As the founder of Extra Medium, Emmanuel Cortés believes that stains, holes, and tears in clothing are great opportunities to tell stories...

If you’ve ever met him, you've noticed his collection of handkerchiefs.

In 2020, he visited his aunts and grandparents in Mexico for the first time in 20 years, it was the first time he realized that the use of a handkerchief was part of his heritage. His aunts teased him for carrying on the “tradition” of using a handkerchief like his dad and grandad.

When he was 16, his father gave him his first handkerchief. It wasn’t until 16 years later that he realized how much emotional value this pieces of cloth carried. However torn and in poor condition, he still keeps this handkerchief.

We all keep that one garment for the memories it holds.

Humans are storytellers, sharing anecdotes and teachings from our ancestors. Humans used to tell stories using their clothing by repairing and restoring them from generation to generation. This practice has been lost over time.

Extra Medium aims to shift our understanding of the garment-making process through sharing, bringing the culture of repair back into style, sharing heirloom wardrobe pieces and thus the stories behind them.

Our mission is to encourage consumers to be part of the design and creation process; to follow each of our garment’s local and handmade processes, and to learn the true value and quality of each.  From our experience, a specific wardrobe is necessary to live in Brussels, with its micro-climates and rainfall even when 0% precipitation is forecast. Extra Medium focuses on tailored pants and jackets made from a maximum of natural fabrics, strong enough to hold the winter yet light enough to wear year-round. With a near-zero waste practice, “scraps” are used to make smaller accessories or sculptural forms.

EM tailored does not conform to gender norms. It is neither a men’s nor women’s brand. We make skirts for everyone and tailor clothing for trans, cis and gender non-conforming people looking to fit correctly in what they choose to wear. This kind of tailoring service is lacking in our cities. Some people may not feel comfortable going to a tailor for fear of being judged, for various reasons.

Extra Medium is pleased to offer a friendly, open environment, with a welcoming atmosphere and a chance to share stories about the intimate ritual of finding the right garment for every body type.

In an ideal future, there will only be local producers in fashion. People will prefer smaller design houses over the fast-fashion giants of today. Clothing quality will surpass that of today’s leading brands thanks to small businesses that fought with a passion. Extra Medium was founded to help rethink today’s fashion industry and remind everyone of a world where repaired clothing and patches on an old pair of pants are valued because of the stories they tell.

Extra Medium values above all sharing stories with people and in so doing, raising awareness of their relationship with clothing. Every garment has a story, but how can we keep track of these stories if our clothes only last one season?