J'N'C Magazine 2/2013

STYLEGUIDE BARCELONA INTERVIEW PIERRE MORISSET 2/ 2013

FASHION BUSINESS, BRANDS AND URBAN CULTURE

D 9,50 EURO B NL A 10,50 EURO E P I 11,50 EURO CH 15,80 CHF

ENGLISH EDITION

Made in the USA

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CONTENT

02/2013

36

17

17

STANDARDS

CONTENT

44

6

Editorial / Contributors

8

Column Circus Fashionelli

10

Book Lookin’ Christoph Grill & Fully Booked

12

Street Styles International

CITY GUIDE BARCELONA 17

Hot Spots Going for Catalan Gold

36

Street People Black is the New Black

BRAND FEATURES 56

40

Fashion and Communication Look Who’s Talking!

44

Interview Pierre Morisset, G-Star Raw The Year of the Greyhound

48

Interview Manel Jadraque, Desigual Daring to be Different

50

Alberto Wearing the Trousers

54

Interview Roy Roger’s No History without Future

56

Franklin & Marshall Terra Antiqua x Team Spirit

58

Interview Attila Kiss, Etiqueta Negra Black Label Goods

60

Levi’s A History of the Button-up Jeans

62

ISKO Creative Room Codename: Creative Room

64

Trade Shows Preview Summer 2013

40

62

8 54

3

CONTENT

02/2013

90

98

RETAIL 72

B56, Kopenhagen

74

Fine and Dandy, New York

76

La Ferramenta, Bologna

FASHION

CONTENT 80

80

Babes on Wheels Christoph Voy

90

Pattern Recognition Florian Danner

98

Passeig Maritim Sevda Albers

104

Long Trip to Teatime Katharina Poblotzki

112

Star in Stripes Ben Ullmann

120

I * NY Nadia Del Dò

8

104

72

4

Imprint

128

Where to find us

130

Index

74

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS

02/2013

EDITORIAL Don’t kill the goose that lays the golden egg.

This old saying dates back to a folktale, in which the owners of the fabled magic goose just couldn’t get enough. They kill the animal, in the hope of fi nding more gold inside, but end up with nothing at all.

It’s a story that the inhabitants of Barcelona seem to have taken to heart: despite the tourist hordes, the clever Barcelonans still prefer quality over quality when it comes to their pretty Mediterranean metropolis. Great little boutique hotels, meticulously designed restaurants serving creative cuisine and a great variety of upand-coming shop projects that cater to every new niche market the economy throws at them: that’s the kind of gold the proud and hardworking Catalans know how to cultivate. To see how the Barcelonans are making the most of their golden goose despite the economic crisis, check out our city guide from page 17.

And even in the Netherlands, or to be more specific at the Amsterdam headquarters of G-Star Raw, they’re not taking anything for granted. Despite living a bit of a fairytale

existence for the past two decades, Jos van Tilburg and his Dutch team are treading extremely carefully where the image of their label is concerned. Popularity yes, but not of the bargain-basement variety please. Designer Pierre Morisset will not budge where this is concerned: he is the utopian, the free thinker, whose seemingly inexhaustible source of creative potential allows G-Star to second-guess the taste of a broad spectrum of buyers without losing face amongst the opinion leaders. We met up with the communicative Frenchman in Berlin, where he enthused about his future visions in the fashion world – and even gave us a glimpse into his childhood. Get the lowdown on how an item in his dad’s garage influenced his career, as well as his views on the functionality of 3D design and his Toile de Chine inspiration from page 44.

Talking of communicative: did you know that your clothing can actually reveal your innermost thoughts, by means of its very own individual language? In ‘Look Who’s Talking!’ from page 40, writer Fredericke Winkler analyses

its vocabulary for us, and shows what we can express with an outfit without even opening our mouths.

Our fashion also speaks for itself: stylist Josepha Rodriguez followed us to Barcelona where she gave the beautiful Patricia a springtime pastel look. Nadia Del Dò flew to quite different shores, namely to the East Coast in the US, where she photographed the fashion of tomorrow and beyond in New York. Berlin photographer Katharina Poblotzki headed to London, whilst her colleague Christoph Voy went go-karting in his neighbourhood BerlinNeukölln. You’ll fi nd all our fashion shoots from page 80.

Whether you are an opinion leader or more of a silent observer, a word-lover or an admirer of beautiful images: we hope you enjoy browsing the pages of this current issue!

Ilona Marx

CONTRIBUTORS BUSY BEES

FRANZISKA KLÜN

FLORIAN DANNER

BIKI JOHN

RAINER RUDOLF BENOIT

“You really are a damned crow!” We can bet our bottom dollar that no one has ever said that to Franziska Klün. No, that’s just the English translation of the title of a book of intimate interviews by her favourite literary journalist André Müller. Just like her role model, the 30-year-old journalist has sought out a specialist subject: Berlin’s permanently changing fashion scene is her hobbyhorse, one which is unlikely to ever wear thin. Franziska was also involved in the development of the Berlin Zitty Fashion Books, the must-have guide to Berlin’s fashion scene of which there is meanwhile an entire series. Every fashion freak based in the city on the Spree River would give their eye teeth for a mention on its pages.

Florian Danner, our photographer based in Witten in the northeast of Germany, really does have a great set of pearly whites.

And he needs them too, as his favourite food is a juicy steak with a salad garnish.

His meat has to be grilled to perfection though; that’s something he’s very fussy about. But in all other respects, Florian is very much a fan of surprises. His favourite kind of holiday involves a rucksack and no travel itinerary, either to the taiga or the tropics, as long as it’s extreme, that’s the main thing. And as far as his work as a fashion and advertising photographer is concerned, he loves “simple, subtly emotional aesthetics with an artistic touch”. So there you have it, a man with ideals! The results can be admired from page 90.

Biki likes it brightly coloured and extravagant! The London stylist with Nigerian roots is based in Berlin and loves experimenting with weird and wonderful looks. So it only makes sense that she is turning her hobby into her profession and making a name for herself on the fashion scene. She was head stylist at the Africa Fashion Day during Berlin Fashion Week and is currently working for various online and offl ine media. Her special trademark is defi nitely her humour, which is a rare commodity amongst bloggers. On her website ‘My Fashion S/ash Life’ she explores ‘the world of fashion and that crazy little thing called life’.

Rainer is getting closer and closer to achieving his goal of paying off his debts before the climate crisis gets too serious.

Firstly, because springtime has fi nally had mercy on us, and secondly, because he has a steady flow of work coming in.

The Düsseldorf photographer is always open to anything outlandish and, as a keen mathematician in his spare time, he can easily prove the existence of chaos based on complex dynamic systems. For J’N’C he flew to Venice to visit Isko’s Creative Room, their new R&D division, and didn’t lose his cool, even when the customs officials asked him to take his cameras apart three times. But then again, anyone who was lucky enough to spend their childhood in Mauritius, is sure to have the art of maintaining a calm composure down to a tee.

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COLUMN CHEEKY TONGUE

02/2013

CIRCUS FASHIONELLI TEXT GERLIND HECTOR ILLUSTRATION MATHIAS SUESS

A veritable shitstorm hit the fan a few weeks ago when Suzy Menkes let rip in an article published in T Magazine, the style magazine of the New York Times. The godmother of fashion critics dared to veer from the topic of skirt lengths and next season’s colours to lament her own species and give them a good dressing down. Fashion experts, or at least those who think they are, really got a tongue lashing.

The reason: these days it seems that the fashion press has stopped concentrating on the task at hand, ever since stylists, it-girls and – the worst by far – bloggers(!) have been grabbing all the limelight. A mere ten years ago, no-one would have known what was meant by these three hazy job descriptions, let alone get seats for Chanel, Céline & Co. purely on the strength of them. Nowadays every child knows that these are three absolute dream jobs that don’t actually require much of a skill set – well, other than being famous for being famous. Then all you have to do is quickly put a cool blog on the net and start blowing your own trumpet. Or write about that cute shirt or, even better, write about yourself wearing that cute shirt. The shopping channel HSE24 recently sent out delightful 2-in-1 cushions (that in a few smooth moves turn handily into a quilt) to a few bloggers who were of course incredibly thrilled. Credibility? Who cares. The main thrust of the viral trend ambassadors is the message: “Me, me, me!” Suzy Menkes is annoyed about this modern farce, which reeks of corruptibility. Fashion shows have degenerated into circus acts.

And whose fault is it? The wannabe starlets who will do anything to get in a photo for some blog or another that will be posted online a few seconds later. And that’s all before the official catwalk show has even kicked off.

That is where you’ll find the likes of Bryanboy and Tavi Gevinson who are simply content to be themselves. Fashion competence and expert knowledge are “old-school” these days: what counts now, according to Menkes, is the “digital fashion stuff”.

It’s true that most fashion bloggers can’t tell their chenille from their chinchilla and think pepita is a new fitness trend from Brazil. But hold your horses, dear Suzy! Just give it some time, and the wheat will separate from the chaff in the blog-o-sphere, just as it does elsewhere. The hype will blow over and only the truly accomplished will survive. The rest will go back to plan A and train to become shop assistants or hairdressers.

And then the flow of fashion victims jostling for attention on the steps of New York’s Lincoln Center will ebb, and Suzy will once again be able to swoop up the stairs safely, to the next Marc Jacobs show.

PUBLISHER B+B MEDIA COMPANY GMBH HILDEBRANDTSTR. 24 D 40215 DÜSSELDORF TELEFON +49 (0)211 8303 0 TELEFAX +49 (0)211 8303 200 INFO@JNC-NET.DE, WWW.JNC-NET.DE

PHOTOGRAPHY SEVDA ALBERS, RAINER RUDOLF BENOIT/7DAYSISAWEEKEND, FLORIAN DANNER, NADIA DEL DÒ, ADRIAAN LOUW, KATHARINA POBLOTZKI, AXEL SIEBMANN, BEN ULLMANN, CHRISTOPH VOY

MANAGING DIRECTOR ANDRÉ WEIJDE

ILLUSTRATION FRAUKE BERG, ROMAN KLONEK, MATHIAS SUESS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ILONA MARX IM FREELANCE CONTRIBUTORS CHRISTINE ALBRECHT, JOLIEN DECKERS, GERLIND HECTOR GH, SVEA JÖRGENS, FRANZISKA KLÜN, CHERYLL MÜHLEN, EVA WESTHOFF EW, FREDERICKE WINKLER FW

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TRANSLATION PAULA HEDLEY, GALINA GREEN DESIGN & LAYOUT MARTIN STEINIGEN, CHEWING THE SUN; WWW.CHEWINGTHESUN.COM IMAGE EDITING JEAN PASCAL ZAHN

COPY EDITOR EVA WESTHOFF HEAD OF PRODUCTION STEFAN MUGRAUER PRODUCTION ASSISTANT PIA SCHÄFER PRINT KÖSSINGER DRUCK, SCHIERLING ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER / ADVERTISING DIRECTOR PIERRE D’AVETA TELEFON +49 (0)211 8303 151 P.DAVETA@BB-MEDIACOMPANY.COM PRICE GERMANY 9,50 EUROS A, NL, B 10,50 EUROS; E, P, I 11,50 EUROS SWITZERLAND 15.80 CHF

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Place of business and jurisdiction is in all cases Düsseldorf.

REVIEWS BOOK LOOKIN’

02/2013

Alida Rosie Sayer, Atlas Alicia Martin, Biografias III

CHRISTOPH GRILL SHORT STALKS AT DISTANT SHORES It’s approximately 2800 kilometres from Moscow to Tashkent in Uzbekistan. 7025 kilometres stretch between Riga in Latvia and Vladivostok on the shores of the Sea of Japan – they are worlds apart, and not just in geographical terms. Until its demise in 1991, the Soviet Union, with its 22.4 million square kilometres, covered almost a sixth of dry land in the entire world. And with it, the entire range of differing topography and climatic zones, as well as countless religious and cultural identities – then and now. What do all 15 post-Soviet countries have in common? They are all fighting one way or another to come to terms with their communist legacy: sometimes on the battlefield of ideology, but first and foremost economically. The photographer Christoph Grill certainly witnessed sufficient proof of that on his travels. From 1999 until 2010 he travelled through the former Soviet Union, impressed by the “almost apocalyptically destructive grandeur of these places” outside the main centres of civilisation, writes the Austrian, who was born in 1965, in his postscript to ‘Short Stalks at Distant Shores’, which also carries the explanatory subtitle ‘Imaging Post-Soviet Space’. Judging by the graffiti-covered cave monastery of Udabno, which displays frescoes dating back to the 10th and 13th centuries and was used by the Soviet Army as a military training ground during the war in Afghanistan, this formulation certainly hits the nail on the head. The Petropavlovsk-Kamtchatski ship graveyard on the Russian peninsula Kamtchatka raises doubts as to the glorious capitalist future that is about to dawn. Another region that seems to have fallen out of time: the so-called Heroes’ Gateway amidst the barrenness of the Kazakh Steppe, which has made it onto the cover of the 192-page photo book that has accompanying texts in German and English. Slightly more upbeat, despite his uniform, is Arthur, the Armenian guard, who, kitted out with sunglasses and a walkie-talkie, keeps watch at the poolside of the ‘Ararat Valley Country Club’.

