The people behind Essentiel Antwerp
Julien & Natacha
Curious to know who's behind those fabulous store windows? For the latest People Behind Essentiel Antwerp, we're talking with Julien and Natacha, our Visual Merchandising team. Read about how they've landed their job, the highlights in their career and how they create those beautiful installments in store.
How did you get into visual merchandising?
Julien — Growing up, my mother had a store and I always loved to be involved in the window decors, especially around Christmas time. She's the one that always pushed my creative side and it made me feel so proud to see my vision come to life! Now, to be able to do this for a living, it's like it was meant to be.
Natacha — 20 years ago, I started to work at Essentiel Antwerp as a sales assistant in our store in Uccle. It was a crazy and fun time with one successful collection after the other.
Over the years, our brand evolved, and so did I. I was intrigued by the importance of merchandising and the impact it had on our customers. Being able to create strong and colorful silhouettes every day, it gave me energy back then and still gives it to me now.
What's it like to work at Essentiel Antwerp?
Julien — I started my journey with Essentiel Antwerp 10 years ago so by now I feel like I'm part of the family. I joined the VM team after a few years as sales assistant and I have always been very grateful that I had the opportunity to evolve within the company.
Natacha — Working here for 20 years, I've seen it all. From doing the Visual Merchandising in just a few stores to participating in all those new store openings and working across borders.
Every store opening is unique and to see behind the scenes how all teams are involved to get this done, I'm lucky to take part in this. To this day, it's still Inge and Esfan that give us the energy and the impulse to surpass ourselves.
"With just one look at our windows the customer must be able to understand the DNA of Essentiel Antwerp so our mission is to make sure that the stores look as fresh, fun and colorful as our collections."
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Julien
What do you love most about your job?
Julien & Natacha — There are many things we love about our job but working with Inge and the creative team on a new collection in the showroom, that's when the magic happens. To see the collection and the decor we created come together, is very rewarding. And icing on the cake: working with Inge is definitely never boring!
How does your day typically look like?
Julien & Natacha — There is no typical day at Essentiel Antwerp. We mostly visit our stores but you can also find us in our showrooms in Antwerp or abroad, working on a window concept or doing a set up for a special project.
Where do you find your inspiration?
Julien — Inspiration can be everywhere: design, architecture, art, travels,… I think that the most important thing is to keep up with the times, anticipate what the next trend is and think about how to adapt it to the Essentiel Antwerp image.
What's the installment you are the most proud of?
Julien — Over the years, I had the opportunity to work on so many amazing projects and travel to places I would have never gone otherwise. But for me the opening of a new store is always a very special moment. I love to be part of it and to see it all coming together by the different teams involved. It's a lot of work and pressure but the end result always makes me feel very proud.
Natacha — That must be the latest installment in the museum shop of Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp. It was a whole other type of visual merchandising that we're used to. Very product focused by having the items displayed in mass. It was fun to fill the shelves of a museum shop for a change!
"I'm so proud of the latest installment in the museum shop of Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp. It was fun to fill the shelves of a museum shop for a change!"
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Natacha
What's the key ingredient to an appealing store or window display?
Julien — With the rise of online shopping our customers are looking for an exciting experience when entering a physical store so we need to stand out! With just one look at our windows the customer must be able to understand the DNA of Essentiel Antwerp so our mission is to make sure that the stores look as fresh, fun and colorful as our collections.
Have you seen visual merchandising changing throughout those years?
Julien — Trends come and go so it's always evolving. Those last few years we also changed our way to present the collection in the stores: we went for a more clean approach. The main goal is to make it look more attractive and understandable for the customer while keeping our premium image.
"There are many things we love about our job but working with Inge and the creative team on a new collection in the showroom, that’s when the magic happens."
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Julien & Natacha
