Introducing CAES, a New Dutch Label Championing the Slow Fashion Movement When We Need It Most 

Photo: Umit Savaci

If there’s a silver lining of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s that people are recalibrating the way they consume. Right now, the focus is largely on the necessities—food and medical supplies—that will sustain us through quarantine. But the current crisis is also seemingly pushing people to think about the way that they buy and wear clothes too. There is a burgeoning “make do and mend” mentality in the air, a movement of people DIY-ing and crafting from home, namely with make-your-own civilian masks to wear when we do go out in public.

Many designers are also rethinking the way they produce. They’re figuring out new strategies and timelines, whether that means eliminating certain seasonal collections or forgoing IRL fashion shows for the virtual kind. As such, many upstart labels are adopting this kind of forward-thinking mentality as we continue into the unknown. One Amsterdam-based brand championed this sustainable, slow fashion ethos months before the pandemic even hit.

In the fall of 2019, Helen de Kluiver debuted her brand CAES, which includes consciously made, tightly edited collections of minimalist basics that drop in editions, not seasonally (around two to three times a year, depending on the pace of her factories). Pieces include soft organic cotton bodysuits, sweatshirts, and dresses in neutral shades, which are available for purchase on her website and are reasonably priced between $108 and $302. The label’s moniker, she says, was inspired by the phonetic spelling of her late father’s name, Kees, as well as “the importance that I give to clothes—the way they’re worn close to your skin every day, protecting your body like a case.”

After working for a local Dutch commercial brand for a couple of years, De Kluiver says that she wanted to create a truly sustainable brand, in every respect. “In my opinion, especially right now, the world needs to shift from consumerism and being only profit-driven to a more caring place,” she says. “Besides sourcing sustainable materials, sustainability to me is also about working with people in a supply chain who truly care about the product they’re making.”

De Kluiver works exclusively with family-owned suppliers and manufacturers in Portugal. Its proximity makes it so she can travel there often and be involved in the entire production process. She is also looking for new materials; for her next collection, De Kluiver is experimenting with new, more eco-conscious packaging and working with a leather alternative made from fruit pulp. “Sustainability is no longer an option; it’s a requirement,” the designer says. “The fashion industry as a whole still has a lot to do. I think we shouldn’t have to produce huge collections several times a year and at the lowest possible cost. By buying better, fewer things, people can contribute to solving the problem while still enjoying fashion.”

While CAES launched just last year, De Kluiver is using this time quarantining at home to move her brand into the future. “This time is about slowing down, I think. It’s the perfect time to reflect. In a way, I am feeling more creative,” she says. “I think there is a growing realization that a person really doesn’t need that many material things and that we should prioritize caring for one another. This is very much the idea behind my brand.”