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WE ARE ZLQ.
WE BELIEVE IN BEAUTY AND DESIGN.
WE BELIEVE IN THINGS THAT LAST AND
TRANSCEND FUGITIVE TRENDS
AND SEASONAL FLINGS.
WE BELIEVE IN SOLID CRAFTSMANSHIP AND
DURABLE MATERIALS.
WE BELIEVE IN HIGH-END QUALITY.
WE BELIEVE IN THE SIGNIFICANCE OF A DURABLE OBJECT,
AN EXCEPTIONAL THING WHICH BECOMES AN INDIVIDUALITY
THROUGH DAILY USE AND A BELOVED PARTNER OVER TIME.
ZLQ BELIEVES THAT BEAUTY DESERVES TIME TO FLOURISH AND MATURE. RATHER THAN FOCUSSING ON SHORT-LOVED TRENDS OR SEASONAL DEMANDS, ZLQ STRIVES FOR TIMELESS PERFECTION. BY TAKING THE TIME TO FULLY EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITIES OF BOTH MATERIAL AND CUT, ZLQ AIMS TO REFINE ITS CONTEMPORARY CLASSICS WITH PATIENCE AND CARE. DOING SO, ZLQ EMBODIES THE VERY ESSENCE OF SLOW FASHION, A STORY IN WHICH THE TRANSIENCE OF TIME BECOMES A BLESSING.
DESIGNED TO STAND THE TEST OF TIME, EACH PIECE IS HANDCUT AND HANDCRAFTED IN LIMITED QUANTITIES. ROOTED IN TRADITION AND FASCINATED BY MODERN LIFE, ZLQ REFLECTS THE PERFECT BALANCE BETWEEN QUALITY AND FUNCTIONALITY. ZLQ REPRESENTS A FUTURE WHERE BEAUTY AND SUSTAINABILITY INTERTWINE GRACEFULLY. USING ONLY THE FINEST MATERIALS, THE CAREFULLY SELECTED LEATHER IS PRAISED FOR ITS RAW ELEGANCE AND SUBTLE PATINA. INTELLIGENT AND REFINED. SOPHISTICATED YET ADVENTUROUS.
ZLQ’S DESIGNS GAIN THEIR UNIQUE IDENTITY THROUGH DAILY USE AND BECOME A BELOVED PARTNER OVER TIME.
BEHIND ZLQ STANDS A PASSIONATE DUO DETERMINED TO TRANSLATE THEIR BELIEFS INTO A GENUINELY EXCLUSIVE PRODUCT. FROM THE FIRST SKETCH TO THE FINISHING TOUCH,
LIESBETH VERHELST AND TIM BROOTHAERS TREAT EACH ASPECT OF THEIR DESIGNS WITH GREAT ATTENTION TO DETAIL.
ZLQ DESIGNS FOR THE STRONG-MINDED WITH A SOFT SPOT FOR LEATHER LUXURY. TRUE TO ITS CORE VALUES, ZLQ’S DESIGNER GOODS WILL ACCOMPANY YOU IN YEARS TO COME.
TODAY, ZLQ HAS FOUR TIMELESS DESIGNS, EACH THE RESULT OF AN INTENSE DESIGN PROCESS. TIME DOESN’T STAND STILL, HOWEVER. ZLQ’S DESIGN PROCESS IS A NEVER-ENDING ONE, OPEN TO CHANGE AND MOTION. ZLQ’S SLOW FASHION PHILOSOPHY TRANSLATES INTO AN UNINTERRUPTED, CAREFUL EXPLORATION OF PERFECTION.
Rooigemlaan 126 Gent 9000 Belgium
Retro Verso
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About
Welcome to Retro Verso! My name is Charlien and I would love to tell you how this store full of cheerful and colourful clothing was created.
Immediately after I obtained my bachelor’s degree in Fashion Technology, it was itching to start my own clothing line. I could make the rugs myself, but unfortunately there was no budget for a physical store. This online store was created in 2013.
The starting points would certainly be quality and exclusivity – after all, nothing beats seeing people walking around in your self-designed, handmade dresses. In addition, a maximum of 10 pieces were made per model.
There was not much budget for advertising, but I could no longer keep up with the number of requests – especially customization. Unfortunately, manual work does not scale at all and soon I was faced with a real dilemma; outsource production or change tack. For example, I decided to look for colourful brands that I was going to sell through my webshop.
Fortunately, at that time I was able to use a fitting room and some display space in my parents’ shoe store so that my customers could try on clothes. Retro Verso, the shop-in-shop was born. Some time later, it seemed a good choice to leave the building entirely to Retro Verso.
