Esfan Eghtessadi, who founded the Essentiel Antwerp label in 1999 in Antwerp with Inge Onsea, has told FashionNetwork.com that the label expects revenue to keep on growing in 2025, bolstered by new physical and online retail initiatives. Eghtessadi, the Franco-Iranian-Belgian son of designer Nicole Cadine, grew up in a fashion environment, amidst fabrics, sketches and collections. Onsea, whose mother loved vintage clothes, worked as a model and lived for five years in India, a country that has inspired her with its colours, printed patterns, and quirky combinations.

“The current market context is proving unsettled and complex for the entire sector. We’re proud we’re keeping up a healthy, steady growth, thanks to our staff’s efforts and commitment,” said Eghtessadi. “Having generated a revenue of €64 million in 2024, a 14.5% increase over 2023, we’re expecting solid, double-digit growth for 2025 too, driven by our new business initiatives and our label’s ability to generate a positive organic performance despite the current market challenges,” he added.
 
Essentiel Antwerp, with its extensive ready-to-wear collections and a full accessories line, was created by Eghtessadi and Onsea as an antidote to minimalist, monochrome fashion. It is distinctive for its fresh, original and sophisticated style, and is renowned for original prints and bold colour combinations.

“Our ready-to-wear collections are produced in China, Europe, India and Africa,” said Eghtessadi. “Through long-standing collaborations with our suppliers – with many of them for over 20 years – and by carefully choosing [producers] whose skills are best-suited to each garment’s requirements, we’re able to preserve a strong brand identity and offer high craftsmanship quality, the distinctive features of our most iconic items. In addition, we’re always committed to strengthening our ESG performance and improving sustainability across the value chain, via due diligence, supplier audits, attentive materials selection, and frequent process reviews, notably for transportation and packaging,” he added.

Essentiel Antwerp is currently distributed via 752 multibrand stores across 40 countries. Its main markets, considering all distribution channels, are Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, the UK and France. Eghtessadi said that the label’s best results in the wholesale channel come from Italy and the USA. “Italy accounts for approximately 8% of our wholesale business. We launched our e-shop in the country in March 2025, and the results are very promising. Site visits grew 74% in four months, and online sales increased by a factor of 3.5 in the same period. In May, we staged a brand awareness initiative by opening a kiosk in Milan, further boosting Essentiel Antwerp’s visibility and sales performance in the month,” said Eghtessadi.
 
Eghtessadi expects Essentiel Antwerp to continue growing in Italy, both in wholesale and e-tail: “Italy is a key market within our strategic plan, which is aimed at developing a complete brand experience through physical and digital channels,” he said.
 
Essentiel Antwerp currently has 40 monobrand stores, 32 of them directly operated. The label’s overall direct retail performance is solid, and sales have increased 6% since January. “Our second Parisian store’s opening is scheduled in early November, while our 2026 expansion plan is designed to boost our presence in Europe’s main cities,” said Eghtessadi.

Essentiel Antwerp has 300 employees but, given its growth rate and expansion plans, Eghtessadi indicated that staff numbers will increase “to respond to the market’s evolving needs and new consumer trends. Recruitment will be geared toward new skills to support business expansion and innovation,” he said. “Our quality, creativity and affordability give us stability. We believe they are key values that continue to inspire our customers. Fashion must retain its power to make people dream, and we’re confident the industry will be able to address its current challenges,” said Eghtessadi.
 
What about tariffs? “Like all brands, we’ve been impacted. The challenge is to adapt without penalising customers, and to continue to grow despite these new barriers to trade,” concluded Eghtessadi.
 
The advertising campaign for Essentiel Antwerp’s Fall/Winter 2025-26 collection is entitled Paris s’éveille (Paris awakens). The collection is characterised by a grunge aesthetic elevated by ironic touches and refined layering, as well as tailored constructions and starkly contrasting materials.

The collection is an eclectic blend of deconstructed skirts and shirts, thin ties, faux-fur looks, pearls, lace and sequins. Check, snakeskin and camo prints inject a rock ‘n’ roll vibe to a vibrant palette featuring bright red, electric blue and dark green.