“I was crying in my bed when it came on TV,” Josh reveals.
Josh Veldhuizen (37) heads JOSH V, her international fashion brand. Once – in 2011 – she was featured in her own reality documentary Fashion Girls with a Mission. “That was a great learning experience for me as an entrepreneur.”
Reality documentary
In 2011, Josh Veldhuizen appeared on national TV with her reality documentary Fashion Girls with a Mission, and she immediately became a well-known face. Nowadays she is making waves with her own label, JOSH V. When we ask whether she would bring her reality series back on TV with the knowledge of today, she answers: “No, I don’t think so. It did bring me something: the series made me grow quickly on social media, with thousands of followers at the same time. And they were the first customers of my fashion brand.”
Bankruptcy
Josh developed samples from her first collection, wrote the format and script and sold it to RTL for €200,000. She transferred the €200,000 to Global Star Media, Peter Gallas’ production company. A great achievement, but unfortunately not everything went smoothly.
It later turned out that Global Star Media was on the verge of bankruptcy and was doing everything it could to cut back on the budget. “There were some strange things during filming: according to the script, filming would take place abroad. But the production company decided that we would not go abroad, but to the Gamma. I frowned, but I also surrendered to it: they will know,” said Josh. At the time, Josh didn’t know about the problems the company was having. After the sixth episode, Josh was told: the money was gone and the company was going bankrupt.
Fortunately, she had agreed everything contractually in advance, so she could cut the episodes until she was happy. “In the end I was still crying in my bed when it finally came on television,” Josh reflects on the program.
Fashion mission accomplished
The day after the first episode, her very first collection was in stores, and fortunately it sold well immediately. “It was nice for me that my mission in the series – to successfully set up my own fashion brand – was at least achieved in those six episodes. That I had put JOSH V on the map like that. Now I also know that that experience has been a huge learning experience for me as an entrepreneur.” Just want to do business with someone? Josh thinks about that more now.
Even though her reality documentary has of course generated the necessary publicity for JOSH V, Josh is sure: even without Fashion Girls she would have accomplished her mission. And back into reality again? Josh doesn’t have to think about that. “It doesn’t add anything, I’m already busy enough and I still don’t have the ambition to be a celebrity,” says Josh.
This article is part of an interview with Josh Veldhuizen from the latest Glamial, which is available in stores from today.
Interview: Agnes Hofman | Image: NL Image
