The streetwear brands closest to Arte Antwerp are Suspicious Antwerp and Phrase Studios in Belgium, Patta, Daily Paper, Olaf Hussein, The New Originals and Filling Pieces around Amsterdam, and Nude Project, Drôle de Monsieur and Wood Wood further across Europe. Arte sits between graphic art and clean contemporary menswear, so the alternatives that actually hold up are labels that treat a print, a colour or a silhouette as a design decision rather than a logo drop.
Arte Antwerp was founded in 2009 by Bertony Da Silva, a graphic designer with a long-running interest in art, architecture and photography. That shows in the clothes as repeated shapes, painterly prints and cuts that stay fairly classic underneath. Most people searching for something similar want both halves of that at once, the art-led graphics and the restraint, which is why the list below is grouped by how close each brand gets to one or the other. It starts in Belgium and moves outwards.
If you want to stay in Belgium
Belgium is a small market with a long fashion history, so the labels here tend to be independent and design-conscious rather than mass. Two are worth knowing if Arte is your starting point. There are more of them in our guide to the best Belgian streetwear brands.
- Suspicious Antwerp came out of Antwerp in 2017 and grew through unannounced drops with limited stock. The design language is simpler than Arte's, mostly sweatshirts and tees with restrained branding, so it is closest on city identity and scarcity rather than on graphics. We cover it on its own in streetwear brands like Suspicious Antwerp.
- Phrase Studios is an independent studio in Ghent, founded in 2023 under the line 'From friends, to friends'. It works in numbered chapters of small heavyweight-cotton runs that are not restocked, and leans on fabric weight and embroidery more than on print. Different in look to Arte, similar in scale and in being run by a small team.
Amsterdam and the wider Lowlands
Antwerp, Ghent, Rotterdam and Amsterdam sit within a couple of hours of each other, and the brands from that stretch share a habit of pairing graphic work with sober cuts. This is the richest group if you like Arte. Two of the biggest names get a longer look in our guide to streetwear brands like Patta and Daily Paper.
- Patta was founded in Amsterdam in 2004 by Edson Sabajo and Guillaume Schmidt and started as a shop before it became a label. Its roots in the shop and the community around it still show, and its graphics are usually type-led rather than painterly.
- Daily Paper was founded in Amsterdam in 2012 by Jefferson Osei, Abderrahmane Trabsini and Hussein Suleiman, and draws openly on their African heritage for pattern and colour. If the print side of Arte is what pulls you in, this is the nearest match in the Netherlands.
- Olaf Hussein is the Amsterdam label from designer Olaf Hussein, built on minimal shapes, muted colour and a menswear sensibility that sits close to tailoring. It answers the quieter half of Arte rather than the graphic half.
- The New Originals was founded in Amsterdam in 2015 by Rizky Lasahido, Maru Asmellash and Eben Badu, with the idea of making clothing for creatives. Its work is tied into the city's music and art scenes, which is familiar territory for anyone who found Arte through its collaborations.
- Filling Pieces was founded in Amsterdam in 2009 by Guillaume Philibert and began in footwear before growing into a full wardrobe. It aims at the space between luxury and streetwear, so it overlaps with Arte on finish more than on graphics.
Further across Europe
Widen the map and the character changes. These three share Arte's contemporary, design-first approach without sitting in the Lowlands.
- Nude Project was started in Barcelona in 2019 by Bruno Casanovas and Alex Benlloch and runs under the line 'by artists, for artists'. The art framing is close to Arte's, though the tone is louder and more community driven.
- Drôle de Monsieur was founded in Paris in 2014 by Dany Dos Santos and Maxime Schwab and is known for the slogan 'Not From Paris Madame'. Soft tailoring, knitwear and a warm palette make it one of the closest matches for Arte's cleaner pieces.
- Wood Wood has been going in Copenhagen since 2002 under co-founders Karl-Oskar Olsen and Brian SS Jensen, with roots in graffiti and street culture and a long list of art collaborations. Scandinavian restraint, but with the same graphic instinct.
Where Phrase Studios sits
Phrase Studios is worth naming here for one reason: it is Belgian, small and works in the same Lowlands lane, not because it does what Arte does. Founded in Ghent in 2023, it releases numbered chapters rather than seasons, each a short run of heavyweight cotton that is not restocked. The emphasis is on weight and construction, so the hoodies and sweatshirts and tracksuits read plainer than an Arte print at a glance. If you want the wider picture of who else is working at this scale on the continent, the European streetwear page lays it out. It is one option among the names above, not a replacement for any of them.
None of these are straight swaps. Arte Antwerp's appeal is a specific graphic hand applied to fairly classic clothing, and no other label reproduces that exactly. What the brands above offer is one half of the equation done well, whether that is the art reference, the Antwerp scale or the quiet finish. Work out which half you were actually buying, then start with a single piece and judge it after a few washes rather than on the lookbook.
FAQ
Is Arte Antwerp a Belgian brand?
Yes. Arte Antwerp is based in Antwerp, Belgium, and was founded in 2009 by Bertony Da Silva, a graphic designer whose interest in art and architecture still runs through the prints and cuts the label is known for.
Which brands are most similar to Arte Antwerp?
Suspicious Antwerp is the closest by city and scale, Daily Paper and The New Originals are the closest on art-led graphics, and Olaf Hussein and Wood Wood are closest on the quieter, more considered side of the range.
Are there smaller alternatives to Arte Antwerp?
Yes. Independent studios work at a much smaller scale than Arte does. Phrase Studios in Ghent, for example, releases numbered chapters of heavyweight cotton that are not restocked, so a run is finished when it sells out rather than repeated each season.
