EVERY ITEM ITS UNIQUE PASSPORT
Each Hul le Kes item comes with its own passport. The passports are hand made in Arnhem from leftover cartons and paper. The passport provides the owner with all information about the garment such as its own unique number, size, name, place of origin, date of finalizing and fabric qualities.
Inside the passport the wearer is able to write down his/her memories on the particular item. For example about the wine spot the item got when you where at your mother's birthday party of about the paint on the leg when you were painting your friends’ house. This information will make sure every item will get its own stories and history. By the time the wearer is done with the item it can be returned to Hul le Kes. At Hul le Kes the garment will be given a new life, and get back on the market included with the wearer’s stories in its passport to continue a never ending life cycle.
vintage hang tags & labeling
Since he was a young child designer Sjaak Hullekes has been fond of antique markets and products with history. His passion for products from the past is seen in every detail in the items he designed for Hul le Kes. Besides the antique French linens used for the items at Hul le Kes his passion is seen in all labeling and hang tags.
No hang tag is the same as they are all found at flea markets. The same is for the Hul le Kes labeling which all are made from vintage tapes. Sometimes you will find some rust marks on the labeling from not being used for so many years.
All labeling and hang tags are provided with the unique code that comes with each item. With this code all garments can be traced back and connected to its own passport, memories and history.
Hand made in the Netherlands
On the outskirt of Arnhem, the Netherlands, in a former sawmill building, each Hul le Kes item is made by a small team of craftsman at Studio RYN. Studio RYN is a small manufacturing company managed by Sjaak Hullekes and his team where they are working together with students from a special educational program in fashion.
All items are made with love and care in small quantities, piece by piece and by hand. The use of small leftover, overstock and antique fabrics are another reason why all items only come in small numbers. The way a Hul le Kes item is made gives every item a unique identity, a soul.
OLD CARTON, NEW IDENTITY
Each Hul le Kes garment comes in a carton box. The carton used for the Hul le Kes boxes are made from leftovers from the industry. At Brown Cartonnages in Arnhem each box is made by hand, at Hul le Kes we will provide the boxes with a Hu le Kes mark and a cotton inlay.
At Hul le Kes we hope our consumers will use the box and repair it with tapes or maybe even provide it with a personal message. By the time you will then send your Hul le Kes garment bag the box can again be used for sending and also Hul le Kes will use it again to send it to a next consumer. By doing so the life cycle philosophy of the garments is also seen in its box. A history told by paper is not only nice to look at but also part of our sustainable heart.
ANTIQUE FRENCH LINEN
Aging and impermanence are two words with priceless meaning of inner beauty, and so you will find it in back in many details of the Hul le Kes brand. A major theme in the Hul le Kes collections are the items made from antique French linens. The linens were made in days gone by and are often decorated with beautifully hand embroidered ornamental initials.
The linens are used in the more exclusive garments of the Hul le Kes brand. From these items there is no second one to be found, the old reparations on the linens, embroideries and agemarks are like scars and birthmarks on our skin. At Hul le Kes we believe beauty is not within the new newer newest items but within the story it tells.
About the designer
Peace and escaping from the daily crowds are on the basic principles of Sjaak Hullekes’ work. He spent his childhood in the environment of an island in the Netherlands. The peace and quietness of his childhood still are a big inspiration for his new designs and concepts.
Hullekes graduated in 2005 from ArtEZ University for Arts and Design Arnhem, fashion design. Ever since he has been working together with his partner and former classmate Sebastiaan Kramer. Till 2016 they have been working together on the Sjaak Hullekes menswear brand with shops in Arnhem and The Hague, both in the Netherlands.