Le Bonnet · Amsterdam · 2015

Doing one thing well.

Le Bonnet began with a simple frustration. Matthieu Jansen wanted a beanie he could never find — and when he did find one, he'd leave it in a bar somewhere. So he contacted the Scottish factory that had made his favourite, ordered twenty samples, and started from there.

Soon after, his former roommate Vasco de Vries joined him. Rational where Matthieu is intuitive, the two had already survived sharing a flat. They figured a company couldn't be harder. "We honestly had no idea what it meant to build a company," Vasco says. "We learned everything by trial and error."

Their first office, on the Raadhuisstraat, came with what must have been Amsterdam's smallest bar — stools, built-in, complete. Friends dropped in. Nights turned into long conversations. Somehow it became the heart of the brand.

The making

Every piece is made in a single mill in Scotland that has been running for 180 years. The wool is spun in England, at a mill that has been running for 250. Each beanie passes through 14 pairs of hands before it leaves the factory.

Nothing synthetic. No shortcuts. The process hasn't changed because there isn't a better one.

180 yearsOne Scottish mill250 yearsOne English wool spinner14Pairs of hands, every piece

Wool on the loom at the Le Bonnet mill in Scotland

The colour

What started as one design has grown into eight shapes and a palette that spans from barely-there neutrals to colours that stop you in the street. "The model is timeless," Matthieu says, "but the colours bring it to life. You can wear the same beanie for years, or build a collection. That's the fun."

Some customers own one. Some own many. The Queen of Denmark once wrote to ask for a replacement after losing her favourite blue one.

Explore the Collection

View the collection See Materials & Making