BAKERMAT

In the spring of 2023, the innovative textile platform BAKERMAT opened its doors in the creative heart of Antwerp. BAKERMAT is the symbiosis of a fabric shop, a virtual fabric library and a material agency. The shop transparently communicates how, where and under what conditions the materials on sale have been produced. BAKERMAT sees itself as the 'fabric shop of the future' and will support the transition to a digital (fashion) design process with a virtual fabric library and workshops. By combining this with a textile sourcing consultancy, BAKERMAT encourages innovative and sustainable ways of making clothes.

Antwerp gets a 'future forward fabric shop' with Bakermat

To go one step further and create a complete ecosystem, a digital library will also be launched. This means that all fabrics will be digitised in a format that can be used in digital design. As a result, all properties are immediately integrated. "In digital design, people find 3D textures online and use them in the CAD program. But you have to find that fabric somewhere," says Quinten Schaap. "When you want to switch from virtual creation to physical realisation, there is a problem, because you have chosen a fabric you found on the internet". When changing fabrics, the fabric's fall changes and the patterns have to be adjusted. If not, you get strange shapes. Designing directly with the digital information from Bakermat, has its advantages."

Access to this information will be via a subscription-based platform. An added benefit is that once a designer is happy with the digital design, he can order the fabrics directly from Bakermat's web shop.

After talking to these designers / entrepreneurs, it is hard not to think of Bakermat as a textile Walhalla in Antwerp. "We want the choice of fabric to be a conscious choice, not just an aesthetic one," Quinten Schaap says.