By Dominique Emmen

Arnhem, the Netherlands – When wedding gowns and other family heirlooms are passed down from generation to generation they become stories. Designer Sjaak Hullekes has long pondered why the same cannot be true in the world of fashion, which is why he started Hul le Kes, a line of garments that increase in value through storytelling rather than fleeting trends. For the Arnhem-based designer, it is a way to promote the beauty of aging and the value in restoring something.

STUDIO RYN

Hullekes started his career after he graduated from ArtEZ in 2005, the Academy of Art & Design in Arnhem, a school that also shaped designers such as Iris van Herpen and Viktor & Rolf. Throughout the years, Hullekes became known for his unique perspective on menswear with his personal label Sjaak Hullekes, presenting it at fairs like Pitti Uomo. However, despite the recognition, the designer decided to go back to his roots.

“My first brand was starting to move further away from me, but as a designer I want to be connected with the brand, having it close to who I am,” Hullekes said.

This led to a short break and the start of Studio Ryn, a workshop for small-scale productions in a former sawmill building based in Arnhem. The craftspeople are students that have the chance to develop their hand-making skills by learning how to produce garments for a wide range of brands that each has its own signature style.

Studio Ryn was also the place where Hullekes rekindled his love for the art of creating. When the designer realized how he wanted to express himself, Hul le Kes was established.

 
FRENCH LINEN AND CANDLE STAINS

The style of Hul le Kes can be traced back to the designer’s memories of an upbringing in a peaceful environment, with garden work and trips to flea markets and antique auctions. The colour palette and texture are soft and romantic with natural elements, whilst the cut is a bit more robust, resembling utility wear, interpreted in an artistic manner.

Each garment has been named after influential artists such as Jean Cocteau, Henri Matisse or Jean-Michel Basquiat. However, rather than solely taking inspiration from the art itself, the main focus is on how artists dress themselves. Often they prefer to wear practical clothing – loose pants and long shirts with splashes of paint everywhere.

“In the clothing I wear you can always discover a spot or an uneven detail. I had to apply this in my new label,” Hullekes mentioned, talking about his choice of using only leftover materials or fabrics that he found on flea markets.

 
In particular, the use of French linen is a remarkable part of the Hul le Kes identity. In the past, these fabrics have been stitched together all by hand and often bear embroidered family initials on them. Sometimes candle stains can be found on them as well, but according to Sjaak this only makes the garment more unique and extraordinary, after the dyeing process.

Taking pleasure in these imperfections is what Sjaak Hullekes takes from the Japanese philosophy of Wabi-Sabi. This is a world view in which aesthetics of something imperfect or incomplete is seen as something beautiful. With roughness, simplicity and modesty as its essence, this offers a fresh perspective on Western material culture.

FULL CIRCLE

Since every item is made by using antique fabrics and leftover materials, no single garment is the same and each style only comes in small quantities. Even the tags, labels and packaging come from flea markets or leftover stock and are personalized for Hul le Kes at Studio Ryn.

The same goes for the passports accompanying each piece of clothing. All passports have a unique number and include information about the garment, such as the artist’s name and when it’s made. Instead of collecting travel stamps, owners can write down their memories and experiences whilst wearing the jacket, shirt or pair of pants. In this way, Sjaak Hullekes wants to give a soul to his creations and raise awareness of the life cycle of clothing.

 
What makes everything full circle is the return policy that allows customers to return a purchased item, even after years, and receive a refund of 15% for a future purchase.

“If they decide to return a shirt I can restore it or make it into a pair of pants. Like this there won’t be unnecessary waste anymore,” Hullekes said.

The beauty of it all is when you pass down the garment or decide to return it, the new owner will have a unique story to share whenever the garment is worn.

PRICE: €200-€700

WHERE TO BUY: Exclusive boutiques such as Margreeth Olsthoorn in Rotterdam and Margriet Nannings in Amsterdam. Also available online at http://www.hullekes.com.

Cartagena, Colombia–Cartegena, is at first blush, the Miami of South America, with more history, substance, culture and more authentic cuisine.  On one hand you have the colonial majesty of the old Spanish city, and on the other, sky scraper condominiums and a long row of beaches with cabana stripes and sweeping vistas of the Caribbean.  There are a lot of historical monuments to see, like the ancient Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, the Naval Museum and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ home.

