I realized I have to practice again, especially post-baby, because it’s amazing for your body!
I started doing it in the first place because I’m just not one of those DJs who just stands there, staring at her decks or laptops for a two-hour set. I like to get in front of the audience, talk over the tracks, show my ass—that’s an especially effective crowd pleaser!
But guess what? Using sex works. And it’s funny, because in order to look good while I’m performing at these late hours, I have to take care of myself, and then it goes right back to why I’m a healthy, vegetarian consumer.

TG: Earlier this year you released your debut EP, Party Party. What’s next?
JW: I’ve added some tracks to my act, in addition to the ones on Party Party, in the same punk-rock-meets-dancefloor vein. So now that I have enough material, I’ve started to perform live with a drummer and a guitar player, in addtion to DJ gigs—it’s a whole new thing. And an album of about twenty short tracks is in the works. Since I’m hardly a highly commercial act, a selection of tracks is already in the hands of various remixers and DJs worldwide. Working on that crossover appeal, baby!

Links:
>DJ Wannabeastar
>Wannabeastar’s Fur Free Fashion iniative
>Fashion Against Fur!
> *WSPA – World Society for the Protection of Animals
>Bont Voor Dieren / Fur For Animals (I love their logo!)
And also worth mentioning: Party Party is available on iTunes!