REantwerp

Refugees make fashion with leftover fabrics from Belgian fashion labels

Fashion designer Tim Van Steenbergen and Ruth Goossens, former editor-in-chief of Knack Weekend, are struggling with the harmful effects of the fashion industry on people and the planet. That is why they founded REantwerp. The fashion atelier employs refugees and newcomers who already have experience in the clothing industry. They make high-quality collections with the leftover fabrics of Belgian designers. The jeans they use are recycled from old thrift shop jeans.

Timeless and stylish fashion

Tim Van Steenbergen: "REantwerp is a sustainable and social story. Using residual fabrics from fashion labels, we aim for timeless collections that do not compromise on style and are made of quality materials. From the first sketch over the creation to the sale: everything happens in our atelier. We like to combine 2 different fabrics from 2 different designers. We don't want stock. What doesn't sell, we rework into something new."

Clothing with a story

"We work with people who, fleeing violence or poverty, often left everything behind. We want to prevent their knowledge and love of textiles from being lost. We sell our collections directly in our atelier. This way, fashion lovers get to know who made their clothes. Your shirt, jacket or trousers thus get a story. This way, the staff also get direct feedback from the customer and learn what they want and don't want. And with the knowledge and experience the refugees gain with us, we let them move on to a permanent job in fashion. That is a sector where, for people with the right skills, jobs are now up for grabs."