Articles in: Style Shop
Brussels welcomes a new street wear shop! Looking for an exclusive t-shirt or sweater with a cool graphic design..? Then Kakkoiiiro is your place to be.
History
Before we started the shop, Kakkoiiro was a blog, which carried the same name (Kakkoii in Japanese means, it's cool/chic/classy and iro means color). The blogs main subject is colorful street wear. While I was surfing on the internet i discovered more and more brands and I could find hardly any of them in Brussels. Mostly there's a possibility to order on line, but it's not the same thing. You cannot touch, you don't see the details and you cannot try them on. So thats when i decided to create Kakkoiiiro.The concept of the shop Kakkoiiiro is simple: mixing graphics and clothing. The master piece is the t-shirt, but you can find more than that in the shop.
Brands
At this moment:Lazy Oaf
Grafik Cube
Toykyo
Randr
Paint The Stars
Pa:nuu
Kill Brand
Coltesse
Wundertüte
But I'll certainly not leave it at that. You can find everywhere a lot of small (and bigger) brands that are really creative.
Targetgroup
Our target group are people between 12-35 years old that want to dress themselves relaxed and different then their neighbors. We are giving the possibility to step out of the standards. Our target group are people that are tired of dressing themselves like Rue Neuve (famous shopping street in Brussels) with big brands and to see every 100 meters 10 people that are wearing the same sweater (don't tell me that that didn't already happen to you). It's for this reason that we limit ourselves to a couple of pieces per model, often only one piece by size.Brussels
Because I'm living in Brussels and I couldn’t find any nice shops where I could find clothes to dress myself. The Kakkoiiiro real physical shop can be found in Brussels, but I'm working on the online shop too, where the whole world (or almost) can join the Kakkoiiiro tribe
.
Why visit?
First, to come and say hello. Second to come and check the products we have to offer, even if you think it's not really your style (a t-shirt with a cool illusional drawing can be great with a leather vest, a slim jeans, a baggy or a hoody...). You can certainly come here to find an original gift. And last but not least, you can come to check out one of the mini-expo's we often host.
Future?
The future (starting tomorrow) is filled with stuff. We are working on our own Kakkoiiiro products with different artists from different places, you'll find that quickly in our shop! Japanese toys are on the way. And we are preparing an event look book, with all kind of expo's. And there will be a lot of small things to make sure we don't look like Mr Everybody (if everybody would suddenly start to dress like Kakkoiiiro we would limit the amount of pieces we have in each model).Shout
Stop thinking in black and white. Movies are already for almost 88 years in color (cfr. Wikipedia) but people seem to be blocked by black on white, white on black. I'm not talking about dressing yourself like a clown, but daring to put a bit of color during winter and summer. It would be good if everybody would stop asking themselves "is this for a girl or a boy?" Boys can wear girls models that are more fitted and the other way around, girls can wear boys models. The important thing is to choose the design/motif that interests you. You try it on and if you like it, you take it. Most of the products are mostly already unisex.Contact
Kakkoiiiro (Anne-Sophie)02/5387708
And our website that should be online soon!
www.kakkoiiiro.com
Address
Rue Africaine 108 1060 Bruxelles
Open
Mon : 13:00 - 19:00
Tue : 11:00 - 19:00
Wed : 11:00 - 20:00
Thu : 11:00 - 19:00
Fri : 11:00 - 20:00
Sat : 11:00 - 19:00
We take up our series of interesting shops Belgium has to offer. This time we stop in Leuven. In a time where ecological shopping and bio products seem to be everywhere on the market, this shop is a must check. Hempmade is already for a couple of years busy with making people more aware of the products they buy. If you haven't heard about this shop...read the article and go check it out yourself!
Shop History
Since April 2009 we moved to a better and more spacious location in the Diestsestraat (Leuven). Because of that we were able to expand our offer and by doing that we can prove that ecological clothing can exist without having the mark of being 'goat wool socks' clothing.
