With Ankie, Dam Square becomes fashionable again
The Labelz and Essentialz clothing shops really want to make women more beautiful. "Customer and stylist are aligned," assures business manager Ankie Methorst. She already secured many exclusivity deals.
DATE
22 November 2023
TEXT
Annerieke Simeone
IMAGE
Brian Mul
With Ankie, Dam Square becomes fashionable again
The Labelz and Essentialz clothing shops really want to make women more beautiful. "Customer and stylist are aligned," assures business manager Ankie Methorst. She already secured many exclusivity deals.
A fresh wind is blowing on the Dam Square in Leidschendam. And that fresh wind is called Ankie Methorst. Only 73 years young, she is the new manager of the women's clothing shops Labelz and Essentialz, at 66 and 62 respectively. "Ankie is a whirlwind," employee Maaike confides.
"She has more energy than me." Earlier, Methorst had asked her husband Emile Gassler, who also owns the premises on Damplein, 'what exactly he wanted with those women's shops', but it took a while before the real estate man from The Hague conceded that it would make sense for her to take a leading role there after all. Laughing, "Emile was initially afraid I would blow everyone away. While, of course, I had long seen that things had to be different. There were beautiful brands hanging there, but they didn't make you greedy."
Labelz
After the contract with management was terminated, Methorst made a call round to all agents. Some items needed to be exchanged, she found. "Some of them did not want to cooperate. Those I terminated." Dryly: "Yes, if you want to achieve something, you have to be 'tough' from time to time." Within five months, she added some 15 new brands to Labelz, the high-end women's brand shop, including Joseph Ribkoff, Leo & Ugo, Nenette, Kocca and Herzen's Angelegenheit. The same goes for Essentialz, where more affordable clothing hangs, such as Co'Couture and Francomina. Both shops, with an area of some 400 square metres, have more than 5,000 clothing items hanging. Methorst with a wink: "Yes, they are not boutique stores, huh."
'If you want to achieve something, you have to be tough once in a while'
She now has exclusivity agreements with most agents. "Of course I don't expect a brand like Marc Cain to leave The Hague city centre, but in Leidschendam-Voorburg and Voorschoten I do want to be the only supplier." Proudly: "I'm managing that quite well so far."
'We don't run boutiques'
Herzen's angelegenheit
Not that she does everything on her own. On a shopping day, she often takes someone with her. "Usually Christina or Maaike, the former is a bit more fashionable, the latter a bit more conservative. A fine combination, that way you create an interesting collection. It's the same in the shops: customer and stylist are matched. There has to be a good click."
Methorst doesn't necessarily have a favourite clothing brand, but Herzen's Angelegenheit she wants to mention. "You can tell by the name, they come from Germany. But it is far from stiff. They have beautiful, silk blouses with designs reminiscent of old Gucci patterns. Also special is Greek brand Archaic Kori with its signature linen kaftans and tunics. But they also have very nice silk pantaloons with tops."
In fashion, you always look a year ahead, and so does Ankie Methorst. "We are now working on the 2024 summer collection. That will be a celebration. Just like December." Glowing: "Lots of glitter!" Whenever possible, she drives to Dam Square seven days a week. In the shops, she gets to know her customers better. "Which woman do I target? I target professionals. But who are they? I don't think in pigeonholes like that. 'Age is just a number,' I always say. The pink coat Fay is wearing for the photo, I would put on myself. We want to make women more beautiful. The biggest compliment is when I hear someone say: 'How well it looks on me, I would never have dared to choose that myself'."
'The artistic side was there early on'
General Manager
As the photographer gets ready for the next shoot, Methorst exhorts him to wait. "There is still too much stuff hanging behind the ladies. Please rearrange." Nothing escapes this slender lady. "I see things with the back of my mind, I learned that in my hotel days." In Chapel Hill, a US town in North Carolina, she was the general manager of hotel Europa, now Sheraton Chapel Hill. "I had 150 staff. And interfered with everything. Even with the decor. Our lobby was once voted the most beautiful in all of America. Yes, that artistic side was there early on."