Grill spent anything between four weeks and several months travelling around these bleak locations. He avoided using digital photography, because he wanted to place his faith in the magic of coincidence, in the here and now. Grill considers himself a documentarian, but one who likes to capture the “fundamental, contradictory mood”. Perhaps the best proof of this is the photo of the four small girls wearing candy-coloured synthetic costumes, which was taken in Pravdinsk. It’s probably a sight that would bring a smile to the faces of mothers the world over, whether in New Haven, Cherbourg or Giessen. /ew

SHORT STALKS AT DISTANT SHORES IS PUBLISHED BY HATJE CANTZ, OSTFILDERN, AND COSTS 58.00 EUROS.

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FULLY BOOKED: INK ON PAPER DESIGN & CONCEPTS FOR NEW PUBLICATIONS “Print will not kill the web.” This is the message emblazoned in red letters on the cover. Is someone in denial here about the times we live in, and the existence of iPads, eReaders, smartphones and Co.? No, because this apparently strange statement is aimed at the future. It conjures up a utopia that doesn’t seem so distant. At least that is the conclusion drawn once you have leafed through the second volume of the ‘Fully Booked’ series by the Gestalten publishing house. Like its 2008 predecessor ‘Cover Art & Design for Books’, ‘Design & Concepts for New Publications’, which is hot off the press, is dedicated to current trends in book design. And this isn’t just a hard sell for coffee table book style publications. On the contrary, although visuals and feel are naturally very much a priority for this publication, the danger of reducing printed matter to a mere decorative living room accessory has been cleverly avoided. As at the point where the form threatens to push the content to the periphery, we are already in the realm of the sculptural.

Just as with Tobias Rehberger’s ‘Holy Silence’, the eleven pages of which are each made from a different laser-cut material and open up into a three dimensional object. Or like ‘The Real Cookbook’ from the Gerstenberg publishing house which, instead of being made of paper, consists of fresh sheets of pasta, packaged as a classic lasagne dish. And is perfectly fine for consumption. But these ‘Showmasters’, as the heading of one of the five chapters in ‘Fully Booked’ is called, which stretch the definition of ‘book’ to the absolute limits, by no means have the entire stage to themselves. The spectrum of printed produce ranges from new editions of novel classics with timeless ornamental covers designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith, art director of ‘Penguin Books’, all the way to the publication ‘21:100:100’, which contains visualisations of sounds from the 21st century, to the great joy of all those synaesthetes out there. Also included is printed PR matter like the ‘Adidas Annual Report’ 2012, conceived by ‘Strichpunkt Design’ from Stuttgart, and a press-only lookbook by Urban Outfitters. The accompanying commentaries (in English) were written

by Andrew Losowsky, author and reviewer at the ‘Huffington Post’, which curiously enough was also the first commercial online newspaper to win a Pulitzer. Goodbye Kindle, hello Gutenberg? Why force people to make a choice? The fact is: this book makes you want to have more books, preferably a whole library full of them. ‘Fully Booked’ couldn’t have done a better job of delivering on the title’s promise. /ew

FULLY BOOKED IS PUBLISHED BY GESTALTEN, BERLIN, AND COSTS 44.00 EUROS.

STREET STYLES INTERNATIONAL MILAN

02/2013

STREET STYLES INTERNATIONAL

MILAN

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02/2013

STREET STYLES INTERNATIONAL PARIS

STREET STYLES INTERNATIONAL

PARIS

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CITY GUIDE BARCELONA

02/2013 ILLUSTRATION ROMAN KLONEK

CITY GUIDE BARCELONA HOT SPOTS GOING FOR CATALAN GOLD

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STREET PEOPLE BLACK IS THE NEW BLACK

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CITY GUIDE BARCELONA

GOING FOR CATALAN GOLD TEXT ILONA MARX PHOTOS ADRIAAN LOUW

Olympic gold for life. Hardly any other place in the world has done so well out of Olympia as Barcelona, the host of the Games in 1992.

Whereas before, Barcelona was primarily known as a large, somewhat shabby portside city, it awoke from its slumber, cleaned up its act, as well as its beaches, added a promenade and some spectacular architecture – and, right on time for the arrival of the Olympic torch, it presented its new metropolitan self in all its Mediterranean glory.

After that, there was no hipper place to spend a long weekend. But every hype has its downsides: tourist hordes, pickpockets, a chronic lack of taxis. One decade later, the millennium gong had sounded and Barcelona would almost have fallen victim to its own popularity if it weren’t for the ingenious and hardworking Catalans and their independent nature. Well aware that mainstream tourism can be lucrative in the short term, but devalues the attractiveness of a destination in the long term, they continued to aim for more individualistic travellers. Barna, as the locals call their city, has stayed cool – and true to what the discerning clientele have grown to love about the city port: hotels, restaurants, galleries, shops and bars that are anything but run-of-the-mill. The added fact that big names in contemporary architecture like Richard Meier, Santiago Calatrava, Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel and Sir Norman Foster have also added their signature to the city, would have thrilled the architects who previously defined the cityscape: for example Antoni Gaudí and Mies van der Rohe.

Inspired by the Bread & Butter, which Barcelona played host to between 2005 and 2009, the fashion scene also grew in significance. The energy that coursed through the veins of the city every six months during the trade fair is legendary. Nowhere were the parties as excessive, the people dressed as creatively or the fashion show locations as spectacular – the whole experience heated up by the warmth of the Spanish sun, which, even in January, provides Barcelona with temperatures of around 18 degrees. And with Brandery, a young trade fair, and the show event 080 BCN, which has developed into a local fashion week, the Catalans really are making the most of their creative potential.

J’N’C editor-in-chief Ilona Marx has visited the metropolis with 1.6 million inhabitants around two-dozen times – but was once again astounded by the vast array on offer. Faced with the abundance of exciting locations she was truly spoilt for choice. As was her travel companion, the photographer Adriaan Louw from Cape Town. Life in the tiny alleyways in the Born, Gótico or Raval barrios changes dramatically according to the time of day. During siesta the city sleeps, behind darkened shutters, and then suddenly it opens its eyes, and it seems as though all the previously hidden shops, galleries, and bars are beckoning you in. So we followed the call and compiled our pick of city’s twenty most inspiring places to be.

Thanks to Michaela Suska, Ana and Silvia from the Grand Hotel Central, Eva and Alex from XXL Communications, Clementina Milà, Leo Weissenbach and Rimowa.

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CITY GUIDE BARCELONA

02/2013

BARCELONA IS NOT JUST FOR FASHION FREAKS, BUT FOR ARCHITECTURE BUFFS TO.

HOT SPOTS BARCELONA SHOPPING

Kl CORTANA Kn LA CLINIQUE Kp NATALIE CAPELL Kr FINS DES SIÈCLES Ks OBJETO DE DESEO Lk WILDE VINTAGE Ll COMO AQUA DE MAYO Lm BOO Ln COLMADO Lo ON LAND Lq TCN

P. 20 P. 22 P. 24 P. 24 P. 26 P. 28 P. 28 P. 29 P. 29 P. 30 P. 31

EAT, DRINK, SLEEP & RELAX

Km CHEZ COCÓ Kq THE SECRET ROOM Kt GRAND HOTEL CENTRAL Lp SPACIOMM Lr CAFÉ KAFKA Ls BIG FISH Lt GRUPO TRAGALUZ Mk BAR MUT/MUTIST

P. 21 P. 24 P. 26 P. 30 P. 32 P. 33 P. 34 P. 35

ARTS & CULTURE

Ko OPENHOUSE

P. 23

PLUS CHECK THESE OUT BARCELONA REYKJAVIK THE HIP HIPPIE BAKER – WHOLEMEAL BREAD IN ALL ITS VARIETIES! WWW.BARCELONAREYKJAVIK.COM PASSADÍS DEL PEP THE INSIDER TIP FOR TRADITIONAL CATALAN CUISINE – TUCKED AWAY IN A DARK ENTRANCE PASSAGE. WWW.PASSADIS.COM KENSINGTON 177 BEAUTIFUL DESIGN CLASSICS – AND NOT OVERPRICED FOR A CHANGE. WWW.177KENSINGTON.COM CASA MARIOL COME HERE FOR HOMEMADE VERMOUTH. A MEETING PLACE FOR WINE CONNOISSEURS AWAY FROM THE CROWDS. WWW.CASAMARIOL.COM SOFIA GIDLÖÖF A PIECE OF SWEDEN IN BORN. SCANDINAVIAN FURNITURE DESIGN FROM THE SIXTIES AND SEVENTIES. WWW.GIDLOOF.COM E & A GISPERT UNUSUAL AND DELICIOUS. THEY STILL ROAST NUTS IN THEIR 150-YEAR-OLD OVEN. WWW.CASAGISPERT.COM NUMBER SHOES SMALL IN NUMBER, BUT DEFINITELY BIG IN STYLE. WWW.NUMBERBCN.COM MUTT GOOD SELECTION OF ART, PHOTOGRAPHY, DESIGN, ILLUSTRATION AND ARCHITECTURE BOOKS. WWW.MUTT.ES HOFMANN DELECTABLE PATISSERIE AND HOMEMADE CHOCOLATES. WWW.HOFMANN-BCN.COM CASA LEOPOLD TRADITIONAL RESTAURANT IN THE WORKING-CLASS DISTRICT OF RAVAL. WWW.CASALEOPOLDO.COM LE SWING HIGH-END SECOND-HAND. BIG SELECTION OF FRENCH DESIGN FROM THE SEVENTIES. WWW.LESWINGVINTAGE.COM TERESA CARLES VEGETARIAN FOOD IN SPAIN? YES, IT DOES EXIST! WWW.TERESACARLES.COM EL PLA A REAL GEM IN THE GÓTICO DISTRICT. A TREAT FOR THE EYES AND THE TONGUE! WWW.ELPLA.CAT THE OUTPOST STRICTLY MEN-ONLY! PROBABLY THE NICEST MENSWEAR STORE IN TOWN. WWW.THEOUTPOSTBCN.COM PARIS VINTAGE HIDDEN AWAY IN AN APARTMENT IN EIXAMPLE: TREASURES FROM BYGONE DAYS. WWW.PARISVINTAGE.NET CUINES SANTA CATERINA EMBARK ON A CULINARY ROUND-THE-WORLD TRIP IN THIS RESTAURANT IN A REFURBISHED MARKET HALL. WWW.CUINESSANTACATERINA.COM

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CITY GUIDE BARCELONA — HOT SPOTS

02/2013

Kl

CORTANA Probably the most spectacular fashion shop in the city can be found on the Calle Provença, an intersecting street of the Paseo de Gracia. Some modest lettering is all that signals the way inside.

But once you go down the steps of the shop, which is slightly below ground level, you will be immediately enveloped in an almost devout atmosphere. That’s partly to do with the blinding white that dominates the interior, as well as the labyrinthine architecture that gives the impression of a shop with numerous sections. This is where the clothes designed by Rosa Esteva hang ... or rather: float, arranged by colour, and are more reminiscent of a textile installation than a prêt-à-porter collection for sale. After studying fine art and fashion design, Rosa opened her first shop in 2001 in the capital of her native Mallorca – and has now added one shop in Madrid and two in Barcelona to her collection. What they all have in common is the fantastic award-winning interior architecture, developed by Rosa’s father and brother, who are both architects. With its airiness and museum-like character, it underlines the elegance of Esteva’s delicate handcrafted silk dresses. And the masterful presentation of the Cortana collection means she has plenty of people wanting to copy this style: Rosa has lots of brides-to-be coming to her for their dresses, and also creates dream gowns for dance companies, theatres and opera houses. And in case anyone notices the elegant uniforms of the staff at the Hotel ARTS in Barcelona: they were also designed and tailored by Cortana.

CORTANA CALLE PROVENÇA, 290 08008 BARCELONA T +34 93 4871255 WWW.CORTANA.ES

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CITY GUIDE BARCELONA — HOT SPOTS

Km

CHEZ COCÓ The question of whether the chicken came before the egg really isn’t an issue at Chez Cocó. The main thing is that evolution has produced such a fine tasting feathered specimen in the first place – after all, it serves as the basis for the elaborate menu of this rotisserie restaurant. Inspired by the style of French brasseries, this spacious restaurant on the Avenida Diagonal has installed a grill area in which two cooks simultaneously take care of the poultry. ‘Breast or thigh’ is the question later at the table, where the chicken is then skilfully deconstructed before the eyes of the hungry customers. Or at least for the larger specimens, although they also serve dishes that don’t have a lot in common with the classic roast chicken, in which case the tender morsels come served directly on the plate.

However the Lumagorri chicken, a free-range prairie chicken that comes from the Basque country, will happily satisfy a table of four, or the Bresse chicken from Eastern France, also free-range and fed only regionally-grown maize and buckwheat. The fact that tradition and the provenance of their food is important to them is not only demonstrated by the menu, but also the interior. The décor brings together elements of craftsmanship from Tuscany and the Provence: in the front part of the restaurant, where the grill and kitchen can be found, the hand-painted mosaic tiles are real eye-catchers along with massive copper pots, whereas to the rear you’ll find large floral murals and intimate niches with velvet benches. From here you can enter the green terrace – a favourite hangout of the epicurean Barcelonans.

