WORN BY
Bent Van Looy
Photographed by Charlie de Keersmaeker
I knew it when I smelled it.
The pine and heather-infused scent of the Kalmthoutse Heide nature reserve, carried by the wind all the way to Heide railway station. I took the train here to come and look at a house that would be for sale soon. The fragrant breeze transported me to the few happy years I spent as a boy living in a garden house in a neighbouring village, one train stop away. Left to its own devices, the grasslands and small flowers would soon become a forest.
After the summer you can spot workers stripping the upper humus layer of the soil to prevent young tree roots from digging too deep. Nothing beats the sight of large grazing animals like sheep and highland cows emerging as silhouettes in the morning fog. To live a stone’s throw from this magnificent landscape is one of the main reasons we decided to make a life here.
That, and the smell.
I first saw a sample of the Sonsie tweed chapka when I visited Paris last year to shoot some pictures for De Bonne Facture with my friend and talented photographer Charlie de Keersmaeker. I loved it straight away, favouring its cosy warmth while Charlie and I braved the damp November morning for this series.
I love it when clothes cross over into our real world from the realm of stories, literature and art. De Bonne Facture garments definitely come from that place, they are, from a humble Holden Caulfield hat straight out of Catcher in the Rye to the drama and spectacular drape of the now classic Grandad coat, infused with layers of meaning, references and context.