Brands
We sell Kanabeach Biologik, a French surfing brand that started with an eco-line. Out of environmental concerns they started to make clothing out of hemp (the warmer the earth gets, the less places you can find for snowboarding). In France Kanabeach is already known, and now Belgium seems to have discovered the brand.Hemp Hoodlamb, a brand from Amsterdam, started originally with thick coats that fanatic surfers could wear right after a dive into the cold seawater. Now they have a full clothing line for men and women. ?They are also associated with a couple of famous artists like Snoop Dogg, Kyteman, Bryan Gee, MC Funsta, MC Ben The Verse, Dj Logic, Yohimbe Brothers, The Opposites, MC Skibadee, DJ Aki, GMB, Raekwon, Big Mike, Envy Walbangaz, Evidence (Dilated Peoples), Michael Franti, Le Clic....
Nomads Hemp Wear: A Canadian brand with a real feminine and colorful line.
Kuyichi: A Dutch brand with a contemporary line for men and women. Famous for their jeans.
Monkee Genes: They make eco & fair jeans in different shapes, colors and sizes.
Satori Movement: A skate brand out of the USA with a big line of eco-clothing.
Soon in the shop: Livity Outernational, also a skate brand of the USA with cool accessories.
Apart from that our offer is complimented by more basic stuff like Hemp Braintree and HempAge.
Next to our clothing and accessories we sell bodycare products and food. This to show how many things can be made out of hemp. (The Hemp Line, Extravaganja, Hanf & Natur)
Leuven
Since Peter was born here this was a logical step for him. We would like to open a shop in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent or Hasselt. At this moment we are the only hemp shop in Belgium and because of the small eco-clothing offers in those cities a lot of customers ask us if we are not planning to open a shop in their town. At this moment we put all our energy in our current projects, but we keep an open mind to opening a new shop, who knows maybe in the nearby future...
Target group
Our target group is wide. A lot of our clothing works with young people, but also older people find what they want. We want to reach as much people as possible, that's why we moved to a better location. That way we can reach people that like the clothing and take the ecological side as an extra. This way of working is important for us, it’s like this that we might make a difference and make people more aware of their power as a consumer. Otherwise we would only reach people that are already busy with durable living etc...Why visit?
First because our offer is varied and we sell brands that you can't find anywhere else in Belgium. A lot of those brands are often already famous in other countries and are sold in cult shops.We understand that a lot of people think eco-clothing is too expensive. But we try to make it affordable for everybody and to give information that makes it clear why a t-shirts simply can not cost 6 euro in a durable ecological production process, where people are paid an honest allowance. We see the consumption of our clothing as an investment: the clothes last much longer, and if you have any complaints you are always welcome to come back so we can find a solution.
Future
At this moment we are busy with the distribution of a couple of brands in Belgium and Europe. We want to keep doing this and represent ecological brands in conventional shops. We are working as well to enlarge the offer in our online shop.Peter would like to focus as well on the growth of hemp for food. Because the government doesn’t make a difference between hemp with THC and without, the production of hemp food is badly enough boycott by our government and forbidden. A couple of pressure groups are working hard to adapt the law (also Delhaize is supporting this, they sell hemp oil in their shops), that way we could start to brew a hemp beer in cooperation with a local beer brewer (we already did this 2 years ago, but couldn't sell it because of that law). We can only encourage the sale of locale products, those are more ecological, fresher and cheaper. What makes it into a win win for everybody
.Contact
info@hempmade.bewww.hempmade.be
016 30 99 98
Address
HempmadeDiestsestraat 145
3000 Leuven
our online store:
www.hempmade.be
Open
mon-sat: 10h-18h
thursday till 20h
banner + last picture were made by melika
Next stop: Waffles sneaker shop.
History shop
The name 'Waffles' is an ode to the retro sneakers with a so-called waffle outsole
. One morning in 1971 Bill Bowerman, co-founder of Nike, damaged his wife’s waffle iron by pouring rubber into it. By doing this he created the modern sole of the running shoe.
At the same time, the shops' name is a tribute to the legendary Belgian waffle. I wanted to give this typical Belgian icon a new interpretation by reinventing the name in a relevant way for what the shop has to offer. ?Hence the subtitle after Waffles: “sneaker delicacies”. Because in this waffle stand "your feet are in for a real treat".? All sneaker delicacies are displayed in soft, minimalist waffle shapes to instigate a sweet appetite.