CHEZ COCO AVENIDA DIAGONAL, 465 08036 BARCELONA T +34 93 4449822 WWW.CHEZCOCO.ES

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CITY GUIDE BARCELONA — HOT SPOTS

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LA CLINIQUE Although the chaps from La Clinique have more of a musical background than a fashion one, the cool shop belonging to Benito and Manolo has made a name for itself with its vintage glasses. Frames from the 40s, 50s and 60s down to the 90s are the cornerstone of the range – all unworn, with lots of rarities. “You will never find a pair of 2013 Ray-Bans in our store, but you will find a pair from 1970 that was handcrafted in the USA,” explains Benito, who was drawn to Barcelona because of the city’s high quality of life. “We wanted to give people the chance to discover more about their personality, to really be themselves. We stock the craziest models in our store, right across the board, but you won’t find any mainstream glasses or models with fancy embellishments.” The amazing range is rounded off by limited-edition sneakers, graphic printed T-shirts and vintage cameras. And even when it comes to the interior, the brains behind the “Clinic” stick to their own style: “When we moved in it was so sterile that we decided to call the store La Clinique,” says Benito. To continue the clinic theme, they opted for light green hospital-style tiling and cool white marble. The clinical look is broken up with rustic timbers and warm slate. And, in keeping with their individualistic demands, it goes without saying that they completely designed and built the entire interior themselves. A successful operation if ever there was one!

LA CLINIQUE CALLE MIRALLERS, 7 08003 BARCELONA T +34 68 7507325 WWW.LACLINIQUEFINESTORE.COM

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CITY GUIDE BARCELONA — HOT SPOTS

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OPENHOUSE Slightly off the well-trodden path of established galleries, which are mainly to be found in the classier Eixample district, is where you will find one of the most original art projects in Barcelona. Unexpectedly, in the midst of the shopping bustle, close to the Plaça de Catalunya. The creators of the concept call themselves ‘Openhouse’, which pretty much sums it all up: at regular intervals Andrew Trotter, interior designer and originally from England, Mari Luz Vidal, photographer from Murcia and Nobu Kawagoe, a Japanese cook, invite complete strangers into their flat to eat sushi together, listen to music and enjoy art. Primarily they show small format photography that has a personal character, fitting to the location. As a result of the combination of exhibition objects, private pictures and the owners’ interiors, a new exciting context occurs. “Andrew and I got to know each other in Bilbao,” says Mari Luz. “In Barcelona we lived together for a while until we discovered this flat here.

That’s when we had the idea of creating a gallery within our own four walls.” The 160 m2 flat, with its high ceilings and light flooding through the windows, dates back to the turn of the 20th century and certainly seems predestined for presenting art. “We can easily accommodate 150 people,” adds Andrew, who used to run an interior design store. “But we try to avoid larger events, otherwise it becomes too impersonal.” That’s why the monthly dinners are restricted to 50 guests. But if you’d like to take a look around between events, you can simply send them an email.

OPENHOUSE CALLE FONTANELLA, 16 08010 BARCELONA T +34 93 4127656 WWW.OPENHOUSE-PROJECT.COM

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Fotos 11: Sabri Noor

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THE SECRET ROOM

Natalie Capell discovered her penchant for antique textiles at an early age. When she was 14 the Israeli began sewing her own clothes from old lace remnants; at 16 she had already sold her first wedding dress. After studying fashion in Tel Aviv, Capell, whose father comes from Catalonia, landed in Barcelona where she set up her own business ten years ago. Nowadays the pretty brunette works with new materials – mainly fine netting and flowing silk. However her love of the Belle Époque is ever-present.

Her web-like, mostly floor-length dresses with hand-embroidered elements are proving popular amongst well-heeled Barcelonans. All the dresses are one-off pieces, and at prices between 1.200 and 2.500 euros, far from cheap.

No wonder that a large proportion of Capell’s customers consist of brides-to-be who want to walk down the aisle in one of her filigree dream dresses. But for those on a more modest budget, the designer also has some simpler designs on offer. And even if you’re passing through the Born barrio without the intention of making a purchase, a visit to the dark, mysteriously scented cosmos of Natalie Capell, filled with the sound of soothing piano music, is like a journey into another era.

It’s a phenomenon apparent in many metropolitan areas nowadays: the more the rental prices skyrocket, the more likely it is that young entrepreneurs will open their culinary businesses in the lofty heights of the city. Occupying the ground floor and being accessible to everyone is passé. This is also the case in Barcelona where the hippest locations are often created in apartments somewhere between the ground and upper floors. For one, you get more space for less money, and secondly, hip and cosmopolitan clientele love the lure of hidden venues to distance themselves a little more from the mainstream with every flight of stairs.

The Secret Room is a perfect example of this: hidden in one of the most expensive areas of the city, the south end of the Paseo de Gracia, a stone’s throw from Plaça de Catalunya, is a combination of hair salon, shop, party location and pop-up restaurant. The stylist and illustrator Ingrid Pérez and hairdresser Salva Garcia have fulfilled a dream on the first floor of house number 26 on a huge area covering 160 m2, offering everything they enjoy themselves. That’s why their customers are not only limited to getting a hairstyle, wash, colour, cut, dry, blow dry and style, but can also party, drink, dance, eat, play and shop. At the small bar Ingrid and Salve like to serve new wines to taste, and in another room they serve food four days a week between 9pm and 1am. The interior design, a mix of furniture from the fifties and seventies, is all for sale. The same applies to the art presented at regular exhibitions here. Sometimes films are shown and on other days a DJ takes to the turntables. Which means that friends and fans of The Secret Room can spend whole days and half the night here without wanting for anything.

NATALIE CAPELL CALLE CARASSA, 2 08003 BARCELONA T +34 93 3199219 WWW.NATALIECAPELL.COM

THE SECRET ROOM PASEO DE GRACIA, 26 08007 BARCELONA T +34 68 7087883 WWW.THESECRETROOMBCN.COM

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NATALIE CAPELL

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FINS DE SIÈCLES Like so many other Northern Europeans, Michele Van Hove and Nicholas Vanderbeck ended up in Barcelona because of the great weather and the interesting lifestyle. The two Belgians have been at home in Spain for eleven years now and are an institution in the country’s antique furniture business. Nicholas has been collecting furniture since he was 18, but it didn’t start paying off until the Berlin Wall fell. “I visited so many countries in the former Eastern Bloc, searching for lost treasures and lovingly restoring them,” he tells us. His changing preferences caused him to look for more art deco and art nouveau objects and they tended to be found in France and Italy. He even lived in Provence with Michele for a while, but they found life there too boring. This is when they started becoming interested in the Catalan style of the early 20th century. Their spacious shop on the elegant Calle Enrique Granados is meanwhile full of cupboards, armchairs and sideboards that mainly come from southern Europe and date back to the thirties and forties.

But they don’t want to be restricted to only one epoch – objects from the fifties, particularly drinks cabinets and home bar furniture from that decade, are a big favourite with the couple.

And, as an interesting contrast, polar bear ornaments. Nicholas has collected about 130 of them. Most of them live in the apartment the collectors share, but some are up for sale. “We would love to host an auction with the polar bears – for a good cause. I’ve already called Greenpeace to talk about it,” says Nicholas Vanderbeck. Polar bears helping polar bears, what a nice idea!

FINS DE SIÈCLES CALLE D’ENRIC GRANADOS, 70 08008 BARCELONA T +34 93 5117606 WWW.FINS-DE-SIECLES.ES

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WILDE VINTAGE Three friends – one passion. Tepe, Cao and Fran are the guys whose shared passion is to thank for the city’s two most original eyewear stores. Teppei ‘Tepe’ Kikugawa, the forward thinker from Wilde Vintage who came to Barcelona from Japan, started collecting glasses when he was a teenager. After meeting Carlos ‘Cao’ Azuaje, a Brit with Venezuelan roots and the same collecting obsession, in a second-hand store in Barcelona a friendship developed, culminating in their first joint project in 2008: the vintage glasses shop on Calle Joaquín Costa specialised in the sale of warehouse stock. And their second venture followed one year later: the two aficionados launched their own label called Wilde Sunglasses. Tepe drew the designs and Cao turned them into a reality. Since 2012 the duo has had the excellent support of Francisco Carlos Teyo, a native Brazilian and former industrial and graphic design student who also has a thing for unusual eyewear. The material for the collection comes exclusively from Italy and the products are manufactured in a studio near Barcelona. Only one or two pairs of each style are made, which of course hugely boosts the popularity of the Wilde Sunglasses amongst their individualistic clients. And this also explains why they had to rent another shop, on the bustling Calle Avinyó – the very same street where Tepe and Cao had their first serendipitous meeting.

WILDE VINTAGE

Calle Joaquin Costa, 2 08001 Barcelona T +34 65 4455057 Calle Avinyó, 21 08002 Barcelona

WWW.WILDESUNGLASSES.COM

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COMO AGUA DE MAYO When the “waters of May” (the first showers that fall in the month of May) rain down on you, then it really is an unexpected blessed occurrence – as the saying goes. And the shop of the same name really did rain down ‘como agua de Mayo’ on the present owner Elisa Pérez. The young Catalonian had planned a life as an industrial designer. But destiny had a different plan – with lots of help from Elisa’s parents. They only had one thing in mind: handing over the retail store that they had run for 25 years to their daughter. She finally gave in, and the rest is, as they say, history. Meanwhile the elongated store at Calle Argenteria 43 has two additional branches in Barcelona. One is only one door down and attracts a slightly younger clientele. The other can be found in the Gòtic barrio, slightly closer to Las Ramblas where, in addition to the main store, you’ll also find labels like Masscob, TCN, Forte_Forte, Miriam Ocariz and Mercules, which all come from Spain and are produced in Europe. Paul & Joe, Mes Demoiselles, Ba&sh and Rützow round off the portfolio of feminine styles. You won’t find too many sporty styles at Elisa’s, but you can definitely rely on her exquisite taste when it comes to feminine dresses, blouses and trousers whose sell-by date goes beyond the current season. The fashions are rounded off by a selection of shoes dominated by the inimitable style of designer Chie Mihara. But Elisa has quite a few ideas of her own too – and, thanks to her design degree, also the skills to put it into practice: recently she has started offering her own small range of footwear that is perfectly coordinated to the rest of the collections she stocks.

COMO AGUA DE MAYO CALLE DE L’ARGENTERIA, 43/45 08003 BARCELONA CALLE DELS BANYS NOUS, 17 08002 BARCELONA T +34 93 3100078 WWW.COMOAGUADEMAYO.COM

CITY GUIDE BARCELONA — HOT SPOTS

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BOO Alex Gonzáles sense of style is immediately apparent as soon as you enter Boo, his fashion shop: on the one hand the young business owner is interested in products that have a heritage – like rucksacks with a look that has remain unchanged for decades from the traditional company The Herschel Supply Co., or the high-quality parkas and shirts stocked by Penfield since 1975. On the other hand, Alex supports small fashion labels beyond the mainstream with pretty and often humorous designs, such as the Barcelona label Sugarhill Boutique or Tuk-Tuk Clothing from Australia. And last but not least, Alex loves deer figures like Bambi. Since he was four years old he has collected deer figurines in every form – and the stag that watches over his sales counter is of the cuddly toy variety. This fits in perfectly with the store’s ambience, a little like an English hunting room, not far from the Paseo de Gracia metro station. “Boo is the second shop I have created. The first was done in the Scandinavian style of the sixties,” Alex says. When he moved into the new premises, he was immediately reminded of a British craftsman’s shop. So, as the smart Spaniard tells us with a little self-irony, he completely changed his interior design concept right through to the smallest detail. Fittingly, he also stocks ties and bow ties from Bond & Burlington, a Barcelona label he is friendly with. Also true to this style are the school bags from the Cambridge Satchel Company, just like the fragrances and aftershaves in retro-style packaging. A veritable treasure trove for the cosmopolitan clientele.

BOO CALLE BONAVISTA, 2 08012 BARCELONA T +34 93 3681458 WWW.BOOBCN.COM

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COLMADO ‘Colmado’, which means something akin to convenience store in English, is one of the latest additions to Barcelona’s shopping scene.

And its owner Susana Rey is full of enthusiasm: “My concept is based on offering things that are unusual, and also things that don’t go out of fashion overnight,” she explains vivaciously. As would be expected with the name of her shop, Susana doesn’t just stop at unusual clothing. She also sells bags, watches, glasses, interior design objects and jewellery. She even makes jewellery herself, together with her mother: under the label ‘Happy’ she sells pretty handcrafted enamel necklaces and earrings. Susana’s fashion portfolio includes Anntian from Berlin, Ffixxed from Shenzhen and Manuel Bolaño from Barcelona. The fashion lover finds inspiration on the internet as well as at the Parisian trade fair Capsule. As well as her love of enamel work the young shopkeeper is also a fan of wooden products. And so the shop she opened in early 2013 is not only furnished with light coloured pine elements, but also has a variety of wooden items on sale: for example the hand-carved allwooden sunglasses by Waiting for the Sun or a Swatch watch made from parquet flooring remnants. Small original one-offs regularly brought back by a friend from Shanghai perfectly round off the offer of this “convenience store”.

COLMADO CALLE BROSOLÍ, 5 08003 BARCELONA T +34 93 1722966 WWW.COLMADOSHOP.BLOGSPOT.COM

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Blurring the boundaries between fashion and graphic design enables the Italian owners of On Land, Michele Gilli and Elena Castaudi to take a very specific creative approach. The store on the Calle Princesa differentiates itself from the neighbouring stores with its minimalist interior, and the collection also has more of a clean British or Scandinavian touch than a playful Southern European one.

“I love Paul Smith,” Michele Gilli confesses, who, with his big bushy beard, looks more like a high school teacher than a fashion designer. “He is my point of reference when I am designing men’s garments for our own Gorni Kramer line.” Elena develops the women’s collection of the label, which is distributed exclusively by On Land.

In addition, both of them teach in the fashion department of the IED, the Istituto Europeo di Design. But their love for graphic design has not been completely erased: every six months the shop hosts an art exhibition – most recently photography by German photographer Julia Schulz-Dornburg. The fact that On Land is really hitting the mark with this concept is proven by the long-term success of the idea: this year the duo is celebrating the tenth birthday of their own label, as well as the 20-year-anniversary of the shop.

