THE BUYER
The march of the seasons still dominates fashion, but Dutch-born retailer Ilse Cornelissens has eschewed that cycle with Graanmarkt 13, a shop and restaurant she launched in 2010 with her husband, Tim Van Geloven, in the Belgian city of Antwerp. After years of doing things the fashion way—selling clothes fast and seasonally, churning through stock—Graanmarkt 13 is taking a step back, rejecting the hunger for newness in favor of a slower, more relaxed and timeless approach to consumption. The aim is to make you feel at home in the converted townhouse—which shouldn’t be too hard, as the couple once lived in the €1,300-a-night apartment they now rent to visitors—and to do away with the snobbishness and formality that often ossifies upmarket shopping. The three items she chose to discuss with me are made by designers from across the world, but they all embody that desire for openness.—MAX FRASER