Antwerp students appear in renowned American fashion magazine: “We are working on a vegan jacket made from fruit waste” (Antwerp)
Sondra Voorbraak and Sacha Goldschtein (both 23) are achieving great heights with their streetwear Brand Arbor Antwerp. Last week she even got a mention in the internationally acclaimed GQ Magazine. “We weren’t aware of the magazine, but when we looked on Instagram, we saw that they had 6.2 million followers,” says an enthusiastic Sondra.
Alexandro Yaramis
With 1,250 they are the student entrepreneurs in Antwerp. This is evident from figures from the National Institute for the Social Insurance of the Self-employed (RSVZ). They have never been so many. Sondra Voorbraak and Sacha Goldschtein are two of those entrepreneurs. they are still learning communication management and applied architecture. “But the intention is to continue Arbor after our studies, because we believe in it”, Sacha Goldschtein, who was already at school in the fashion brand.
Co-founder Sondra also learned to do business in high school. “In my second year of secondary school I had a mini-company of the Flemish Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Coincidentally, that was also the case with clothing,” she says. The small hobby grew into an entire enterprise. “Over the past year, we’ve invested more money and time into our baby. That is bearing fruit. That way we could spend a month in Monar Antwerp, the store for streetwear.”
Last week they heard from their mailbox that there is also interest across the ocean. New York-based GQ Magazine contacted them and then listed Arbor Antwerp under the heading ‘to keep an eye on’. That will still happen.
Green Friday
Arbor is Latin for tree. A conscious choice, because the brand is passionate about sustainability and work ethics. “We innovate in the field of sustainability. For example, now we are working on a vegan leather jacket, made from fruit waste. We also have t-shirts made from 50% recycled cotton,” says Sacha. “In addition to our clothing line, our work ethic is also sustainable. For example, we go to our studio in Portugal every two months. There we ensure that the employees work in good conditions and we pay them more than the minimum wages.”
“In one of the workshops they even have their own ecosystem where they clean and reuse dirty water. Moreover, we do not work with chemicals,” Sondra added.
Arbor Antwerp will not participate in Black Friday on 25 November, but will organize a Green Friday. “On that day we will be 10% more expensive, 20% of the profit will go to, for example, The Ocean Cleanup. We think it is important that the organization is also put in the spotlight”, concludes Sondra.