Hotel Omm on the Paseo de Gracia is considered by design fans to be one of the prettiest places to stay – and not just because of the truly unique views from its roof terrace of the neighbouring Gaudí building ‘Casa Milà’. Another big plus: non-hotel guests can also enjoy small doses of luxury it exudes – at the in-house spa which takes up the whole first floor of the large corner building. Under the expert supervision of Rosa María Esteva an unusually broad spectrum of beauty and wellness treatments are offered. The programme is like a small round-the-world beauty trip, starting off with an Indian Ayurveda massage down to Thai treatments, Chinese Tuina therapy and Japanese Shiatsu, down to Balinese wedding rituals. Inka-style chocolate body-packs are offered, as well as a Turkish hammam. Oxygen sessions, jetlag treatments, vibration therapy and underwater oil massages, which not only help you wind down but also tighten the skin, are also available. And if you feel slightly overwhelmed by the sheer range of treatments and opt for a conventional relaxation massage, you will still be pleasantly surprised. Thanks to Rosa María Esteva and her lovely team, who really know how to pamper their guests from head to toe, a comparatively simple treatment turns out to be a highly relaxing experience – and a visit to Spaciomm is the ultimate way to round off a successful shopping day.

ON LAND CALLE DE LA PRINCESA, 25 08003 BARCELONA T +34 93 3100211 WWW.ON-LAND.COM

SPACIOMM CALLE ROSSELLÓ, 265 08008 BARCELONA T +34 93 4454949 WWW.HOTELOMM.ES/SPACIOMM

ON LAND

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TCN When you think of Spain you automatically think of sun – and that, in turn, leads you effortlessly onto the bikini. And of course the choice of great beachwear isn’t exactly small in Barcelona. But hardly any other designer is as big as Totón Comella with her TCN line. Side by side with the big names of the fashion scene, she shows her underwear, homewear, leisurewear and also beachwear at the most significant fashion weeks in the country. At Fashion Week Madrid, as well as at local ‘080’ events in Barcelona, TCN is a hard and fast part of the show plan: the label’s show is even one of the most visited events. That goes with the territory: lingerie presentations do have a certain appeal – just think of all the hype surrounding the Victoria’s Secret catwalk shows. But Totón’s fashion is different: sexy to be sure, but with a more girly and natural charm. TCN has four branches in Barcelona alone: 14 throughout Spain. In addition to underwear, casual and nightwear, she mainly offers swimsuits and bikinis. And they not only stand out with their style, but also with their very high quality: the materials are more robust than many high street labels and the cottons are softer. Naturally that comes at a price: you’ll be hard pushed to find any of the tiny two-pieces for less than 150 euros. But don’t forget: Spanish summers can be long.

And how annoying would it be if your favourite bikini didn’t even last a whole season?!

TCN CALLE ROSSELLÓ, 222 08008 BARCELONA T +34 93 2156005 WWW.TCN.ES

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CAFÉ KAFKA It’s widely known that the Prague-born writer Franz Kafka prioritised his intellectual work over worldly pleasures – he even abstained from marrying Felice Bauer. Nevertheless, he would’ve felt right at home in this cafe named after him. Together with his team, the owner Karel Schröder, a businessman, lawyer and investor, has certainly made sure of that. The kitchen is manned by 26-year-old Fernando Poveda, who, despite his young age, brings quite a reputation with him. His homemade pasta, the meat and fish tartars and tenderloin steak with artichokes are really popular with the customers, who are a mix of curious city break tourists and hip locals. The interior, which defines Café Kafka almost as much as its fresh Mediterranean-inspired cuisine, was designed by Yolanda Vilalta and Helena Jaumá. To use Kafka’s own vocabulary, the historical building at the Mercat del Born underwent a true ‘Metamorphosis’ under their direction: Literary café meets Saint-Germain bistro meets the private rooms of an eccentric collector is one way to describe its style. With the help of retro lamps from the fifties, colourful rattan bar stools, velvet-upholstered armchairs, rectangular glass tables and cleverly placed mirrors, the duo have created a really individualistic, warm ambience. And the service is also very unique: you can arrange to be picked up by their so-called ‘lobster limousine’ and after dinner at Kafka, chauffeured back home too.

This caprice will set you back around 40 euros. Peanuts for those planning to indulge in the Iranian ‘Tricolour Imperial Caviar Menu’ for two, at 426.80 euros. But no worries: with most of the mains costing an average of 20 euros, the rest of the prices at Kafka’s are definitely reasonable.

CAFÉ KAFKA CALLE DE LA FUSINA, 7 08003 BARCELONA T +34 93 3151776 WWW.CAFEKAFKA.ES

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BIG FISH Joan Soler and Gemma Madir have certainly caught themselves a very big fish here. Although the restaurant is on the Mercat del Born, in the direct vicinity of ‘Paradeta’, one of the most popular fish restaurants in Barcelona, they certainly can’t complain about lack of custom. But serving freshly caught tasty ocean fare is where the similarity between the two restaurants ends: while Paradeta exudes a certain canteen flair – due to the hungry masses storming the place on a daily basis – Big Fish has more of a calm, stylish atmosphere, which can definitely be attributed to the interior by renowned designer Lázaro Rosa Violán. Opulent leather sofas and chairs with hand-sewn upholstery using the same material are a charming contrast to the high, white-washed walls. Bright red wooden-slatted blinds keep the Spanish midday sun at bay. The menu has two culinary styles: Mediterranean and Japanese. And as confirmed by a glance at the ample sushi platters prepared by the ceremony master in the open kitchen, Big Fish also more than lives up to the standards of the Far East. Soler and Madir know that their customers love sushi: before they opened the restaurant in Born the two of them, who come from a family of fish experts, ran a Japanese takeaway on the Mercat Galvany.

BIG FISH CALLE COMERCIAL, 9 08003 BARCELONA T +34 93 26A81728 CALLE DE AMIGÓ, 39 08021 BARCELONA T +34 93 2008393 WWW.BIGFISH.CAT

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CITY GUIDE BARCELONA — HOT SPOTS BAR LOBO

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02/2013 PEZ VELA

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GRUPO TRAGALUZ There are around 4000 restaurants in Barcelona competing for hungry clientele, and a handful of them really stand out amongst the crowd. These businesses belong to the local Grupo Tragaluz – a family business that has been opening one restaurant after another for the last 25 years. They have managed to create a class of their own, not only on the cuisine front, but also in terms of atmosphere. This is mostly due to the unconventional approach taken by Rosa Maria Esteva and her son Tomás Tarruella: unlike the other restaurant owners, this team first looks for an unusual location, which then dictates the character and aura of the planned culinary enterprise. The interior design, a large component in the appeal of these restaurants, comes from Rosa’s daughter, Sandra Tarruella, who also runs her own interior design business. She designed, for example, both the Bar Lobo – a popular tapas bar with a pretty sun terrace not far from Las Ramblas – and, just two doors down, the Italian-inspired Luzia. In the direct vicinity of the spectacular WHotel, in a recently established section of beachfront in Barceloneta, lies the Pez Vela, a ‘chiringuito’ as the Spaniards call their small and uncomplicated beach café-bars. In contrast to most of these places, this luxury beach bar has large sofas and an open kitchen. Fresh fish, crustacean and shellfish paellas grace the menu – a logical choice considering the location. Also belonging to this culinary empire is the luxury Hotel Omm, as well as the Mordisco, Tragaluz and Elj Apo Nés restaurants in the Eixample district, which are meanwhile considered real classics.

GRUPO TRAGALUZ WWW.GRUPOTRAGALUZ.COM

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BAR MUT/MUTIST Rustic, traditional bars are ten a penny in Barcelona. You might be forgiven for thinking they had given the city its name. But joking aside: here, like in other cities, not every bar is the same. This is particularly so in the case of Mut, which conceals an excellent restaurant behind the façade of a straightforward bar. Whether you sit at the long bar counter, on one of the space-saving tall stools at a high table, or at one of the group tables near the window niche, everything that comes out of the kitchen satisfies the highest culinary expectations. Fish and mussels, freshly caught and elegantly prepared, land on the diners’ plates, accompanied by an astounding wine list featuring 200 different varieties. The fact that this bar is run by skilled professionals in the art of understatement becomes obvious upon entering the adjacent private club: Mutist is in a wellhidden spot on the first floor of the building. An older concierge and dim lighting greet the night owls. Just last year this plushly decorated establishment was rated the best cocktail bar in Europe and ranked 16th worldwide. Heading upstairs to the Mutist club after a satisfying meal at Bar Mut, with a Citronella Gin Fizz in hand and the sound of a live band playing soul, jazz or funk in your ears, has to be the most perfect way to end a day in Barcelona.

BAR MUT CALLE PAU CLARÍS, 192 08037 BARCELONA T +34 93 2174338 WWW.BARMUT.COM

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CITY GUIDE BARCELONA — PEOPLE

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MACARENA, 40, STYLIST

GUISELLE, 37, OWNER OF ‘LE SWING’

YUIKI SHIMOJI, 26, SALES ASSISTANT DOSHABURI

FUR GILET ANJA ANJARA BLOUSE ZARA TROUSERS, JACKET & BOOTS VINTAGE GLASSES HACKETT LONDON

DRESS VINTAGE CÉLINE SHOES VINTAGE WILLY VAN ROOY BRACELET VINTAGE FENDI GLASSES VINTAGE SILHOUETTE FUR VINTAGE

JACKET NATURA TROUSERS H&M SHOES VINTAGE

I work in the fashion business, but personally I am anti-fashion.

I was born in Sweden, and I love living here – but I think the best fashion is in Stockholm and New York.

ADELFO, 40, PR-MANAGER

ENRIQUE, 35, CREATIVE DIRECTOR

LAURA, 27, ILLUSTRATOR

JACKET ZARA PULLOVER H&M TROUSERS SISLEY SHOES MASSIMO DUTTI

SHIRT ZARA JACKET DANIELE ALESSANDRINI TROUSERS PAOLO PECORA SHOES LOUBOUTIN BAG YVES SAINT LAURENT SUNGLASSES RAY-BAN

JACKET MEN’S SUIT SATIN JACKET FROM JAPAN TROUSERS STRADIVARIUS SNEAKERS OSIRIS DOG CHUSCO

Street style is pretty good here in Barcelona, but when it comes to high fashion, Madrid is definitely ahead of the game!

In terms of fashion, Barcelona has everything you could ever wish for!

There are all sorts in Barcelona – from hippies to hipsters. People wearing the most expensive clothes or the most bizarre outfits. I think that’s cool!

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I think the concept of fashion in Barcelona is pretty modest. Lots of people don’t even understand what we are trying to do in our shop.

CITY GUIDE BARCELONA — PEOPLE

02/2013

BLACK IS THE NEW BLACK PHOTOS ADRIAAN LOUW

Barcelona is actually quite a small city, and there aren’t that many places where cool people hang out.

One of them is ‘Secret Room’ where I work.

In Southern Europe, Barcelona, due to the neverending flow of young tourists, is probably the city with the greatest number of foreign fashion influences. And to be sure: the all-black look propagated by Scandinavians for some time now seems to be a big hit on Barcelonan streets at the moment too. Unlike Madrid, where colours are part of the scenery, Catalan fashion is comparatively subdued. But don’t worry, it can never be said that fashion in Barcelona is boring, or staid. Our ‘Street People’ are the living proof.

OLIVIA, 21, COLOURIST JACKET H&M PULLOVER & TROUSERS VINTAGE BOOTS & BELT ZARA RINGS VINTAGE & MY GRANDMOTHER’S

NATALIE, 36, FASHION DESIGNER DRESSES & BELT NATALIE CAPELL BOOTS CARMINA I like it when people have the courage to express themselves.

I wish more people would do the same.

ALICIA, 40, SHOP ASSISTANT

JAVIER, 35, DANCER & FASHION DESIGNER

MARTA, 48, DISTRIBUTOR

JACKET H&M PULLOVER VINTAGE TROUSERS DSQUARED SHOES PALLADIUM GLASSES PRADA BAG CALVIN KLEIN

JACKET WHYRED PULLOVER BENETTON TROUSERS CHEAP MONDAY SHOES PUMA SCARF HAND-KNITTED

JACKET FROM PAKISTAN SHIRT ODI ET AMO TROUSERS STOULS SHOES XUZ CAP NY HEADPHONES BEATS

Compared to the rest of Spain, people in Catalonia are quite reserved when it comes to fashion.

They tend to dress in one colour, but pay more attention on high quality and good labels.

Because of the many tourists here we get to see a lot of streetwear trends.

Barcelona is more relaxed than other Spanish cities.

People here like neutral colours and organic materials.

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THE ORIGINAL ORIGINAL –– THE THE LUGGAGE LUGGAGE WITH WITH THE THE GROOVES GROOVES THE In 1950, RIMOWA issued the first suitcase with the unmistakable grooves. Since then, it has evolved In 1950, RIMOWA the first suitcase grooves.

Since has then,lost it has evolved into a cult object issued in its own right.

To this with day,the theunmistakable original RIMOWA luggage none of its into a cult object in its own right.

To this day, the original RIMOWA luggage has lost none of its fascination. It remains the luggage of choice for all those who seek the extraordinary – including fascination.

