When Sjaak Hullekes and Sebastiaan Kramer founded Hul le Kes, they did so with a dream: to create garments that would be cherished by their wearers, never reduced to mere objects of use. Just as we treasure antiques, works of art, or a beautifully designed piece of furniture, they envisioned clothing that could be loved, cared for, and passed on; carrying with it the marks of time and the stories of those who wore it.
For Sjaak, this connection to history is deeply personal. As a child, he dreamed of becoming an antiques dealer or restorer. His love for craftsmanship and preservation runs deep, and Hul le Kes became the place where those values could be woven directly into fashion. But to treat clothing as we would a painting or an heirloom cabinet requires something radical: a shift in mindset from the wearer.
That’s why Hul le Kes introduced clothing passports from the very beginning. Each passport is a small, physical booklet (crafted from leftover paper and cutting waste) in which an owner can record the life of their garment.
Notes about repairs, the story behind a stain, or the reason for a fabric change turn potential imperfections into valuable chapters. These records don’t just enrich the garment for you; they can offer insight and meaning for future owners, or even for your heirs.
The inspiration for these passports came when Sebastiaan inherited a cabinet from his family. Inside, he found a small box containing a handwritten note detailing the cabinet’s origin, who in the family had owned it, and every repair it had undergone. That intimate record transformed the piece from furniture into living history.
Beyond the passport, other elements of Hul le Kes’ circular model share this same philosophy. The dyeing service gives garments a second life, embracing stains instead of hiding them. The mending service turns repairs into visible, celebrated features, like scars on skin, they tell a story of resilience. And when a garment truly reaches the end of its wearable life, it returns to our studios, where its materials are used to repair other pieces, continuing its legacy.
In all of this lies an invitation: to see beauty not in the newness of things, but in their continuity. To shift from replacing to cherishing. To embrace the truth that every mark, repair, and adaptation adds value, not diminishes it.
At Hul le Kes, clothing is not just something you wear. It is something you live with, something you honour, so that, one day, someone else can too. Find newly made clothes via our webshop now!
