7 surprising luxury addresses in Antwerp

Where can you shop for the best of the best and get really good service? We list Antwerp addresses where you are guaranteed value for money.

Calzoleria Vito Antivigilia

Vito Antivigilia is not just any shoemaker. He designs and makes custom shoes by hand in the finest leathers. Just like the old, authentic shoemakers in Italy. All in all, it takes about forty hours to tailor a pair of shoes. The price tag starts at 1300 euros. In addition to custom work, Antivigilia also does regular repairs in its Antwerp workshop, making your old shoes look like new again, for a fraction of the price.

Verbondstraat 59, 2000 Antwerp.

Baltimore Flowers

Baltimore is no ordinary flower shop. And owner Mark Colle is anything but an ordinary florist. At the age of fifteen he quit school and ended up, rather by chance, in the flower industry. Since 2007 he has been operating Baltimore in Antwerp, after the city where he had wild adventures as a young guest. Colle is internationally known for his flamboyant installations for Dior, Prada, Raf Simons and Dries Van Noten, among others. He likes non-obvious combinations such as tropical flowers and wild flowers, and colors that do not match at first glance.

Orgelstraat 6, 2000 Antwerp. baltimorebloemen.be

Labellov

In love with labels? Then you undoubtedly already know Labellov, the paradise for fans of second-hand designer bags. You can buy Chanel, Hermès and Delvaux, among others, for reduced prices, without having to compromise on service. Anyone who wants to offer a designer bag for sale via Labellov will also be pampered. They arrange everything, from the photos to the shipping. A pick-up service is organized for those who cannot get to the store. Labellov recently sold “the world’s rarest and most desirable bag,” an Hermès Himalaya Kelly, to a customer in Hong Kong.

Verlatstraat 15, 2000 Antwerp. labellov.com

Morevi

Tapestries are in. You can find them in all kinds of colors and sizes, gun-tufted, machine-woven or printed. The Georgian-Belgian artist duo Ana Naskidashvili and Frederik Poisquet, who were discovered last month at the Wonder festival in Kortrijk, prefer to take a different tack. They opt for slow manual work and primitive working methods, inspired by nature and Georgian heritage. The tapestries are traditionally hand felted from Belgian wool and hand dyed with natural, deep blue tones in their studio in Antwerp.

Van Lissumstraat 18A, 2100 Antwerp. morevi.studio

Cheeses Schockaert

For more than a hundred years, Schockaert has been offering the most unique raw milk cheeses from Europe, such as the English blue cheese Stichelton and the French Comté. Sisters Ann and Sophie Schockaert, the fourth generation, sell almost exclusively artisanal cheese from small producers. When those cheeses arrive, they often have to ripen for several weeks. They do this in the sixteenth-century vaulted cellars of the former Congregation Chapel next to St. Rumbold’s Cathedral. Schockaert also organizes cheese and wine tastings in The Cellar under the guidance of a cheese master and sommelier.

IJzerenleen 28, 2800 Mechelen. schockaert-kaas.be

Van Eccelpoel

What started in 1948 as a small Herental fresh produce trade, grew into a renowned delicatessen that combines fresh regional products with a curated worldly offering. With counters that house oysters and Belgian caviar as well as the tastiest cheeses and charcuterie, they call themselves ‘Suppliers of the Good Life’. The house specialty? Meat salad according to the original recipe of founder Leontine Pelsmakers. For their wine cellar, sommelier Koen Michiels has been scouring well-known and emerging wine estates in Europe for more than thirty years. For his 75th anniversary, Van Eccelpoel is presenting a homemade gin and a winter festive market on November 18.

Lierseweg 26, 2200 Herentals. vaneccelpoel.be

Antoine Vandewoude

What do Dries Van Noten, Gert Voorjans, Willy Vanderperre, Olivier Rizzo, Rinus Van de Velde and Ann Demeulemeester have in common? In addition to their name and fame, they all have work by Antoine Vandewoude. In addition to his carpentry and furniture design, the self-taught artist started experimenting with ceramics in his Berchem studio a few years ago: “To be able to do my thing without compromise, the way I feel.” His vases come in all kinds of shapes and sizes and are finished with sang de boeuf glaze. Depending on the firing technique he uses in his kiln, they ultimately turn green or red. But to get one ‘on demand’ you have to be patient. Antoine is a (inter)nationally sought-after professional and only occasionally turns on his oven.

In Antwerp you can find it at Gert Voorjans, Leopoldplaats 11 and at Graanmarkt 13. In Loppem at Costersveld, Torhoutsesteenweg 20. antoinevandewoude.com