It remains the luggage of choice Huebl. for all those who seek the extraordinary – including models Alessandra Ambrosio and Johannes models Alessandra Ambrosio and Johannes Huebl. www.rimowa.com www.rimowa.com

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BRAND FEATURES

LOOK WHO’S TALKING! FASHION AND COMMUNICATION

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THE YEAR OF THE GREYHOUND G-STAR RAW

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BRAND FEATURES

DARING TO BE DIFFERENT DESIGUAL

TERRA ANTIQUA X TEAM SPIRIT FRANKLIN & MARSHALL

WEARING THE TROUSERS ALBERTO

BLACK LABEL GOODS ETIQUETA NEGRA

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CODENAME: CREATIVE ROOM ISKO CREATIVE ROOM

NO FUTURE WITHOUT HISTORY ROY ROGER’S

A HISTORY OF THE BUTTON-UP JEANS LEVI’S

TRADE SHOWS

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ESSAY FASHION AND COMMUNICATION

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LOOK WHO’S TALKING! Text Fredericke Winkler Illustration Frauke Berg

Anyone who believes our desire for clothing is primarily driven by the need to protect our bodies from the elements can think again.

Because we certainly don’t fill our wardrobes with items to protect us from inclement weather, but with fragments, from which we create personal statements. Just like delving into the bag of Scrabble letters, every morning we reach into our wardrobes in order to attain the highest point score with our carefully chosen statements. Without exception, even if the statement is simply “I’m not in the mood!” Or perhaps you are planning to strip off in front of everyone on the street in desperate rebellion against the superficiality of trends? Bad idea, because even a lack of clothing is a statement – and, in some parts of the world, an illegal one at that.

Nevertheless, nudity is a good starting point for one to understand the extent of the role that clothing has in social interaction. But before we go off on a tangent and begin a discussion about fashion and exhibitionism, let’s stay on task, albeit with a quick change of scenery, and focus our attention on the sauna. When we see naked bodies, they give us information about the person’s age and possibly also their dietary tendencies.

Certain pointers give us an idea of the person’s personality: like their hairstyle, piercings or tattoos. But it’s difficult to create a complete picture from someone in their birthday suit.

This scenario changes dramatically in the changing rooms, because even with the donning of underwear a transformation begins: aha, lacy bra. Mmh, boxer shorts. Is the clothing tight, or casual? Sporty or elegant? With each additional garment, the person seems to gain additional characteristics and contours until, finally, they reveal a complex, multi-faceted identity, with whom we can interact and relate to. Parallels are discovered, sympathies created. So beyond the verbal information we also need a certain amount of interpretable indicators in order to understand the person facing us and, above all, to obtain information that they normally wouldn’t express in words. A naked body – leaving explicit fantasies aside – is indifferent, even when it’s talking nineteen to the dozen – which, regrettably, does happen every now and again in the sauna. But the subtext is missing, and without that we can’t completely interpret the content.

WHAT DID YOU MEAN BY THAT? Nonverbal communication defines the “how” whilst the verbal language is responsible for the “what”. I could say: “I love Nietzsche.” With a severe haircut, horn-rimmed glasses and a black polo neck, this statement has a completely different meaning than if I were wearing a rust-coloured merino twinset and loafers with pearl earrings. Furthermore, however true the statement may be, it is even possible that I would keep it to myself because it doesn’t fit the setting. Perhaps the reason why women take off their high heels and men their ties when the atmosphere starts to become more relaxed is not because they want to be more comfortable, but because these symbols prevent them from undertaking certain activities.

After all, clothing defines our behaviour like a cookie cutter defines the dough: shoes define a certain way of walking, the blazer defines one’s

gestures, the scarf the hairstyle and the overall appearance the choice of words. Add to that our facial expressions and the pitch of our voices, you have what is called the emotional plane of a conversation – and, as we all know, this defines whether a conversation is a success or a failure.

Here are a few more scenarios to convey this idea: Imagine you are responsible for recruiting a new employee and have to conduct some job interviews. You examine several applications in which those seeking employment introduce themselves, naturally from their best side, but above all, in great detail. You know their personal data, their marital status, educational background and stints working abroad.

In short: you have the ideal tools to make an accurate appraisal of the applicant. But only during the actual interview are your main questions regarding likeability, trust and competence answered.

But what exactly is it that gives us the feeling of having “sussed” a person, if not the factual evidence? Is it their outfit? Their scent? Their choice of vocabulary? Their self-confident behaviour? It is the entire package, consisting of consciously demonstrated personal attributes as well as certain subtext information, of which the person concerned is possibly not aware.

I can recognise former dancers by the way they walk, Goths by small giveaway stylistic elements in their clothing and jewellery, sportsmen by their particularly muscled body parts, people’s attitude to luxury by their choice of labels and wheeler-dealers by the way they move awkwardly in their suits. Pierre Bourdieu once said: “Conscious communication between people is possible only if they have their ‘unconscious’ in common.” Clothing, facial expressions and gestures provide us with initial clues as to the existence and composition of these unconscious common factors.

FASHION AS A MYTH So it is not the facts, but – in the words of Paul Watzlawick – the analogies, that give the interaction its final polish. “Every communication has a content and relationship aspect such that the latter classifies the former and is therefore a metacommunication,” says Watzlawick according to one of the ‘Axioms’, the guidelines that are valid for communicative character regardless of context and situation.

So we are always dealing with a factual statement and its meta-level. I say to you: “You look nice today,” and through the pitch of my voice and my body language I convey whether you are meant to take this comment as a compliment or as an ironic commentary. And these “analogue” communication planes, as Watzlawick refers to them, have an especially high potential for misunderstanding, about which – especially where communication between men and women is concerned – reams of literature have been written.

If an interactive situation precludes verbal communication from the outset, for example amongst strangers on the street, symbols – such as clothing – become increasingly relevant. The semiologist Roland Barthes described the kind of psychological contract, which is created by such communications systems outside the verbal scope, as a “mythology”: almost every symbol can be imbued with meaning. Barthes uses the rose 41

ESSAY FASHION AND COMMUNICATION

as an example – showing that it is never merely a rose. It is a mythological vehicle for communicating passion.

Back to our job applicant: he communicates his competence and reliability with the help of a black suit – with the confident assumption that we interpret the symbolism of this particular piece of clothing in the same way, as a generally recognisable “mythology”. So, to recap: in the same way that we have to agree on a mutual set of rules when it comes to verbal speech – in order for example to be able to read this text – when it comes to nonverbal communication, we have to ensure that our recipients of information will interpret objects and symbols in a similar way. A common (sub-)cultural background, family background, values, norms (etiquette), politics, climate (how much skin do I show?), country and vegetation (colours!), education and so forth, create a good basis. As soon as two people from different cultural realms interact, this communication is automatically hampered – one of many reasons for xenophobia.

If both protagonists have an equal interest in creating consensual, peaceful contact, there are two options: either one of them takes on the rules of the other, or both protagonists make the effort to question outdated symbols and to agree on a mutually compatible common vocabulary. This would mean, for example, finding out ahead of time which colours are commonly worn to a Chinese wedding, or checking the common dress code for your holiday destination – to name just two examples. Or else people may see disrespect or rudeness where none is intended.

WHO AM I AND IF YES, AT WHAT TIME? Speaking of false assumptions: Imagine you are Bridget Jones and you’re invited to a fancy dress party. So you dress up as a bunny rabbit with fishnets, a white furry tail and headband with rabbit ears attached, only to arrive and find that you are the only one in costume. You are embarrassed to your innermost core. But it could have all been fine. Instead of feeling like a fool, you could have won the prize for best costume, provided that everyone else had been in fancy dress too of course.

Thus, the success or failure of certain symbols is, to a large extent, dependent on context. If our job applicant were applying for a job at a consciously unconventional e-business start-up in New York, the suit could well have cost him the job, just as my Nietzsche statement would not garner much approval at the cheese counter, yet would perhaps be appropriate during an intimate conversation on a date. So, as part of the guidelines for successful vestimentary communication, we also have to add the “how” and “when” to the “what”.

That only leaves the “who” to clarify. What happens when an outfit that might be suitable for a certain occasion doesn’t match one’s own mood?

Or when one’s origins, and with them a significant part of one’s own identity, cannot be expressed in a harmonious way because of certain external contexts?

When the rebellious teen, thanks to a series of lucky coincidences, suddenly turns into a pop star overnight, and suddenly has to move in completely new cultural circles? When the Turkish family moves to a small German town in the hope of a better life? What if the job applicant in his black suit simply feels more comfortable in it than in jeans and Tshirt and the bunny costume is not worn by me, but by a drag queen who simply can’t imagine anything more fun than getting dolled up like that for a party?

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That’s when colour comes into play, the jazz pianist masters his first syncopation and the stand-up comic delivers the perfect punch line to roars of laughter. That’s when the homogeneity of a culture is influenced, like a mosaic made up of thousands of different individuals. Because, just like in literature, the true stroke of genius is when you can celebrate the acceptability of an aesthetic system by breaking the rules. Standing on the opposite side of the road at a crossing, we discover people with lots of codes that we can decipher. Sometimes, the combination of codes is perhaps new and perplexing and forces us to actively interpret them.

The more we have to do with clothing professionally, the more complex the statement we make with it, for example by combining codes that are mutually exclusive. Women combining silk dresses with bomber jackets, men scratching their chest hair with painted fingernails. Angela Merkel making masculine politics, while showing her feminine side with her choice of cheerful colourful costumes. Feminists in the seventies consciously went braless, breaking the etiquette of the time. And punks challenged the establishment by integrating symbols, like the tie, into their outfits.

SPEECH IS SILVER …

Similar to a composer, it is not difficult for a fashion designer to parse the individual symbols and statements he wishes to use in his collection and to combine them in a way that makes sense in the right places. The more independent his spirit, the more poetic the statements his clothing will make. He takes major themes and works them into the details, is aware of and creates references and exercises social critique. He presents his work to the public in an extravagant fashion show, and perhaps reads the next day in terse reviews that his designs are not wearable. “I love Nietzsche.” “Really? What film was he in?” Don’t worry, dear designers, communication isn’t always easy. Let’s not forget the need for the aforementioned common subconscious. It is not only important to agree on a quantity of common denominators, but one should also work on a similar level in order to communicate successfully with clothing.

Just as I can’t assume that my conversation partner has read ‘Thus Spake Zarathustra’, neither can I assume that they have understood the actual statement of my original Shell parka from 1962. Perhaps they merely see a shabby, oversized military coat. On the other hand, I don’t know how many poorly tailored suits made of cheap wool-polyester mixes have prevented me from really listening to the probably perfectly competent conversation of their wearers. It’s impossible to guess how many outfits I have begun to decipher and then had to break off because of the excess of statements therein. Give me the sauna every time. Because it’s a mistake to think that statements improve with the number of words, or in this case, vestimentary symbols. Here’s what Jil Sander has to say on the matter: “A dress is perfect when you cannot leave any more details out – and a speech too!”

Dear readers. After having worked your way through this long essay, I would like to have another go at summing up the issue of fashion and communication. I have modified a quote by Samuel Johnson, who once defined language as “the dress of thought”: Clothes reveal thoughts.

FREDERICKE WINKLER IS A QUALIFIED FASHION DESIGNER AND COLLEGE LECTURER FOR MARKETING AND SOCIOLOGY. AS CO-FOUNDER OF THE AGENCY BEYOND BERLIN, SHE DEVELOPS NEW MARKETING STRATEGIES AT THE CUTTING EDGE OF ETHICS AND AESTHETICS.

11.-13.09.2013 11.-13.09.2013 d端sseldorf, germany

d端sseldorf, germany www.gds-online.com www.gds-online.com

BRAND FEATURES G-STAR RAW, AMSTERDAM

02/2013

Tacitum they are not: a meeting with Pierre Morisset (left) and Shubhankar Ray in Berlin

THE YEAR OF THE GREYHOUND Interview Ilona Marx Photos 7daysisaweekend

The Netherlands is not only a seafaring nation, but also a country of free spirits. That’s why René Descartes chose to settle there, above all other countries, convinced of its tolerance and the fact that he was not at risk of being burned at the stake. So it somehow makes sense that Amsterdam label G-Star Raw have thespians reading live poetry at their fashion shows – and that the head designer Pierre Morisset from France and global brand director Shubhankar Ray, who was born in India, are the ones steering the destiny of the Dutch jeans brand.

Berlin-Kreuzberg in January. G-Star Raw’s autumn/winter 2013/14 fashion show in the St. Agnes Church has just finished, away from the usual runways of Berlin Fashion Week. The star on the runway in this hallowed location, bathed in blue light, is not just the 20 oz. denim, or the new intense G-Star dye Mazarine blue, or the military and workwear-inspired outfits, or even the exclusive tailor-made styles. A ballerina and the US actor Michael Madsen are also making their way down the catwalk.

Known as ‘Mr Blonde’ in Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Reservoir Dogs’ and as ‘Bud’ in ‘Kill Bill’, he shows himself from a side that we have never seen before and reads a poem he has written himself called ‘Change’ from one of his four(!) poetry books. But then the silver-screen killer falls back into his old ways: he lets out a blood-curdling roar, or to be precise, more of a powerful “raw”, lasting several seconds. During this unexpected outbreak the audience’s attention is drawn to the denim jacket he is wearing. It has holsters and holders for knives, axes, machetes: the man is armed to the teeth.

A battle cry in times of crisis? Not really, seeing as G-Star Raw reported a double-digit increase in turnover in 2012. And a conversation with Pierre Morisset and Shubhankar Ray doesn’t imply they are in need of having to resort to heavy artillery either. On the contrary: since G-Star was founded in 1989, originally as Gapstar, their star has steadily risen.