Locals say Cartagena has grown a lot in recent years.  It now houses top hotels like the Hyatt and the Sofitel, and has some of the best ceviche restaurants in the world, which boast a fusion of South American, Asian and European cuisine mixed with local flavours like sweet and sour maracuya, tamarindo and coconut.

Artisans, colourful embroidered goods and woven Wayuu bags abound.  Enticing boutiques with contemporary resonance line the vibrant Carribean-colored streets.

Here are our top recs:

1.  To Eat: Carmen and Moshico

Interior of Carmen

Tailored for a globalised palate,  Carmen is one of the most important culinary destinations in Colombia, where gastronomic creativity and a modern and tropical ambiance mingle to make eating at this establishment as much of a cultural experience as visiting any other site in the city.  Located downtown, Carmen embraces the  flavors and diversity of Colombia.  Try their BANH MÍ DE CERDO Vietnamese style pork belly sandwich, grilled ciabatta, Asian BBQ, spicy aioli, cilantro & carrot salad, peanut mint vinaigrette or their Pargo Patero pan seared Caribbean snapper, fermented pineapple & cachaça butter, yellow curry, Colombian coastal yam, black tempura banana, lychee chimichurri, cilantro — to really understand what we are talking about.  Drinks are made with extreme care and a bit of science incorporating fresh extracts with the fundamentals of molecular gastronomy.  Flavors are funnelled, shaken and infused with the vapours of dry ice.  Reservations are required.  Meals with drinks can run from EUR70 to EUR150 per person.

Adjacent to Carmen is Moshico, an Asian fusion, sushi restaurant that will really show you how South America is incorporating all of its Asian influence.   Robust flavours, creative tempura dishes and hand sushi rolls garnished with crispy pork lardons, will provide you with a unique experience.  One of Moshico’s founders, Carmen Angel, graduated from California’s UC Santa Cruz and San Francisco’s Cordon Bleu Academy.

2. Artisanal: Las Bovedas

An arcade of arches, which lies beneath the old fortress walls of Cartagena’s Old Town, Las Bovedas showcased all the artisanal talent the country has to offer.   Shops selling souvenirs, traditional Colombian clothing, jewellery and paintings –  are all here.  In addition you can pick up a colourful Wayuu bag for about EUR80 (anything less, they say, may not be made in Colombia).

3.  Shop:  St. Dom

After you haggle with all of the street vendors, St. Dom will really show you how Colombian fashion has incorporated ancient traditions with contemporary design.  St. Dom is an upscale concept store that serves as an incubator for the country’s top brands and emerging designers like Johanna Ortiz, Entreaguas and Michu handbags which are lined with updated Colombian textiles.

Also worth checking out is  Sagara, a local jewellery shop dedicated to sourcing local artisans and designers.  We loved their rosary bead bracelets and tassle earrings and gold-covered mango leaf bracelets — truly one of a kind treasures here.

4.  Stay: Santa Clara Sofitel 

The Sofitel which now occupies the city’s 17th century abbey, is a ticket back in time.  A majestic botanical garden is the centrepiece of this warm brick coloured hotel which not only boasts some of the most comfortable rooms in the city, but it is also the best setting for a sundowner aperitif.  The former dining room of the monastery is now the highly acclaimed Restaurante1621, which serves up New World fare mingled with French culinary excellence.

5.  Getaway: Majagua, Rosario Islands

Located about 100 Km off the coast, the Rosario Islands are easy to get to by private or chartered boat and offer a real taste of Caribbean paradise, not too far from the bustling city center.  Our favorite was Majagua, a sleepy little island with turquoise waters and decent snorkelling excursions.  Your hotel will easily be able to organise the day for you.

Cartagena, COLOMBIA–Colombian gold stands out for its fiery hues and authentic lustre — today as it did about four thousand years ago.  That’s right, Colombians have been master goldsmith’s since 1500 BC and before any European had ever stepped food on its lush soil.

American metallurgy has its origins in Peru, but eventually made its way throughout South America.

What we know today as “Pre Colombino” jewellery is rooted in the native Zenú culture, whose people inhabited the grasslands and developed a talent, not only for working metals like copper and gold, but also for weaving (a technique that eventually gave birth to the filigree technique).

Colombia’s Cano Family, which founded the Cano chain of boutiques, has been in large part responsible for the preservation of traditional Colombian jewellery.   In addition to their stores, the Cano family was responsible for furnishing much of Cartagena’s gold museum, the Museo del Oro Zenú.

