Swarmed with buzzwords like upcycled, curated, handpicked and pre-owned, customised and sustainably sourced, the fashion industry and its fashion gurus are obsessed with holy grail vintage finds and the hard-to-find places to snatch them from. As currently, there’s no bigger symbol of being a true fashion insider than flaunting a rare 90’s Tom Ford-era Gucci piece, AFW decided to delve into the world of curated second-hand shops, following the lead of some of the most prominent sellers on the Dutch market. Unravelling the elements that make a vintage platform successful, this week, we met up with the founders of ENSŌ Vintage. Liseth van der Lee and Andrea García guide us through their carefully crafted universe of the finest vintage finds, the formula of upcycled vintage, and creating an international allure.
Optimising sustainable shopping – making curated vintage a thing
“Me (Liseth) and Andrea met each other at G-Star and were both ambassadors for their sustainable collection. We noticed however very quickly, that those collections were hardly sold in the store. We asked ourselves if what we were doing was actually the way to be sustainable in an industry that’s notoriously known for being quite the opposite, and came to the conclusion that the most sustainable way to buy is when you buy vintage. Sharing the same point of view and a love for second-hand, we founded ENSŌ 3,5 years ago. The idea behind ENSŌ was born out of the desire to inspire people and showcase how fantastic vintage can be, without solely focusing on the sustainability factor. Back then, curating vintage was not a big thing, and after gathering items from literally everywhere and launching them on our Instagram, we noticed that it was both challenging and extremely rewarding. The moment we went live, the collection was an immediate success. After that, we started a webshop and decided to approach big fashion companies to show what the future of fashion could look like. We saw a lot of entrepreneurs struggling with the idea that vintage could offer a solution, but were still able to set up small shops in multi-brand stores. We had built our own store in Amsterdam Oost; it was more so a studio space, one story high, filled with boxes. People could visit by appointment and that actually worked really well. The next step was relocating to the store on the Albert Cuypstraat, and now our journey brought us to our brand-new store on Elandsgracht.”
One-of-a-kind versus upcycled heroes
“We play a lot with the connotations people have with vintage, especially from an aesthetic point of view. People are always shocked when we say our stuff isn’t new and there’s only one of each piece. We want to show people that our selection is also a possible outlook of vintage fashion. Even though our vintage pieces are all one-of-a-kind, through upcycling, we can further implement our brand identity and offer pieces that are still sustainable, but are more accustomed to our own design identity. One of our best sellers is the Wrap Shirt. We produce this design in different fabrics and prints since we first collect vintage pieces to then transform them into an upcycled item. One of our newer designs is the Trench Coat, which we added pleated skirts to. We always search for forbidden combinations, where the classical meets the feminine. Material choice is also very important to us. We focus on natural materials like leather, silk and linen. In terms of look we go for a certain sense of modernity, but that can also be brought forward in silhouette. We lean on simplicity, look for items with a twist and a modern feel. Playing with the combination of high end and ready-to-wear, the mix between designer vintage and regular vintage works very well for us. This makes our store more accessible and shows our customers the possibilities when assembling new outfits.”
International allure
“Everything in the shop is vintage and for sale; from the furniture to the candles, cups, clothes and shoes. That’s what we do all day, looking for new things to expand our universe. This store really represents who we are and is in line with our goal to make ENSŌ an international store. The advantage of the Elandsgracht is that there is a lot of tourism around the “Negen Straatjes”, yet remains important for the local community. Most Amsterdammers like to come here to visit their local cheese farmer, bakery, or shop at brands that have their roots in Amsterdam such as Tenue de Nîmes or Baskèts. This authentic feeling really appeals to us. Our new store is also three times the size of the old one. When we saw this property, we knew right away that this location was meant for us. The owner who lives above the store believed in us and wanted the space to inhabit a concept for the future.”
Guarding and strengthening the ENSŌ identity
“Right now, we’re focussed on building a good base in Amsterdam, but we would like to expand beyond borders. We are very personal, so we do everything ourselves from the Instagram to the webshop. That also creates certain depth to the brand, which is very important to us. We like to work with other parties with whom we also have a past. In a market that is inherently very competitive, we try not to be, and rather lean on bonding and collaborating with others as we’re working together towards a common goal in terms of sustainability. Collaborations bring both parties further, but that doesn’t mean we take on every opportunity to collab that comes our way. We often get questions from different brands if we want to do something with them, but it is also important to stick to your values and standards so if it doesn’t feel right, we focus on other opportunities. This also works the other way around. Sometimes there are stores where we would really like to sell, but because their consumer does not yet understand the concept of curated vintage, the vibe may not be quite there yet and we have to be protective of that. We grow very intuitively and organically and don’t work with investors, so right now our focal point is this store and from there we see what comes our way and what feels good.”
Future endeavours
“Besides getting the new store up and running and celebrating the official opening on the 24th of February, we’re currently planning on organising a pop-up shop with Housewarming Antwerp. Every few months they fill their showroom with brands they’re attracted to. Last edition, we were fortunate enough to present our upcycled collection there and we will do that again this year in April. We are also going to organise a pop-up in the Bijenkorf this week, which we are thrilled about as we were able to design the space and decide on the interior, so we completely transform it into a mini ENSŌ world.”
Visit ENSŌ Vintage at Elandsgracht 12 or at ensovintage.com
