Continuing Ines' Luxury, Elegance Fits Her Son Like a Glove

In Encyclopedia of the Exquisite, gloves throughout the ages are discussed. Gloves were used for everything from protecting coronation ceremonies — “throwing down the gauntlet” — to Medieval tokens of affection.

After the counterculture movement of the late 1960s, hats and gloves went by the wayside — for some.

For independently-minded fashionistas, the aristocracy and certain social circles, gloves never went away. When music videos and wildly popular television shows reopened a wider audience, they ignited a new passion for the finest gloves.

And when Lady Gaga and character Carrie Bradshaw wore unusual gloves, fans tracked them down to Ines van dem Born, the Amsterdam-based designer.

Though Ines passed away last year, her son, Bob Borstlap, has taken over the world-famous business, Ines. In this economic era, they remain an accessible luxury product. We interviewed Borstlap by email on the complexities of running a small, beloved family business in this era.

I asked Borstlap how he followed in his mom’s footsteps in the fashion arena.

“It started like this," he said. "One day in the late 1990s, my mother said to me: 'I am going to start an online shop for fancy leather gloves and you'll take the pictures!’"

He studied photography and fine arts. He worked as a location scout in the film industry. Ines asked him for more help as the company grew. He made the career decision to join Ines full-time.

Are there parts of the world where luxury gloves are worn more frequently than others?

“We are based in the Netherlands, but it’s not a fashion or glove land at all. When it's cold outside most people go buy cheap and don't care about appearance. If you look at our sales over the years USA is way up first, second Germany, third U.K. In Asia, they are really interested in European style, elegance and fashion — especially in Japan, also for hygiene reasons.”

Borstlap discussed the reality of streamlining colors and designs to maintain a high level of quality.

“We used to have a lot of different colors for many of our styles. Now, our production is more focused on exclusivity and bespoke. If a customer wants something, we can arrange, of course.

Thinking of the restoration of the Capitol’s dress code and the end of lockdowns, I asked if there would be a return to more formality in dressing.

Borstlap responded, “To me, dressing up for an occasion or places with dress codes is adding some flavor if you will, or elegance and fun. Clothing is part of your identity, this could also be a group identity. Behavior will change. Clothing has a powerful impact on how people are perceived: look at the uniform of a police officer, for example.”

I asked Borstlap to speak to using leather mindfully.

“One time on Facebook, we got the remark from someone that wearing a dead animal is not elegant. If you look at this bluntly. I agree, but it’s not that simple; there’s more to it. There's tradition and differences in power, and it’s visceral, too. We have been sourcing and studying leather alternatives already for years, but at the moment, the characteristics of vegan leather are not complying to our standards.

These are our values and are very important:

• Handmade with exceptional craftsmanship and traditional knowledge
• Ethically sourced and produced
• Natural leather, byproduct of food industry or subsistence hunting.
• Classic elegance with a modern twist
• Small production runs, no waste
• No seasonal collections.”

Borstlap encourages potential customers to join his e-list to do business with him; I wanted to know more about that.

“An exclusive product needs a different more personal approach. We don’t have a lot of (or none) impulse purchases. Customers first want to check us out and get in touch first, get to know us a bit more through our/my weekly emails/anecdotes.

"Building an email list with leads is crucial for the personal touch and communication. Our gloves are not for anybody. Only for the happy few, and that’s also already very important to our loyal customers. Because we don’t have a 'big' stock, we want to only sell to the most eager and/or enthusiast.”

I’d heard where there was a big brouhaha when President Lyndon Johnson’s daughter wore nylon gloves on a Mardi Gras float. I asked why leather gloves are considered more “correct.”

Borstlap responded, “The characteristics of special thin gloves leather are unique and still unmatched by any other material. It’s a natural material and a lot of craft is needed to get the result. Dying, tanning, stretching, cutting: it’s art, art from nature and craft from mankind.”