Dhyana van der Pols: global fashion sourcing specialist          for current CV

She’s energetic, has a disarming Dutch directness, and is a pursuer of excellence and ideas that work. Meet Dhyana van der Pols, global fashion production, sourcing and supply chain specialist…

Recognized by many in the European fashion industry as the first person to contact for savvy sourcing solutions, Dhyana van der Pols has been consistently successful in bringing together the ambitions of suppliers and buyers from around the world for over a decade. In 2011 alone she trained 100+ garment manufacturers from around the world for EU market entry, while saving big and small brands in Europe millions of euros through the pioneering sourcing solutions of her company, Nash International.

A hands-on connector who loves the factory floor
With an extensive network of manufacturers on every continent, Dhyana is a hands-on connector who has spent hours, weeks, months and years on factory floors throughout Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and the EU. Her in-depth knowledge and practical experience have gained her strategic advisory positions and lecturing invitations with the AMFI Amsterdam Fashion Institute, the WTO’s International Trade Council (ITC) and numerous European branch associations and government agencies. Not surprisingly, her network of EU buyers and brands is vast. Following her pioneering spirit, she was among the first to recognize the potential of cluster sourcing, breaking the ground in Macedonia for this emerging market trend.

Combining inbred artistic sensibilities with outstanding commercial instincts
Dhyana was raised in a family of artists and has been creating fashion since the age of six, combining her inbred artistic sensibilities with outstanding commercial instincts. She acquired a master’s degree in Strategic Management & Economics (University of Amsterdam) in 1995, simultaneously picking up a second degree in Fashion Design and Textile from the Netherlands’ prestigious Rietveld Academy of Modern Arts & Design.

‘It’s all about empathy and managing ambitions’
Her unique set of skills and characteristics has since taken her down the fashion supply chain from start to finish and back again. From Paris to Pakistan – not to mention virtually every other country on the globe that has a stake in fashion – and from cutting and styling to buying and sourcing, she’s talked the talk and walked the walk. Whether she’s revitalizing a floundering CMT unit in Vietnam or Pakistan, or introducing EU buyers to key players at Peru’s Lima Fashion Week, Dhyana loves doing what she does and loves doing it well. ‘My job has a lot to do with empathy,’ she says, ‘It’s about listening to both buyers and suppliers, and converting their eagerness and ambition into solid connections, relevant competences and sustainable business.’


interview by Stephen Teeuwen