Night Damage marked the reopening of Antwerp’s Ampere nightclub after 22 months of forced closure due to COVID-19. To commemorate the return, the club launched a one-weekend event centered around a limited sneaker release: 22 pairs of Reebok Club C’s — each one physically altered to reflect the wear of a night that never happened.
The alterations—sticky soles, scorched panels, frayed tongues, yellowed laces, even bits of glass embedded underfoot—do more than mimic wear. They sit at the intersection of misery and longing, capturing just how lucky we are to be able to party again.
Visually, Night Damage draws from the underground 1980s rave scene: stretched type, xeroxed distortion, and ink-stamp textures reference the DIY zines and flyers that once ruled illicit warehouses. The result isn’t just a look—it’s a nod to formats that were fast, raw, and unlicensed.
The campaign functions as a ritual of return and a reclamation of presence: sneakers as relics, visuals as residue. It’s not about gloss or polished surfaces—it’s about reconstructing joy from damage, and marking the beginning of something fragile, immediate, and sincere.