Margaret West
Rotterdam/New York, Stylist, Shop-owner, DJ
Margaret is small asian woman that I run into frequently, whether it is in a club, in a shop or on the street. The amazing thing to see is that she is really in control in of all these places. Meet margaret. 
Dhani: How did you get into the game of styling?
Margaret: I studied fashion design at the Art Academy. At first I wanted to be a fashion designer but in the first year I found out I hate sewing and making patterns! Fashion was still my passion but I felt more for creating things that already existed. So I started customizing vintage at school. I met some photographers and started working for several clubs. That’s where my love for styling started. I loved to work with vintage, confection in combination with my own customized pieces and make a total of ‘over-the-top styling’. My style is a mix of everything. By the time I graduated there was no other option for me then to go freelancing. Ofcourse, the first few years I struggled and I did a lot of work for free or low budget for the experience and contacts. Through the years I’d built up a pretty good client list. All that hard work for little money, finally paid off.
Dhani: Ginza is the name of your stores. Why is it called Ginza? What can people buy here?
Margaret: Ginza is a shopping area in Tokyo, kinda like 5th Avenue in NY. I just liked the name and because I’m influenced by Japanese fashion and I am Asian myself, I thought it suited me perfectly. I have two sides in me, so I had to open two stores as well:) Marrichino is the street, hiphop dj, sneakerhead in me and Margaret West is the fashionable girl in me. The two stores I opened because it frustrated me that there was something missing in Rotterdam. I opened a ‘shop in shop’ in the Gorilli Concept store, where girls can find exclusive Jordans that are not available anywhere else in the Netherlands and there is Ginza by Margaret West, located at the Pannekoekstraat where u can find affordable high-end fashion. I thought there was nothing in between big shopping chains like H&M or Zara and expensive boutiques. And why should exclusive be expensive?
Dhani: Are you going to expand Ginza in the future?
Margaret: No. Two stores is enough. I love running two stores but it gives me a lot of headache as well. But I’m always looking for new challenges, so I’m not done yet! Margaret West will expand in something else….new developments are coming!
Dhani: You are a DJ as well. As a DJ you go by name of Marrichino. Where does that name come from and on what kind of parties we can hear your music?
Margaret: I love to play hip hop and love to play with words. Marri is short for Margaret en Chino is Chinese in Spanish. Then there is the Marrichino cherry, but I found that out later.
I started out as a hip hop DJ, and hip hop is still my passion, but nowadays every hip hop DJ has to go broader with their selection, so I guess now u can call me an eclectic DJ, with hiphop as main ingredient. You can find me at different parties. Sometimes at an after party of a hip hop artist, a opening or a theatershow, a birthday party, but also commercial parties and if I’m lucky: a hiphop party.
Dhani: You have been in New York for a while. What did you do there?
Margaret: I was an intern of the designer Anna Sui (total bitch by the way lol) and for Patricia Field for Sex and the City. After that I assisted some stylists for music video’s and worked for a fashion designer Pierrot. Now I just travel back and forth to buy the sneakers for the store.
Dhani: Recently you even bought a house in New York. Are you planning on living there permanently?
Margaret:: No not yet. My goal is to live there for a certain period in the year, but I love Rotterdam as well, that is still my hometown. I bought the house for investment and when I’m in NY I always have a place of my own where I can sleep. When I’m not there I rent it out for people that visit New York, because hotels are so expensive and for the same amount as a crappy hotel you can sleep in a whole apartment.
Dhani: If you have to choose one profession that you can do for the rest of your life, which profession would that be?
Margaret: I dont think there is one particular thing I would do. I just like to be multi-talented and in the meantime explore other things I could be good at. Besides that in the field of DJ-ing and styling, age is a big issue. I hope fashion is something I will grow old with. So for example a good step for a stylist would be to train new stylists and represent them. Who knows…