In August 2017, the physical store opened, completely in the vintage style, on top of the web store.
Retro Verso now sells brands that you all know: 4 Funky Flavors, Froy & Dind, King Louie, Le Pep, Mademoiselle YéYé, Sugarhill Brighton, Blutsgeschwister, …
To this day I do everything myself: running the physical store, the webshop, purchasing, accounting, and most importantly for me: putting a smile on people’s faces 😉
Happy shopping!
Greetings,
Charlien
Vrijheidsstraat 1A bus 12 Denderleeuw 9470 Belgium
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How it all started
KAAI was founded in 2017 in Antwerp, Belgium, by Ine Verhaert and Helga Meersmans who set out to reimagine the perfect work-life bag for the eclectic woman with exquisite style standards.
Before, the duo spent a lot of time travelling around the world. Rushing from one meeting to the next during their corporate careers. Their main companions: a laptop, a mobile phone, lots of paperwork, and women’s essentials, all stuffed into their handbags.
Desperately looking for a stylish bag to complement their active lifestyles, they knew they could do better. So they got a handle (pun intended) on their idea: creating a new bag concept for women on the go.
Capturing the ongoing energy of the city and the ever-moving water of Antwerp, KAAI (meaning ‘the quay’ in Dutch) symbolises the fluidity of modern women, going places.
By women, for women
We take inspiration from the lives and desires of successful modern women.
From in-depth interviews with active women, discussing their relationships with their bags we discovered that women are:
‣ irritated by the chaos in their fashionable but often impractical handbags,
‣ bored with the masculine looks of their workbags.
KAAI brings change by creating bags that are both functional and fashionable, feminine and fearless.
We empower women to follow their ambitions. On their terms —without compromises.
Sophisticated simplicity
Drawing inspiration from the colours and pure graphic lines of Art Deco, we reinterpret this era’s timeless allure into magically modern, minimalist handbags with forever appeal.
Both contemporary and utterly covetable, we design for a variety of occasions. From casual to formal, from day to night.
Nationalestraat 91 Antwerp 2000 Belgium
Galerie du Roi, 21 Brussels 1000 Belgium
Clinch
ClinchBaron d’Hanislaan 5 Antwerp 2000 Belgium
Ellen Verbeek
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Story:
ellen verbeek started her brand in 2000, passionated about shoes she went to Italy to the shoe area and got in touch with an artisanal factory, managed by older but very experienced craftsmen who could realise her architectural ideas on shoes.
Shoes are our connection with the earth, the foundation of a human body ! To combine these vulnerable elements with beauty gives a lot of happyness to people. Being stable in your shoes gives already a more secure feeling to people !
Her designs have a strong and recognisable image.
Using architecture and furniture shapes as a base of inspiration was a very interesting horizon to transform this on shoes.
She maintained her line underground, as not willing to transform the collection into a mass product.
The combination of natural materials, original heels in wood and elegant details melts into a strong image. She tries to combine rough and natural elements with feminine details and likes to play with this contrast.
Some heels are sculpted out of wood by hand, thus resulting in beautiful arc shapes which run down to the sole.
Playful and feminine are the keywords characterizing the collection.
With the collection ‘ellen verbeek’ we deliver exclusive quality shoes, advanced design in durable materials and quality workmanship.
Blokstraat 73 Schiplaken 3191 Belgium
calbART
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OUR STORY
Let me tell you my story, the story of a student who decided at the age of 24 to create a sustainable underwear brand for men. I studied business at a business school in Brussels and I have always felt involved in and inspired by business and sustainability. This is why I decided to create a brand of men’s underwear that is affordable, environmentally friendly and made in Europe. The CalbART project was a logical response to my wishes. Now we have become a family business, which makes the journey even more exciting.
Affordable?
The price of sustainable boxer shorts with inner support can be quite expensive. The CalbART brand therefore strives for high quality and sustainability at a lesser cost.
Eco-friendly?
Since we aim at building a better tomorrow, we adhere to slow fashion and responsible clothing. We have opted for 100% organic cotton, meaning that no toxic chemicals are used and as a plus, it avoids skin allergies and concerns. The CalbARTs are also presented with reusable fabric bags made out of fabric leftovers. While it is a sustainable packaging, it is also practical to use. Since our goal is being sustainable, our packaging is made of natural materials, which is fully biodegradable.
Made in Europe ?
The best production in Europe, located in Portugal, was the obvious choice for CalbART’s new collection. We consider it as the best producer for it’s know-how and for it’s use of organically produced fabrics.
