Sjaak Hullekes : History and Philosophy of the Designer

In his collections Sjaak Hullekes plays with the fragility of the male, his behaviors and modern times. How to escape from daily cares, and create your own, romanticized, life. What is it that makes a man feel good about what he is wearing? For Sjaak Hullekes it means focusing on what is important, what is efficient, well made and what at the same time has a refined sense of style. The label brings you, every season, wearable clothing to be worn by a contemporary man; a modern dandy...

Men’s wear designer Sjaak Hullekes was born in the small town Zierikzee, The Netherlands, on the 8th of October 1981. He grew up there and went on to Arnhem to study fashion design at the ArtEZ institute for Arts and Design. He graduated in 2005 during the first Arnhem Fashion Biennale, from an academy widely known for earlier graduates like Alexander van Slobbe, Lucas Ossendrijver (Lanvin) and Viktor & Rolf.

After his graduation he founded his company ‘Arnheim Fashion’ together with his life partner and ex-classmate Sebastiaan Kramer (1985). Since January 2006 they both free-lanced for several (fashion) companies to get started in the fashion industry. Since then they have been working for Alexander van Slobbe, Christophe Molet, Tommy Hilfiger, Elle pret-a-porter, State-of-art and many more companies.

One year after they founded Arnheim Fashion together (January 2007), they introduced their men’s wear label ‘Sjaak Hullekes’ during the Amsterdam International Fashion Week. Sjaak Hullekes as being the creative director and designer, Sebastiaan Kramer as being the label’s managing director.

During the Milan and Paris men’s fashion week, June 2008, they introduced the Sjaak Hullekes brand to the international market at the White Homme and Rendez-vous Homme showrooms, which they continued during the next fashion week. Since last season on Sjaak Hullekes is represented during the Paris fashion week at Tranoi Homme.

November 2009, Sjaak won the Mercedes-Benz Dutch Fashion Award 2009. An International jury consisting important people from the fashion industry thought of Sjaak Hullekes being the best Dutch designer to take part of the international fashion industry.

The Sjaak Hullekes collections are mainly made at appreciated manufacturers in Belgium and the Netherlands, to guarantee precise knowledge and workmanship to the customer.

Check out the look book here.

Photo & text Copyright Sjaak Hullekes, Courtesy Pressing Online.

Category › Dutch designers , Sjaak Hullekes

Sjaak Hullekes Autumn/Winter 2011-2012

A first trip to a city which is unknown to you will bring you, as a visitor, new inspiration. You are able to see specific things which a local does not see anymore. A bright and naive look at the metropolis will reveal the city in its purest way of being as you have never seen before. The allies all locals are familiar with since they live in the city; the birds sitting in front of many windows; the blades of grass in-between the old paving stones or many other things can be seen as annoying or worse to the locals, but those things will be new and fresh to you and makes you feel like a newborn child again.

Hullekes always tries to remember the beauty of every detail in daily life; he gained the ability of looking with a kind of naiveté as if something new and unseen occurs. Hullekes strongly believes in details, admiring the small things in life brings him the passion of living in today’s world. This love for details is always an element in his designs.

Sjaak Hullekes clothing will never shout down the inner you, it is for carrying out who you are and will never overshadow your own character. It will slightly underline the characteristic details of you. Wearers of Sjaak Hullekes appreciate the significant value of details in their lives, as it does to Hullekes, but also in fashion and their surroundings.

Hullekes latest Autumn/Winter collection is focused on this feeling more than ever. This collection will show that beauty is not the equivalent of new. Hullekes will show you the beauty within all you already knew. The collection stands for the right combination in detailing, fabrics, colors and craftsmanship. It visualizes finishing’s on the outside which are expected to be on the inside.

Facing the beauty of the inside which is as beautiful as the outside. This makes all detailing only known by its wearer, visible every time he dresses himself. Natural colors as brown, off-white, blue, camel, pale-blue, grey and green are used to underline the importance of nature in life. Nature always has been part of our world, long before caring about fashion. Nature is all about detailing; it is the essential of all the visible on Earth. This is why Hullekes has chosen the nature as his inspiration for the latest collection color pallet.

Mainly using fabrics of high quality wools and cottons Hullekes shows the importance of basics in life. He enjoys the many ways these two materials can be produced and used. The differences in weaving, knitting and coloring distinguish fabrics, even consisting of the same fibers. Sjaak Hullekes believes this is what life and especially the Autumn/Winter of 2011 is all about, the small differences which make a person unique.

The latest Sjaak Hullekes collection is one consisting of all essentials of a man’s wardrobe. A broad variation of shirts, blazers, jackets, coats, polo’s, cardigans and trousers makes this collection one to be suitable for many men. Men who are passionate about the fine and fluent nuances in our modern society.

See the collection here.

Photo & text Copyright Sjaak Hullekes, Courtesy Pressing Online.

Category › Dutch designers , Sjaak Hullekes

Sjaak Hullekes

Sjaak Hullekes was born in Zierikzee, The Netherlands, on the 8th of October 1981.

After finishing his secondary school he went to Arnhem to study fashion design at the ArtEZ institute for Arts and Design.

He graduated in 2005, during the first Arnhem Fashion Biennale.

After his graduation he founded his company “Arnheim Fashion” together with his life partner and ex-classmate Sebastiaan Kramer (1985).

The collections of Sjaak Hullekes are partly made in the Netherlands and partly in Belgium, to guarantee a good knowledge of workmanship to the costumer.

See the 2011 spring/summer collection here.

Photo & text Copyright Sjaak Hullekes, Courtesy Pressing Online.

Category › Dutch designers , Sjaak Hullekes

Sjaak Hullekes: Digging Deeper

In his collections, Sjaak Hullekes plays with the fragility of the male, his behaviors, and modern times.

“How to escape from daily cares and create your own, romanticized, life.”

“What is it that makes a man feel good about what he is wearing?”

For Sjaak Hullekes, it means focusing on what is important, what is efficient well made and what—at the same time—has a refined sense of style.

he label brings you, every season, wearable clothing to be worn by a contemporary man, a modern dandy...

See the 2011 autumn/winter collection here.

Photo & text Copyright Sjaak Hullekes, Courtesy Pressing Online.

Category › Dutch designers , Sjaak Hullekes