And if that isn't already enough, each morning Ad – the shop owner - sprays a perfume with a scent of freshly baked waffles, which gives the impression that you are entering a genuine delicacy shop.
Brands
Adidas, Nike, Reebok, Puma, Asics, New Balance and Vans, among others.
Targetgroup
Sneaker minded people, young and old, with a sense of style, who are looking for something special.
Brussels
I was already living in Brussels for a couple of years, before opening the shop. Rue Antoine Dansaert was giving me the exact vibe I was looking for - the area just breathes creativity, craftsmanship and design. Apart from that, Waffles also exists online through http://ilovewaffles.be.
Why should I go to your shop if I want to by a pair of sneakers?
In short: Waffles = Waffles. Unique in its kind in terms of sneakers, interior design, service and the amount of love for stories behind the shoes. ?But the best way to experience it, is to visit the shop yourself or take a look on www.ilovewaffles.be.
Contact
info@ilovewaffles.be
Address:
Waffles sneaker delicacies
Rue Antoine Dansaert 189
1000 Brussels
+ 32 (0)2 219 05 75
Open:
From Tuesday till Saturday
11h30 till 18h00
pics by melika
In this section InYourBass will give you a monthly review of a shop that we think has an original concept, choice of goods or that just carries our attention. I'm starting this section with a brand new shop that has just been opened in Ghent by dj and producer Dyno.
About a year ago I was thinking about opening a small shop, where you could buy music, clothes, books, magazines and accessories.
Because of being an artist myself, this seemed to be the perfect idea to push something fresh, to create a platform represented by an original retail space. More then just a shop. U can say a community. I went to study business management and went looking for finances for my project.
Brands
For now I’m selling a modest, but carefully chosen array of clothes.
Freshjive, Altamont, Fucking Awesome, Fenchurch, Krew, Lowman shirts and of course the famous Mac Fly sweaters (that are doing amazingly well by the way!?).
Musicwise you can find a lot of import: Hyperdub, All City, Jazzy Sport, Warp, Circulations, Faces, Stones Throw, Ubiquity, Up My Alley, Kindred Spirits etc...
Just good music, which varies from dubstep to hiphop, electro to psych rock, instrumental and brazil to nu-soul.
Above all that, I have some other must haves like old skool sportwatches and Japanese toy cameras. Wax Poetics, Code and Shook can also be found here.
Targetgroup
Young and old. Rich and famous haha. No, musiclovers, nerds, fashionistas, thugs, whatever you want to call it. Looking at myself as a consumer, I came to the conclusion that I didn’t find what I was looking for and I guess there are a lot of people like me. It’s that niche that I want to approach.
Ghent
When the legendary Music Mania closed about a year ago, a lot of record buyers were lost. They went to order online, and just like myself, a lot of them seemed to loose the charm of choosing a record in a real life shop.Just that specific atmosphere of a recordshop.
I had to do something with that. Meanwhile Music Mania opened again with a bigger focus on second hand. We are even in the same street.
Apart from that, Ghent is a real enjoyable, cultural town with a lot of talent coming out of it. From the Ozark Henry’s and La Fille d’O’s to the Grazz Big Band and everything that Vooruit has to offer.
Visit
Apart from the offer, apparently I have some good wine left of the opening. Because I don’t drink alcohol, I still have a lot left. Haha.
Future
There will be a Mac Fly event, with artists and beatmakers. Furthermore I’m planning a mini-expo linked to the limited shirts, there’s gonna be an exclusive beatcompilation and a lot of cool guest mixes. We’ll have a lot of nice new brands and releases. Watch the site (http://macflyisthenewblack.com) to keep yourself updated about the shop.
Shouts
Shouts to Jos Digital, Flippen (AC), Azer, Robin, Fuck One, Melika and my great father for the aid.
Contact:
Address:
Bagattenstraat 5
9000 Gent
Belgium
+32 92 244 300
Open:
11.00–19.00
Monday–Saturday