Christa Reniers
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Christa Reniers is one of Belgium’s leading contemporary jewellery designers. She started in the 90’s in Brussels to develop the first pieces of her collection. She has a very strong and personal style which is easily recognizable. Each jewel is handcrafted by Christa personally with a very high quality finishing, in 18k gold or in sterling silver 925.
The brand is classy and upscale due to the high quality of the products and the very exclusive design that require skilled jeweller craftsmen.
Always very innovative when launched on the market, the Christa Reniers jewellery pieces become “classics” after a few years due to her timeless and unique style that fits as well for the everyday life as for exceptional events.
Oude Graanmarktstraat 65 Rue du Vieux Marché aux Grains 65 BRUSSELS 1000 Belgium
Johanne Riss
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JOHANNE RISS
The designer, Johanne Riss, grew up in Paris and she settled in Brussels, Capital of Europe, where she established her head-office in 1988 and still designs with passion.
As a modern woman, strengthened by her experience, Johanne Riss offers all her subtlety for the expression of a timeless femininity. Her Style translates at all levels; ready-to-wear, bridal gowns, evening dresses, accessories and jewelry. Her strength: black and white, to which a multitude of colors are added every season. As an active woman, her creations perfectly meet the requirements of the today’s women with her well-studied stretch fabrics, combined with chiffon, silk and guipure lace accessories, giving a couture look of rare refinement to her elegant creations. All her clothes are meticulously created in her own workshop, located in the mother-house in Brussels, allowing quick and easy semi-measure tailored or fully tailored adjustments.
As a perfectionist, she leaves no detail to chance and follows her creations from design to manufacture and sometimes until the dressing of her clients.
Her creations flawlessly evoke lightness, transparency and purity.
THE HOUSE
2013 Johanne Riss online: bringing our customers, from Belgium and abroad, added satisfaction and convenience when placing their orders, which can now be done remotely.
For those not in the know, Johanne Riss offers Timeless clothing with pure lines and a feminine and elegant look created using its stretch fabrics, which are, of course, environmentally friendly. We want every woman to be beautiful and sensual while also feeling good, and for that we make our outfits as comfortable as possible. Wrinkle-resistant and machine washable at 30°, they are highly appreciated for their easy care and they travel well too.
All of our products are made in our workshop at the company’s headquarters and boutique in Brussels, giving them the ‘Made in Belgium’ quality mark.
Naturally, the boutique also holds a few exclusive items only sold in-store, and also offers a semi-made-to-measure service. All customers are welcome to visit this magical place.
We hope you enjoy your visit and find that perfect something in our new online store.
THE FABRIC
Johanne Riss’s collections are all made of stretch fabrics and designed in order to perfectly respond to contemporary women’s expectations.
Other top-end materials are also combined in order to draw sensual and timeless lines. This fabric fits perfectly all shapes like a second skin. Its stretch material is highly comfortable and allows a perfect ventilation of the clothing with a perpetual sensation of freshness. Suitable for both summer and winter. And requires low maintenance (30°C washing machine without ironing) and is ideal for travel (light and uncrushable)
Johanne Riss is also committed to sustainable development. The fabric’s production process requires 20% less energy and 50% less water than other similar stretch materials
“1 meter of fabrics purchased = 1 meter of rain forest protected.”
The objective is to preserve the Yaboti Biosphere, a reserve with a high concentration of rare species and vegetation located in Argentina.
Rue du Mail, 17 Ixelles 1050 Belgium
Claire Lavendhomme
Claire LavendhommeMore Info
Claire Lavendhomme
Born in 1959
Lives and works in Brussel (Belgium)
(…)”If we may be so bold: the sharp edge of sensitivity on the one hand, the very subtle construction on the other. All of it in a sort of perpetually threatened emotion”.
(… )”Si l’on peut aller jusque là, le tranchant de la sensibilité d’une part, la très subtile construction d’autre part, tout cela dans une sorte d’émotion perpétuellement menacée”.
J-M H 1995
“Claire Lavendhomme plays with the” philosophical “notions of life using the form in an almost bi-dimensional way. Her work reveals something subtle, vibrant, poetic, mysterious …”
FS, 2012
Artist creator
• Contemporary jewellery, objets, drawings, multidisciplinary.
• Since 1997 Organisation of artistic meetings (plastic arts, cinema, conferences, lectures music, …)
Link: http://artrencontre.blogspot.com
Teacher experience
Since
• 2003 •Contemporary jewellery teacher at Academy of fine Arts.
Link: http://atelierarlon.blogspot.com
•Teacher of many workshops (jewelery, resin,artistic research).