It all started in 1890, when the family’s patriarch, Nemesio Cano uncovered important archeological sites filled with gold treasures.  His discoveries ignited a passion for collecting indigenous artefacts that was passed on to his sons Jose and Felix and later on to his grandson Guillermo.

Though still expanding, CANO can be found not only in Colombia,  but also Costa Rica, Spain and the United States. By visiting their website you can also choose from their collection and have it shipped to you internationally for 35 USD more.

The artisan gold-making technique is detailed here:

MEDELLÍN, Colombia–Due to the influence of indigenous culture, mixed with a modern latino flair, Colombia is now home to some of the hottest fashion forward slow wear brands in the world. Our fashion correspondent Laura Saldarriaga, a native of Medellín, has the inside scoop:

Oropéndola: Having studied fashion design in Medellín, Colombia and later complemented her professional formation with a master in the Luxury Market in Italy, Carolina Vélez became inspired from her surroundings and her love for everything artisanal only grew. Thinking back to her own roots, sought to create a brand that rescues ancestral techniques through the creation of key pieces that sell the country’s ID; from Colombia to the world. Their color palette makes reference to an ancestral language based on the environment where raw-canvas, terracotta  and ochre tones reign along with military greens, grey and black. The threads are 100% Cotton with a resin finish to ensure shine and each piece is crafted to celebrate the lines of the female body.

CHECK IT OUT: Webpage & Instagram
PRICE: Approximately from 30 to 1,200 USD
WHERE TO BUY: Stores are located in Medellín and Cartagena (Colombia) and San José (Costa Rica) and the good news is they ship internationally.

Bocanegra: Sofia Jaramillo, like most young entrepreneurs, grew up with strong passions and a deep curiosity which drove her to experiment with different career paths until deciding upon psychology.  Bocanegra was born from her love of creating, which she explains is a therapeutic process of creation starting from the thoughts and then expressed through the hands. The name was chosen by her son, who became obsessed with the pirate named Bocanegra (BlackBeard in english literature), and personifies the brand as a being who finds treasures through his thoughts, words and travels, that tell his story and enrich it.  Sofia explains that the beads are actually from glass, brought from Japan, to differentiate from the classic plastic ones that are massively used and in Colombian culture are viewed as ‘hippie’ and therefore cheap. “No one produces glass shapes this small here, so it’s become sort of a project that I have with this EAFIT student, to see whether he can step up to the challenge of making me a glass bead this small.”

Bocanegra is against contamination to the environment so their policy is Zero plastic. The weaving is carried out by female students on scholarships, Sofia teaches them how to weave and gives them the guides to the formats and materials necessary for each product. The idea is to help these young women earn extra money while studying and fight against the dropout rate, which is mostly due to lack of economic resources to pay for transport, food and study materials.

“I don’t press the girls with deadlines, they work on their free time and this is what ensures a good weaving. I tell my clients an approximate wait time for their custom pieces, and this is to make sure they are done well. I remember I had a friend in university who needed to work, and the only thing you can think of is working at a bar or waitressing, and these are things that really require a lot of time. Time which you don’t always have right at that moment,” Sofia said.

 

CHECK IT OUT: Instagram
WHERE TO BUY: Shipping available for Colombia, Spain and US through their Instagram or by writing to bocanegrasales@gmail.com.
PRICE: From 15 to 220 USD

Entreaguas: In a country with both the Pacific ocean and the Caribbean sea, colorful swimwear brands thrive under the sun. One of them has set itself apart from the rest from the very beginning by incorporating macramé into their pieces. Founder Natalia Botero has always been a natural creative, mixing art and fashion from a young age to produce unique garments that she sold across the country. While studying fashion design in 2012, she began her journey on a quest to preserve artisanal techniques and values through swimwear with a sophisticated flair. Her team of artisans is also a social foundation and is composed of mothers who are heads of the household, people with physical discapacities and young adults who are in process of reintegration to society. A lesson on dedication can be learned from these artisans, as each piece requires the work of 17 people and approximately 38 hours.

CHECK IT OUT: Webpage & Instagram
WHERE TO BUY: Online with free worldwide shipping over 100 USD.
PRICE: From 94 to 175 USD

By Laura Saldarriaga