A place of cross-pollination—where tangible memories come alive.

Antwerp-based multidisciplinary platform Stof is breathing new life into previously loved garments one memory at a time, and what better city than the home of the Antwerp Six?

Comprised of two friends whose paths crossed multiple times in multiple cities, Maude and Karina finally decided to embark on this journey after growing frustrations with the contemporary face of fashion.

Born and raised in Antwerp, studying fashion in Paris, and later living in London to work in the industry, Maude’s disconnect became too apparent to carry on. Only buying second-hand herself, she decided to begin something that would bring back the memory of why she loved fashion to begin. While Karina, born in Kazakhstan and moved to Antwerp at the age of six, studied communications and later went on to work in fashion PR, faced the same dilemma.

Their love for the art outweighed their discontent, so they found a way to transcend time and trends to bring back time-capsule garments to shed light on once more.

“I came back (to Antwerp), and my mom had all these pieces that gave me the epiphany. This connected to my memory of opening her closet and finding all these clothes that I have an actual emotional connection to,” said Maude. “I figured that if I have any future in fashion, it would be this.”

Karina’s reaction was similar: “This for us was how to do fashion in our way without having to follow seasons and trends and to grasp these beautiful memories we have of our moms because our love of fashion came from them. So through Stof is how we keep those memories at the core.”

This love also derives from their environment.

“It also ties to memories from when we were little; it’s embedded in this scene. A form of it may have changed, but I think everyone can relate that when you were little, Antwerp was paradise. Everyone had a nick to go shopping, and when we came back, we both opened this memory box,” said Maude.

Their connection to Bubble was that it paralleled their practice, one rooted in memory, sustainability and keeping the beautiful and intentionally crafted at bay.

“For me, it’s very feminine but in a way that I like. It’s bubbly in a way that’s not heavy. There’s a lightness to it that also brings me back to when I was younger and used to wear bracelets like this,” shared Maude.

“Yes, but this is actual, proper jewellery,” added Karina playfully.

Stof is a Dutch word for fabric that also means dust. They use this term interchangeably in hopes of ‘dusting off the forgotten’ and giving once cherished garments new life. Follow Stof at @stof.store.