Link: http://workshoplavendhommeclaire.blogspot.com
• 2016 •Teacher at « institut Jeanne Toussaint » (Arts et Métiers), Bruxelles
• Before 2003 •Teacher in the broader context of fine arts.
Some recent exhibitions (in jewellery)
Expose since 1992
• 2018 Elle-luit/jewellery and light. Wcc-bf (B)
Kleine Kabinet , Tokyo . (J)
Le génie des images, La joaillerie par Mazlo, Paris. (F)
• 2017 Collect, Saatchi Gallery, London. (UK)
Kleine Kabinet , Tokyo . (J)
Bijoux d’artistes et de créateurs. Piasa. Auction during “parcours bijoux”, Paris. (F)
• 2016 Schmuck 2016. Handwerkmessen. Curator Peter Skubic. Munchen. (D)
Collect, Saatchi Gallery, London. (UK)
Bonds, METALLOphone, International Biennial of Contemporary Meta art. (AV17)Gallery, Vilnius.
• 2015 Silence please! Noel Guyomarc’h gallery. Curator Ramon Puig Cuyas. Montréal. (C)
Beijing International Contemporary Metal and jewellery Art Exhibition. China World Art Museum. (China)
Collect, Saatchi Gallery, London. (UK)
• 2014 Multiple Exposures : Jewelry and Photography Loan(s). Museum of Arts Design New York . (USA)
European Triennal of contemporary Jewelry (2011, 2008, 2005) Etable des Anciens abattoirs de Mons. (B)
Le bijou mis à prix, Drouot, Paris. (F)
Transformation 8, Light Yawkey Art Museum, Wassau. (USA)
Collect, Saatchi Gallery, London. (UK)
• 2013 Passage, Sabine Herman Gallery, Bruxelles. (B)
La frontera, Velvet Da Vinci, San Fransisco & Franz Mayer Museum, Mexico
Tweex 2. Vander A Gallery. Bruxelles.(B) Bijou d’auteur.
Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles de Paris. (F)
Schmuck Show, during the Schmuck, Munchen. (D)
• 2012 European Prize for Applied Arts ( 2010). Anciens abattoirs de Mons. (B)
Accès direct12, Château de Seneffe, Musée de l’orfèvrerie, Seneffe. 5b°
Some recent exhibitions (drawing, multidisciplinary)
• 2017 Sithonia, Flux Gallery, Liège. (B)
• 2016 Centre culturel de Marchin. (B)
• 2015 Sur du rien, Le Clignoteur Gallery, Bruxelles. (B)
• 2014 Autour du mot, Centre Culturel de Marchin. (B)
• 2012 Participation at « Frecher », Loods 12. Wetteren. (B)
• 2017 Participation at « Hommage à Bernd Lohaus », M HKA, Gand. (B)
• and since 1997 the « rencontres artistiques ». Belgium
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About us
For the past three decades, we have been best friends and share many passions in various areas: sports, games, adventures, movies and music, interesting conversations, food and drink, etc. Our interests have of course evolved since we were teenagers, but one element has always remained at the forefront: conviviality.
A warm and convivial atmosphere can be found in many activities, but when you boil it down to its essence, you often arrive at the following basic elements: sharing food and drink, having fun conversations, and fire.
It is therefore no coincidence that barbecues are so popular around the world.
Conviviality
Enjoying life to the fullest, but always respecting the world that surrounds us. And since the beginning of our friendship, we agreed that the best way to have fun is to share the best moments with others. Not only do you reinforce the intensity of the moment, but you can relive it many times afterwards, based on the stories you keep bringing up. So we are friends with a nice bag of shared memories and stories. And the icing on the cake is that these stories were often shared with numerous other wonderful friends. Memories are the very last important treasures that can be taken from a person. Therefore, build that wealth as best and as long as possible.
Finding the balance
Consumption seems to have become an addiction among an increasing number of people. We
want more and it has to be cheaper. Quality and durability have for many years been neglected characteristics of many commodities. Ecological and ethical problems have too often become the consequence of the search for lower prices.
Fortunately, more and more people have begun to realize that things cannot go on like this. Opposed to over-consumption is the concept of minimalism. As ‘bon-vivants’, we wanted to find a balance between the two. We believe that it should still be possible to enjoy ‘well-considered’ purchases.
That’s why we want to offer you products made of durable, quality materials. We choose timeless designs that you won’t easily tire of. And we look for partners who can guarantee us that they produce in an ecological and ethical way (through different certification labels and ISO standards).
Wachthuisdreef 105 Edingen 7850 Belgium