Especially since Morisset and Ray came on board. The latter joined the team in 2006. Before G-Star founder and managing director Jos van Tilburg brought him to Amsterdam as global brand director, Shubhankar Ray, who was born in Calcutta in 1968, studied biochemistry and went on to work for different fashion labels including Levi’s. Before joining G-Star he made a name for himself as creative director of the Mallorcan shoe 44

label Camper – proving that he is a real all-rounder. Pierre Morisset, born in 1950 and head designer at G-Star, has been defining the brand’s look since the beginning of the 90s. The Frenchman was on board when G-Star debuted in 1996 with its ‘Raw Denim’ line, the pure untreated look, which continues to define the essence of the label to this day. And it was Morisset himself who created an icon when it comes to silhouettes: the Elwood jeans with their now legendary 3D design.

Mr Morisset, with Elwood in the 90s you managed to create a G-Star jeans model that is still a bestseller now.

What does the 3D concept mean for the identity of the brand today?

Pierre Morisset: G-Star is a modern brand and for us modernity means that we don't orientate ourselves on fashion trends, but develop our own projects, concentrating on the functionality and aesthetic. 3D design in the realm of denim is still relatively uncharted territory. We are the first to actually go there, and we will continue to do so.

Shubhankar Ray: When I was taking my first steps in the denim business at Levi’s, I experienced how everything was about American legacy, cowboys, farmers and so on. For many people denim transported something nostalgic. But at G-Star it was different. The fact that we don’t even have a quarter of a century under our belts, never mind 140 years like Levi’s, is one thing. But there are other reasons why our signature look is fundamentally different from the heritage brands: we’re an urban company, not from the country. Our approach to the topic of denim is very future-orientated. When you see our 3D silhouette you can see straight away that it’s G-Star. It started off with the Elwood model. The autumn/ winter collection for 2013 clearly shows that Pierre is now also turning his attention to jacket sleeves. It’s clear to me: there is so much more potential in the idea of making denim more ergonomic with the help of 3D technology.

How do you create a 3D silhouette like that?

Morisset: There are various methods that we are still experimenting

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with. Simple but effective is the modification of the pattern and the selective use of seams, like with the Elwood, where, amongst other things, separate knee sections enable additional leg movement. But you can also create a 3D effect by using certain procedures on the material directly, for example with a hot iron, which works in a similar way as with wool. In the case of knitwear you can also add shape by using fullyfashioned processes working with small and large stitching. It’s not as if we invented 3D in textile design – just think of the Wonderbra. We simply take a known idea and put it into a new context. When it comes down to it, it’s about creating something spatial – in the most elegant way possible.

Because elegance is increasingly important for G-Star. In principle I see my job as akin to that of an architect, which is what I originally wanted to become.

What happened to that plan?

Morisset: My mathematical skills weren’t good enough. But now I know: whether you’re a designer or an architect, it all boils down to a question of taste.

And how did you get into fashion?

Morisset: I had an idea for a few patterns and I just got stuck in. That was in 1974. I had always been interested in clothing. From the age of eight I was rummaging through bags of second-hand clothing. As a teenager I expanded my scope to flea markets and thrift stores – that was the basis of my archive, which covers around 25,000 items from the last 100 years and is probably my most important source of inspiration.

BRAND FEATURES G-STAR RAW, AMSTERDAM

ers: it was the product of textile engineering. Their aim was to be functional. And that’s where the perfect construction comes into it, expressed in many ingeniously thought-out details.

Ray: Just to reiterate: G-Star isn’t a fashion company. We don’t ask ourselves what the next big thing will be, but focus instead on what fascinates us. It could be a material, a colour or a particular detail. It’s this fascination that drives us and leaves us open to new things, material innovations for example, but also influences from the past. Instead of reinventing ourselves every season and with each new trend, we can evolve slowly and with our own DNA. That is our interpretation of modernity.

Morisset: Perhaps one of the initial impulses for my interest in functional clothing, which I not only find fascinating on a personal level, but also as a designer, was a pair of army trousers. A US Navy sailor gave them to my dad after the war. Because they were too big for him, he only wore them when he was gardening or fishing, and the rest of the time they hung in the garage. The unusual colour, the cut – I thought the trousers were great and I begged my father: “Please dad, keep them for me!

When I’m big I want to wear them.” So when I was a bit older, maybe around 14, I remembered them, but my mother had given them away to a road worker. So the origins of my career as a collector are basically the search to replace these lost trousers. And the fact that it was a pair of army trousers is no coincidence. Army apparel always has these small details, which vary according to the different units. So with the same US army jacket you have about 60 different pocket shapes and that makes the whole thing really exciting. So it’s not by chance that my archive is full of army uniforms. And military influences play a major role in the autumn/winter G-Star collection too.

But we were just speaking about how G-Star is defined by its modernity, in contrast to heritage denim. How do those two things go together?

Does either of you have an explanation why military is always being revived in fashion?

Morisset: Here’s an example: The jacket I’m wearing is based on a pattern from around 1900. In those days people wore these kinds of jackets when they went riding. This type of clothing isn’t attributed to fashion design-

Ray: Again, the answer is: textile engineers. Their product expertise makes military outfits really classic, comparable with a leather jacket or jeans. The military look functions as a kind of antithesis to global fast 45

BRAND FEATURES G-STAR RAW, AMSTERDAM

fashion. Everybody nowadays is fashionable, and as a protest people turn their backs on fashion because they are bored. The charm of uniform – even civil uniforms too, as police officers or stewardesses also wear them – lies, in my opinion, in the combination of utility and style. It’s not without reason that military clothing has taken the direct route into the ranks of fashion, via street fashion to be precise.

Morisset: Military clothing isn’t just great because of the robustness of the material. It also gives the wearer a kind of respectable armour – because it was created out of respect for them. After all, it’s what soldiers wear to go to war.

Ray: That can, to a certain extent, be applied to the everyday civilian world. Military-inspired clothing can also give the wearer a certain feeling of security in a psychological respect. Especially nowadays that can be really important. The way things are looking, the young generation is going to have to fight harder than ever where careers and work prospects are concerned.

Talking of fighting: in 2012, G-Star managed to secure a two-digit increase in turnover. Is the denim crisis passing you by?

Ray: To be honest, the mere term irritates me. Everyone I know wears denim, regardless of age. Everyone has jeans in their wardrobe. Crisis or not, for us it’s important to keep denim credible – an aim that we are pursuing with our current campaign as well. After seven or eight seasons of working with the photographer Anton Corbijn, who has photographed Hollywood greats like Liv Tyler, Vincent Gallo and Gemma Arterton for us, G-Star is opening up a new chapter: we are moving the focus away from the two-dimensional medium of print and towards 3D campaign videos. Under the heading ‘The Art of Raw – The Unlimited Possibilities of Denim’ we are showing the manufacturing process of a pair of G-Star jeans, from the harvesting of the raw cotton and the dyeing of the yarn, to the sewing of the seams. In the end, instead of being worn by an actor, a model, or even a human being, the jeans will be worn by our skeleton dog (Editor’s note: the greyhound skeleton featuring in the new campaign).

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Why? Ray: It’s about leaving the fashion sphere behind, conceptually speaking. By bestowing the clothing onto a non-human fantasy creation, we make it explicitly clear: the hero of the campaign is the denim. The video uses animation, which builds a dynamic bridge between craftsmanship and the latest technology and art. The soundtrack, by the way, is from Skrillex, the dubstep DJ and producer. So we are making sure we continue to maintain our contact to artists and musicians.

It’s not only your latest campaign that is taking a new direction.

There is also a new G-Star colour: Mazarine, an intense blue that is almost purple.

Morisset: Yes, that’s true. The special thing about Mazarine is that the warp as well as the weft threads are dyed blue, which not only heightens the intensity but also the durability of the colour. The hue was inspired

by Toile de Chine, a material that is reminiscent of denim, but is substantially older and of a higher quality. It originates from China, hence the name. From there Toile de Chine came to Europe. 120 years ago, it was worn by French farm workers and fishermen. And you can still get your hands on old stock in Marseille and Brittany.

Speaking of China: at the beginning of last year you opened a flagship store in Hong Kong. Is it your biggest store worldwide?

Morisset: No, the shop is large, over 500 m2, but not our largest – and it’s also not the only one in China. Our store in Shanghai, which we also opened last December, covers an area of 750 m2. (Editor’s note: The GStar store in Cologne, which opened at the beginning of April 2013, covers an area of 800 m2, which currently makes it the largest G-Star store worldwide). Glass, steel, rough concrete and pure natural materials transport the ‘raw’ message of G-Star in all our stores. Incidentally, I was responsible for the interior design concept.

That doesn’t surprise me, especially considering the fact that you

BRAND FEATURES G-STAR RAW, AMSTERDAM

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reinterpreted and reissued a series of furniture by famous French architect and interior designer Jean Prouvé as part of the ‘Prouvé Raw Edition’ series in collaboration with Vitra.

Morisset: I am very interested in interior and industrial design. But getting back to the stores, I have to tell you an anecdote of how Madonna came to our Paris store and literally bought half the shop’s stock just after the opening.

Really, Madonna?

Morisset: Yes, she was on tour and came with her entire crew. I know Madonna from my time at Fiorucci. She was at the presentation of my first women’s collection in a swimming pool in Paris and was still at the beginning of her career: let the water out, put Madonna in, get her to sing.

That was the way it was back then.

www.g-star.com

Last autumn, G-Star opened its first women’s store worldwide in Amsterdam. Will you continue to push the women’s collection?

Morisset: Personally I simply don’t have the time. The women’s collection will have to grow by itself. I am only here to provide the ideas and inspiration and can only say so much: when it comes to women’s clothing, the Charleston era with its incredible elegance inspires me. We’ll have to see if we will make something out of it.

What are your wishes for 2013?

Morisset: I really hope that Mazarine will be a success. We will most certainly continue to experiment with it.

Ray: Lots of good ideas. If you’re not a fashion label, and see creativity as your prime business, then constant innovation is part of your self-image.

Innovation is what keeps G-Star’s motor running.

Thanks for talking to us.

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BRAND FEATURES DESIGUAL, BARCELONA

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Crisis? What crisis?

Desigual managing director Manel Jadraque has plenty of plans.

DARING TO BE DIFFERENT Interview Ilona Marx Photos 7daysisaweekend

Mass-compatible non-conformism: a paradox? Not necessarily, as Desigual is out to prove. The Spanish label with the back-to-front letter ‘S’ in its logo and a penchant for colourful patchwork has long since been attracting fans far beyond their sun-drenched home turf.

And they’re also disproving another commonly held belief in the process: rapid growth is possible, even in times of crisis.

As if the label’s founder Thomas Meyer had anticipated it. Desigual is Spanish and means “not the same”, in other words, different. If you take a look at the history of the label, however, one thing is certain: being different nowadays is certainly a different kettle of fish from being different in 1986, which is when the founder, originally from Switzerland and not much older than 20 at the time, opened his first Desigual shop. The location: Ibiza, the Balearic island with a hippie past that was still palpable way into the eighties.

Those looking for the textile proof of this will find it in Meyer’s first commercially successful creation – a patchwork jacket made from a bunch of vintage jeans. The fact that this model, snapped up by customers in 1983, was back in production again in 2010 doesn’t belie the direction the young man’s rudimentary business model was taking: nowadays Desigual, with its headquarters in Barcelona, is a successful global fashion business. The core offer, with which they are present in over 80 countries, is a complete collection for men, women and children, in the mid-price segment. And this is meanwhile also rounded off with accessories, body and beachwear, as well as a shoe and a home collection. In 2012 they generated a turnover of around 700 million euros, compared to just 162 million euros in 2008.

But despite all the expansion and development – one thing has remained unchanged over the past 30 years: as head designer, Thomas Meyer still defines the look of Desigual. Patchwork elements, embroidery and colourful prints remain the cornerstone design elements of the collection. After the resignation of long-term CEO Manel Adell, who was also Meyer’s partner, at the beginning of 2013, he now holds the reins alone.

And continuity is being ensured in other respects. The new managing director is no unknown quantity either: Manel Jadraque has a design and product development background and has been working at Desigual 48

since 2003. J’N’C-editor-in-chief Ilona Marx took the chance to get to know the charismatic Spaniard and met up with him at the Desigual stand at the Bread & Butter in Berlin.

‘We love’ is the heading for the Desigual autumn/winter 2013/14 collection – a motto that is slightly surprising considering the current economic situation in Spain ...

Well you’re familiar with our main slogan ‘La Vida Es Chula!’ (‘Life is relaxed!’) Of course Europe and especially Spain, is going through an economic crisis. But despite this, we’re still sticking to our positive attitude.

It’s not without reason that the most important pillars of our label identity are sex, fun and love. Behind these pillars are values that are not only universal, but are also priceless, in the truest sense of the word. A lot of the things that make us happy don’t cost a cent – this insight is part of our brand philosophy. In that sense, we also see the crisis as an opportunity.

Is your optimism based on experience or is it a case of wishful thinking?

It’s hard to deny that we are going through a rough patch in Europe, with a bad consumer climate and declining revenue in the textile sector.

There is more pressure from competitors, and we have to rise to that challenge. And we do so by being particularly active on a product level, as well as in terms of distribution.

What does that entail exactly?

Well, to start with we have expanded our portfolio with new product categories. In addition to fashion for women, men and children, since spring 2012 we have also had a shoe collection. And our ‘Living’ home collection was also launched recently. These new product categories help us to open up our customer base and raise our turnover. By the way, where ‘Living’ is concerned, Germany is the most important market within Europe.