Once back in The Hague, she met her current husband. "From him I didn't need to work so much, Emile was happy to travel with me." She looks into the long space. "I knew the rich side of life, but I was also missing something. Emptiness is the worst thing for man. Emile fortunately sees that too. I had to promise him that I will stay in charge here for another five years. Well..." Chuckles: "I'll keep doing it for a while, I expect. I want to restyle the shops a bit more and probably they will also be renamed. And as you just heard: I have enough energy for it."
text Annerieke Simeone image Brian Mul
A fresh wind is blowing on the Dam Square in Leidschendam. And that fresh wind is called Ankie Methorst. Only 73 years young, she is the new manager of the women's clothing shops Labelz and Essentialz, at 66 and 62 respectively. "Ankie is a whirlwind," employee Maaike confides.
"She has more energy than me." Earlier, Methorst had asked her husband Emile Gassler, who also owns the premises on Damplein, 'what exactly he wanted with those women's shops', but it took a while before the real estate man from The Hague conceded that it would make sense for her to take a leading role there after all. Laughing, "Emile was initially afraid I would blow everyone away. While, of course, I had long seen that things had to be different. There were beautiful brands hanging there, but they didn't make you greedy."
Labelz
After the contract with management was terminated, Methorst made a call round to all agents. Some items needed to be exchanged, she found. "Some of them did not want to cooperate. Those I terminated." Dryly: "Yes, if you want to achieve something, you have to be 'tough' from time to time." Within five months, she added some 15 new brands to Labelz, the high-end women's brand shop, including Joseph Ribkoff, Leo & Ugo, Nenette, Kocca and Herzen's Angelegenheit. The same goes for Essentialz, where more affordable clothing hangs, such as Co'Couture and Francomina. Both shops, with an area of some 400 square metres, have more than 5,000 clothing items hanging. Methorst with a wink: "Yes, they are not boutique stores, huh."
'If you want to achieve something, you have to be tough once in a while'
She now has exclusivity agreements with most agents. "Of course I don't expect a brand like Marc Cain to leave The Hague city centre, but in Leidschendam-Voorburg and Voorschoten I do want to be the only supplier." Proudly: "I'm managing that quite well so far."
'We don't run boutiques'
Herzen's angelegenheit
Not that she does everything on her own. On a shopping day, she often takes someone with her. "Usually Christina or Maaike, the former is a bit more fashionable, the latter a bit more conservative. A fine combination, that way you create an interesting collection. It's the same in the shops: customer and stylist are matched. There has to be a good click."
Methorst doesn't necessarily have a favourite clothing brand, but Herzen's Angelegenheit she wants to mention. "You can tell by the name, they come from Germany. But it is far from stiff. They have beautiful, silk blouses with designs reminiscent of old Gucci patterns. Also special is Greek brand Archaic Kori with its signature linen kaftans and tunics. But they also have very nice silk pantaloons with tops."
In fashion, you always look a year ahead, and so does Ankie Methorst. "We are now working on the 2024 summer collection. That will be a celebration. Just like December." Glowing: "Lots of glitter!" Whenever possible, she drives to Dam Square seven days a week. In the shops, she gets to know her customers better. "Which woman do I target? I target professionals. But who are they? I don't think in pigeonholes like that. 'Age is just a number,' I always say. The pink coat Fay is wearing for the photo, I would put on myself. We want to make women more beautiful. The biggest compliment is when I hear someone say: 'How well it looks on me, I would never have dared to choose that myself'."
'The artistic side was there early on'
General Manager
As the photographer gets ready for the next shoot, Methorst exhorts him to wait. "There is still too much stuff hanging behind the ladies. Please rearrange." Nothing escapes this slender lady. "I see things with the back of my mind, I learned that in my hotel days." In Chapel Hill, a US town in North Carolina, she was the general manager of hotel Europa, now Sheraton Chapel Hill. "I had 150 staff. And interfered with everything. Even with the decor. Our lobby was once voted the most beautiful in all of America. Yes, that artistic side was there early on."
Once back in The Hague, she met her current husband. "From him I didn't need to work so much, Emile was happy to travel with me." She looks into the long space. "I knew the rich side of life, but I was also missing something. Emptiness is the worst thing for man. Emile fortunately sees that too. I had to promise him that I will stay in charge here for another five years. Well..." Chuckles: "I'll keep doing it for a while, I expect. I want to restyle the shops a bit more and probably they will also be renamed. And as you just heard: I have enough energy for it."