And what’s happening where distribution is concerned?

In response to the trend for mono-label stores, last year we further committed ourselves to our wholesale customers by offering them the option of increasing the Desigual label’s profile with our own shop-inshop systems, in order to increase turnover. The basis of this is the new

BRAND FEATURES DESIGUAL, BARCELONA

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format of the so-called D-Shop. The concept behind it: the collection, the furniture and the logo of the label are presented on at least 80 percent of the shop floor of a partner store. In addition, Desigual provides the retailer with our B2B platform and customer service and supports with marketing. There should be more than 100 D-Shops all over Europe by the end of 2013.

Desigual also has a lot of its own shops ...

Yes, there are currently 33 in Germany; by the end of this year 8 more will be added. Worldwide we have more than 330. Our three-year plan is to open 60 to 70 new stores a year so that we will have around 500 by the end of 2015. The D-Shop concept was developed especially for smaller sales areas and locations away from the big cities where we are not planning any own shops. Desigual is represented in around 9000 multi-label stores.

How is business outside of the core market: in Europe, in the USA and Asia for example?

Three years after the introduction of Desigual onto the US market the share of the total turnover was eight percent. In addition to a regional office in New Jersey, we also have two in Tokyo and Hong Kong as well as an 800 m2 flagship store in the Tokyo shopping district Shibuya. Business in Asia also contributes 6 percent to the total turnover – one year after entering this market. 2015 is set to be our “South American year” – with the opening of an office in Rio de Janeiro. We see geographical growth as the most important challenge, along with the goals in our three-yearplan. When it comes to our global turnover, we are aiming for annual growth of 15 percent.

in common with Custo Barcelona. Is there perhaps such a thing as a Catalan style?

It’s true that there is a connection between Desigual and Custo Barcelona, in the sense that both labels are defined by colours and graphics. This is perhaps also down to the fact that the roots of both labels date back to the early 80s. Perhaps the zeitgeist played a certain role in that. Nevertheless, the differences outweigh the similarities. Custo is a relatively small company with a very specific target group. Desigual is a global company, consciously appealing to a wide public.

That leads me to the final question: how do you reconcile your consistently bright bohemian style with current trends? How, for example, are you prepared for a ‘purist’ phase?

Naturally, in its core, Desigual is bohemian. Nevertheless, the collection is so broad that it includes all kinds, from trend items to sophisticated styles. It comprises around 1000 items, created by a team of around 100.

At Desigual the differentiation to other labels doesn’t have to do with our target groups, but our spirit. It’s about a positive attitude, about inspiring moments – not about a certain type of person. In my opinion that is one of the label’s secrets: it doesn’t cater to a niche; it doesn’t exclude anyone.

Desigual is mainstream – consciously and in the best way possible.

Thanks a lot for talking to us. www.desigual.com

I would imagine Brazil would be welcoming you with open arms ...

As a Spanish label, Desigual does naturally share a certain Latin temperament and lifestyle with Brazil. We have already begun attracting clientele there for our label. And this year we started cooperating with several Brazilian retail partners. It’s going very well: people love the label! And Brazil is definitely a market with great potential.

Talking of temperament: the penchant for certain design elements like patchwork and colourful pattern mixes is something you have 49

BRAND FEATURES ALBERTO, MÖNCHENGLADBACH

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WEARING THE TROUSERS Text Gerlind Hector

Specialists are on the rise, Jacks-of-all-trades are out. If you want to keep ahead of the crowd in the fashion business, you need to concentrate on your core skills. Just like the trouser experts at Alberto, whose expertise goes back 90 years.

That’s always the trouble with trend forecasting: it’s about capturing an abstract zeitgeist that is floating in the air – but hasn’t yet made it onto the table. The resourceful strategists have to find a way of formulating something concrete out of that; something trade and industry can actually make use of. In times of energy, bank and euro crises many companies are thirsting for reliable guidelines and patent recipes in order to safely steer clear of the mercantile reefs lurking below the surface. So, for the trend institutes at least, that means it’s boom time, along with an increasing distrust of one’s own gut instinct. Although you could do worse than to listen to your instinct.

‘Don’t get distracted’ should be the motto these days, because some people instinctively get it right. For example, the trousers specialists Alberto. The company, based in Mönchengladbach, is quite happy to admit to having “a few slates loose”, even though only a few sparrows may have noticed: high up on the roof top of the company’s headquarters are several pairs of jeans that have been up there for around twelve months, with the fitting name ‘Roof Destroyed Denims’. The aim is to research the effects of wind and weather over time and to document them. One could, of course, just chuck a load of chemicals on the jeans and use brute force to weather them, but Alberto prefers the more traditional, unconventional route. They’ve had the indigo coloured classic in their range since 2009 and have been perfecting it with their 50

know-how and exacting methods, trying out new processing and finishing techniques.

COMPETENCE AND TRADITION No one is in a rush here at Rheydter Street in Mönchengladbach, because conscientiousness and obstinacy are part of their tradition.

Alberto can now look back on 90 years of company history – a family-run company in the fourth generation, where it is about much more than just making a fast buck; but rather about producing a genuinely excellent product. After all, the fifth generation will take over one day and it would be nice to be able to hand over the sceptre with a clean conscience. Sustainable work and a long-term view of things attain a much higher priority when one is looking to the future.

These economically frugal times aren’t the best for any wild experimentation, that much is clear – but at Alberto they take things in their stride.

After all, economically speaking it wasn’t exactly rosy when Albert Dormanns founded his trouser factory in 1922. The stock market crash and the ensuing world economic depression affected the industry on the lower Rhine negatively too, where, in Mönchengladbach, the focus was on textiles and textile equipment. Albert Dormanns trusted in his speciality, tailoring trousers – and attained long-term success. His most important ingredient: his consistent passion for trousers. No ladies’ blouses, no tweed blazers or socks, Alberto haven’t even launched their own perfume over all these years, despite there being plenty of opportunities to generate even more profit with even more variety.

SPECIALIST RATHER THAN ALL-ROUNDER Numerous fashion labels have watered themselves down over the past decades, by allowing their name to be used for shoes, sunglasses or cosmetics licensing. Some simply disappeared from the scene or now exude all the charm of a “Made in Hong Kong” manufacturer.

In contrast, the claim of Alberto GmbH’s main label is simply ‘Pants we love’, which uncompromisingly sums up their approach. It’s an attitude with makes the company very much on trend because at the moment, all-rounders are definitely out, and specialists are in.

This trend is on the up in other industries too.

In the media or food industry a similar phenomenon can be observed. Regardless of whether we are talking about the success of niche magazines like ‘Country Life’ or ‘Modern Dog’ which appeal only to a very specific narrow target group, or the online retailer who manages to survive purely with one special type of mustard or ecologically grown tea. The zeitgeist has changed. Consumers are looking for something special, out of the ordinary, rather than interchangeable mass goods.

These days, it is those who concentrate on their core competencies who are the true pioneers.

In her prognosis for 2013/14, the Dutch trend forecaster Li Edelkoort even talks about a “new renaissance of romanticism” which expresses nothing more than the fact that we will increasingly hark back to the things that have stood the test of time. That includes the interest in past decades and in products that have weathered the economic trend turbulences of the past and have proven themselves reliable. Quality before quantity. After all, no one really needs 200 different yoghurts in the chilled section of the supermarket, and you don’t have to have 30

HIS-jeans.com HIS-jeans.com

BRAND FEATURES ALBERTO, MÖNCHENGLADBACH

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pairs of trousers clogging up your wardrobe.

Four will do it too – if the quality is good.

A POSITIVE LOOK TO THE FUTURE Alberto is only too aware of that and so in Mönchengladbach they will continue to concentrate on what counts: trousers. They have already finished building a new logistics centre with a large warehouse for finished products and space for 190,000 pairs. And after Alberto Golf was launched in 2004 they have launched a sportswear line for women going by the name of Alberto Golfwoman this year.

The management of the new label has been taken on by Anna Walendy, the daughter of the current company owner Georg Walendy and great granddaughter of Albert Dormanns. The result: a collection for women “who are looking for an outfit for the golf course that they can just as easily wear in the city,” says Anna Walendy.

The label’s own online shop has also already been launched. Together with her brother Philipp, who is responsible for the ADenim label as product manager, Anna Walendy represents the fourth generation that helps to direct the destiny of Alberto. “Craftsmanship and technological perfection continue to remain at the fore,” assures Marco Lanowy, who shares the responsibilities of management with Georg Walendy. They certainly won’t be cutting any corners, even if costs go up where logistics and production are concerned. “Our price de52

velopment is always predictable for retailers,” emphasises Lanowy. We will continue to find other ways to save costs.” At Alberto they are definitely looking to the future optimistically, a future that they can help shape in the long-term with their know-how and sense of tradition. www.alberto-pants.com

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BRAND FEATURES ROY ROGER’S, CAMPI BISENZIO/ITALY

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NO FUTURE WITHOUT HISTORY Text Svea Jörgens Photos 7daysisaweekend

Denim is the stuff big dreams are made of.

And, without a doubt, there is no other textile that has written more history that the indigocoloured cotton material. The invention of jeans was groundbreaking – a revolutionary item of clothing that changed the world forever and laid the foundation stone for the saga of the Biondi family, the brains behind the first Italian jeans label.

In 1949, when the young Francesco Bacci from Florence, who had been selling clothing from his parents’ garage, decided he no longer wanted to just be a middleman, he set up his own little textile factory, the Manifatture 7 Bell. At first he only produced workwear, but ever the resourceful businessman, Bacci soon wanted more. He got wind of these new kind of trousers that youngsters in America had just discovered: blue jeans. He quickly realised their potential and set off to the USA to the world-famous Cone Mills weaving mill. But they didn’t trust the young Italian at first. “They thought he was a mafiosi,” explains his grandson Nicolò Biondi.

But as soon as the suspected mafiosi assured them he could pay up in advance, slapping a thick wad of notes onto the table, any remaining reservations were set aside.

Cone Denim Mills still weaves for Manifatture 7 Bell to this day. Back then they advised Bacci to invest in heavy German sewing machines, so his next stop was post-war Germany, where he 54

bought almost 50 machines in one go. Back in Florence, he immediately had all the logos and labels removed from the machines, because he was worried people would copy him. He wanted to make sure he was the first in Italy to produce the new robust blue trousers from the USA. In 1952, only two years after founding the company, the time had come: the first genuine Italian jeans left the factory. As a homage to an old itinerant tailor whom he met overseas and who made a living going from farm to farm repairing workers’ trousers, Bacci named his jeans Roy Roger’s.

Business got off to a good start. The American easy rider lifestyle gradually made its way over to Europe, and for a long time Roy Roger’s were the only jeans for sale in Italy. “But our grandfather was well aware that the competition would be hot on his heels, so right from the outset he had a unique feature for his jeans patented: a zip on the right back pocket, the Back Pocket Zip,” explains Nicolò Biondi, who is CEO of the brand today. By 1965 the transformation of the jeans from a mere workwear garment into a fashionable leisurewear item was complete, and Manifatture 7 Bell was churning out approx. 25,000 pairs of jeans per day. In the sixties and seventies Roy Roger’s becomes a cult product. In Italy it was hard to find any youngster who didn’t own at least one pair of the Florentine jeans at that time. By the eighties at the latest, jeans became socially acceptable.

Whether young, old, male or female, for leisure or even in the workplace – everyone was wearing jeans. Business was booming.

In the nineties, however, the company’s sales fell. Another Italian jeans label, Diesel, was hogging the limelight. The most diverse manufacturers started flooding the market. Washes and cuts became increasingly important. Roy Roger’s no longer seemed able to hold their ground on the European retail market. “That’s when my father had the groundbreaking idea of making chic jeans,” Nicolò Biondi tells us. “My grandfather wasn’t very happy about it at the time; after all jeans had once been workwear trousers, before going on to become an expression of the American dream of freedom, and they were always more of an antidote to high fashion. So why would he want to turn them into fashion?” But the son-in-law, Fulvio Biondi, stuck to his guns, removed the rough character of the jeans, gave them a high-quality sophisticated touch and sold them to the most upmarket boutiques in Italy. Roy Roger’s denims can be found hanging next to Prada blouses, Louis Vuitton suits and Gucci dresses. Today, Fulvio Biondi’s son Nicolò describes it as a “revolution”. And then when Helmut Lang discontinued their jeans production, nothing more stood in their way. There were no more competitors: In the 2000s Roy Roger’s experienced its second boom and became more successful than ever before.

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BRAND FEATURES ROY ROGER’S, CAMPI BISENZIO/ITALY

Nicolò Biondi, CEO Roy Roger’s

In November 2010 Fulvio Biondi died: far too early at the age of 59. Today his son Nicolò takes care of the business and his son Guido is responsible for the Roy Roger’s design as creative director. They are both preserving the legacy in the way that their father and grandfather would have wanted, although they have been producing more than just jeans for a while now: the men’s and ladies’ collections include an entire range of trousers, skirts, dresses, blouses, shirts, pullovers, T-shirts, tops and accessories. Denim continues to play an important role. Knitwear, leather and silk complete the look.

Over a year ago, the label moved into a more befitting ‘palace’ in Campi Bisenzio just outside Florence. “We urgently needed to expand. Our old headquarters were bursting at the seams,” says Nicolò Biondi. He and his brother Guido were very involved in the design. The result is

something uncompromisingly simple, without any flourishes or much décor. You’ll be searching for kitsch and knickknacks in vain here.

Instead you’ll find white walls, glass doors, steel girders and chrome-plated railings. The rooms are expansive and spacious, open and light.

With just the typical Italian design you’d expect.

With the move in January 2012, Roy Roger’s is also heralding in a new era for the company: from now on they will be pursuing an international expansion strategy. The global image is going to be polished up and redefined. They also want to concentrate more on their own retailing. The flagship store in Florence is doing well; additional flagships will be opening this year in Rome and Milan. Shops in France, Great Britain and the USA are in the planning stages.

“For us, the opening of our own stores is of course the next logical step to further increase the value of the brand,” says Nicolò Biondi. We are consciously moving into prime locations, in which our shop concept will enter into a synergy with the multi-brand stores. This has already proven very successful for us in Florence.” For designer Guido Biondi the most important goal is to strengthen the complete look of the brand.

The aim is for Roy Roger’s to become a recognised fashion label, without losing its roots or denying its heritage. Collaborations with the traditional English shoe manufacturer Tricker’s, the long-established American outdoor brand Filson and the Italian shoemaker Cesare Baroli

reinforce this image. “You don’t have a future if you don’t have a real history to tell,” is what father Fulvio Biondi always used to say. And he was right. The brand is certainly heading into a very style-conscious future. www.royrogers.it

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BRAND FEATURES FRANKLIN & MARSHALL, MONTORIO/ITALY

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TERRA ANTIQUA X TEAM SPIRIT Text Svea Jörgens Photos 7daysisaweekend

The air flickers in the harsh light of the sun.

But you can’t see too far because of the undulating hills. One dome-shaped green pasture more verdant than the next. Stone walls and wooden fences crumbling, covered in moss or decaying, haphazardly crisscrossing the hills. Dress seams, hems and clothing patterns on the other hand, are things that the Italians have down to a fine art – but when it comes to boundaries on their own land, they don’t seem so bothered. Here and there a gnarly old olive tree weathers the seasons, and on the horizon a few ancient ramshackle wooden barns remain, where no modern farming equipment would deign to be stored.

Here in the middle of the Tuscan countryside are the company headquarters of the Italian sportswear label Franklin & Marshall.

We are in Montorio, a small village only a few kilometres east of Verona. The heart of the Italian fashion industry can be heard beating all around: weaving mills, textile factories, dyeing facilities, industrial-scale laundries.

Every piece of clothing that is produced here has profited from the centuries of experience gained in the textile tradition. That makes it slightly less surprising that of all places it was in Montorio that the typical American college style was born. It was a style that the two friends Giuseppe Albarelli, an economist, and Andrea Pensiero, a designer, had always been 56

fond of. Casual chinos, relaxed sports trousers, loose-fit T-shirts and the key piece: the sweater, emblazoned with the emblem that American students proudly wear on their chests – their university logo. For the style-conscious Italians, Albarelli and Pensiero, it was more than just a look. It summed up a lifestyle of youth, blitheness, casualness and sporting team spirit.

“During a trip to New York in 1999 we discovered one of these sweaters at a flea market: It was royal blue, pretty shabby, but in large letters on the front were the words ‘Franklin & Marshall’, which is an American college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania,” says Pensiero. This shirt and with it the name Franklin & Marshall became a synonym for the lifestyle that they loved, and so they founded the label as a homage to this attitude to life. “We already had the idea of creating our own college fashion, but we needed that decisive last kick, which this F&M sweater provided,” adds Albarelli.

The new business partners gained expertise on their numerous research trips to the legendary Rose Bowl flea market in Pasadena and from the countless second-hand shops in Tokyo. They immersed themselves in the American style of the fifties to nineties. Today it is in their flesh and blood: if you didn’t know any better you’d never guess that the F&M collections are designed in Italy and are also almost exclusively produced there. It was no mistake that Albarelli and Pensiero asked to take a look at the year-

books and photo archives of their namesake college – and they were granted permission.

Not a bad deal for the Franklin & Marshall College either: the brand from Verona is allowed to use the logo, but not to sell in the US. But that doesn't matter, as business is doing just fine anyway. Outside Italy, France is the next biggest market for the still young brand.

In Europe, Franklin & Marshall are the biggest competitors of Abercrombie & Fitch. They initially got off to a spectacular start in Germany, but then the distribution company went bankrupt, which worried a lot of customers. This is why there are only around 40 distributors in Germany at the moment. But thanks also to the online trade and the continuous contact with the community, the brand is still growing rapidly on the German market. “We would like to focus more on Germany again in the future,” says Chief Marketing Officer Luca Innocenzi. Just as important, as the fastest developing market, is, you’ve guessed it: Japan. From this spot in the contemplative Tuscan village in this hilly valley, the whole world is within reach – and not just metaphorically speaking. Distribution is also organised from here.

Upon entering the company’s headquarters, nothing echoes the village life outside. Dark, old, deeply grained oak furniture, wooden panelling, high ceilings and large rooms give more the impression of a university library, like something out of an American teen movie.

BRAND FEATURES FRANKLIN & MARSHALL, MONTORIO/ITALY

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Andrea Pensiero (top)

But there are no studying students at the large desk in the middle of the room; instead a bunch of hardworking marketing and sales staff are deep in discussion. They have plenty to do, but no one seems stressed or harried. Everyone is wearing their favourite accessory: a friendly relaxed smile. The equally young and dynamic design team work on a higher floor of the building, under the roof. At present they are busy with the spring/summer collection for 2014. But here again: no signs of stress in their faces. It’s like the seemingly perfect American smalltown idyll, if that is possible.

After all, one could accuse the brand of not being truly authentic. The college image of F&M rides merely on the logo of a university with which they have nothing in common – other than this logo. However, the label makes no bones about it: “The New York story, that is our story,” says designer Andrea Pensiero, “Franklin & Marshall, the college, that’s only a metaphor for the feeling we want to transport.

Liberty, respect for one another and for the environment.”

And that is exactly what is put into practice here in Montorio. A sporting and team spirit in every respect. No one thinks they are better than the other simply because they are sitting at a desk. That’s why the massive warehouse is separated from the rest of the building only by a glass wall. If you walk through the cheerful open-plan warehouse, and open a small hidden

Giuseppe Albarelli

Luca Innocenzi

iron door, continuing on across the courtyard, you’ll discover probably the most impressive reason why all the employees here wear a smile to match their casual clothing: Franklin & Marshall’s very own sweatshop.

But don’t worry, this isn’t where the employees slave away in bad conditions for less than minimum wage: it houses the company’s own gym, spa and sauna, which can easily match the spa area of any SoHo House. The company really makes an effort to imbue the American spirit of belonging. “As a label we are interested in organic growth. Of course we want to earn money, but not at any cost,” emphasises Innocenzi. What else counts? Having fun of course.

In front of the main building, directly on the banks of a small river the company also has its own bar, in a fifties-style American diner look.

Only the obligatory Italian espresso machine isn’t American. On top of that they have their own rugby team in Verona, support a Spanish basketball team and a sports team for talented youngsters.

There is so much more we could write about Franklin & Marshall but that would fill an entire yearbook. So here’s to a great new start in Germany and we promise we’ll keep you upto-date on any new developments. www.franklinandmarshall.com

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BRAND FEATURES ETIQUETA NEGRA, MEDOLAGO/ITALY

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BLACK LABEL GOODS Interview Ilona Marx

Elegant yet speedy. Amongst more discerning sports enthusiasts, polo has always been considered the sport of kings, and not just since Princes William and Harry have been swinging the mallet. After all, you need not only skill and sensitivity but also plenty of panache if you want to keep the horse and ball under control at the same time. Sensitivity and panache? A balancing act that Etiqueta Negra are experts in – just like the subject of polo.

‘Black label’ is the literal translation of the Spanish name Etiqueta Negra, a label that has been storming the European market since 2009 from its base in Italy. Whereby the term ‘Etiqueta’ also references the idea of ‘etiquette’ – a virtue that means more than simple compliance to traditional good manners. ‘Etiqueta’ can also mean being conscious of one’s own responsibilities and expectations – whilst keeping one’s composure.

So, enough linguistic confusion for one day?

Then let’s get down to brass tacks: J’N’C editor-in-chief Ilona Marx met up with Attila Kiss, the Sales Director of Etiqueta Negra Polo & Sportswear for Europe, at the Premium tradeshow in Berlin. That’s where the label was presenting its 120-piece women’s and menswear collection, which includes polo shirts, but also a whole bunch of tailored-style jackets, knitwear, outerwear, trousers and accessories.

So it’s hardly surprising that since last year they have also been on sale at the Bloomingdale’s stores in L.A. and San Diego. Etiqueta Negra is represented in around 900 multi-label stores worldwide. A conversation about relaxed luxury – and a passion for horsepower.

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This is the brand’s first time exhibiting at Premium, right?

Yes, that’s right. After Etiqueta Negra Polo & Sportswear launched in Europe in 2009 we initially concentrated our activities on the Mediterranean region. First came our flagship in Milan, followed by further stores in Forte dei Marmi, Italy, as well as in Deauville and in Saint-Tropez, France. Now we’d also like to concentrate on our Northern European clientele. And for a successful business in Northern Europe, Germany is the key market. Our experience here at Premium confirms that: we’ve made numerous important new contacts – not just German ones, but also Scandinavian. For a label like Etiqueta Negra, Premium is exactly the right platform.

you will hardly be able to tell which is which.

However, there are some differences in the products.

Does Indas manufacture the products exclusively in Italy?

No, not exclusively. Production is carried out in Italy and in other European countries where Indas has production facilities. But the design concept is Italian.

The brand’s roots lie in Argentina, but you are based in Italy ...

Etiqueta Negra was founded in Argentina in 2003. The trademark rights for Europe and the Middle East are held by Indas Retail Srl, who are based in Medolago near Milan. That means that the European collection is manufactured and distributed by Indas.

At the same time, the Argentinian background remains palpable. The Polo & Sportswear theme is something that Etiqueta Negra has in common with a whole raft of other Argentine brands.

Yes, no question about it. But that is why it is so important to stress that polo doesn’t merely represent just another fashion theme. After all, Etiqueta Negra is the main sponsor for Ellerstina, the most famous and successful polo team within Argentina’s borders. And probably beyond. Plenty of labels offer the polo style. But as official suppliers to Ellerstina we are very much connected to the sport and that’s what makes us so authentic.

So there are two collections – a European one and an Argentinian one?

To be precise: a European one and a (South) American one – overseas, Etiqueta Negra is represented in Argentina, Brazil and the USA. The target group in America is not identical to that of Europe. Nevertheless, the core identity of the label is the same. And not just that, the retail concept is also the same. If I show you pictures of New York’s Etiqueta Negra store in SoHo and ones of the store in Forte dei Marmi

… whereby neither authenticity nor luxury come too short at Etiqueta Negra. Forte dei Marmi, Deauville, Saint-Tropez – your retail strategy could have the tagline: the brand for exclusive beach resorts.

Etiqueta Negra stands for sports and casualwear – but with a high-quality approach and with collections for women and men who are also looking for more formal wear in their everyday life and free time, in addition to the sporting outfits. Including premium-quality

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bags and shoes. As the locations of our stores suggest, we have consciously decided against competing on the basis of price. Good value for money – for us that means not stinting when it comes to materials and workmanship. For the very same reason we don’t do basics: at Etiqueta Negra even the basics aren’t ‘basic’, but always have some detail that makes them special. Why? For us it’s the lifestyle idea that’s counts. That is also mirrored in the fact that our range of products also includes perfumes and wine.

BRAND FEATURES ETIQUETA NEGRA, MEDOLAGO/ITALY

Zweibrücken around a year ago, we are now looking for a suitable location for a regular mono-brand store. At the top of our location wish list is Munich. We are also opening a store in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and another in Rome.

We have also been looking into London – an interesting location for us too.

Good luck for the future and thank you very much for talking to us. www.etiquetanegra.eu

Talking of lifestyle: vintage cars and historic motorbikes are also a part of the Etiqueta Negra cosmos.

It’s the same approach we have with polo: motorsports aren’t merely a source of inspiration. They are indelibly inked into our company’s DNA. Etiqueta Negra often sponsors European vintage car races, including the ‘Gran Premio Nuvolari’. The race is named after Tazio Nuvolari, one of the best racing drivers in history. The Italian started racing motorbikes in the 1920s, and became a legend in the 1930s with Alfa Romeo. We have an exclusive contract with the Nuvolari Foundation, which is why we have permission to exhibit the odd classic car every now and again. We also have a capsule collection of vintage appeal dedicated to Nuvolari and his races as a permanent part of our portfolio. And getting back to the topic of sponsoring: we are still looking for a European polo team we could sponsor ...

We’ll definitely pass that on. Apart from that – what else is in the pipeline?

After launching our shop at the ‘Style Outlet’ in 59

BRAND FEATURES LEVI’S

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A HISTORY OF THE BUTTON-UP JEANS Text Franziska Klün

They were the first of their kind, and they keep on coming back: no other jeans have changed their image as much as Levi’s 501.

In commemoration of the 140th birthday of a cult item.

Marlon Brando wore them. And Brigitte Bardot.

And the good-looking James Dean of course.

The list of ‘five-o-one’ fans reads like a journey back in time through western cultural history.

They are the great-grandmother of jeans, the most worn trouser model of all time. On 20th May the “Fashion Item of the 20th Century”, as they were branded by ‘Time Magazine’, will be turning 140 years old. This will be the 140th anniversary since the day on which Levi Strauss, together with the tailor Jacob Davis, walked to the patent office in the small gold mining town of San Francisco and introduced the first jeans. The fact that this jeans model would come so far and even become acceptable wear in the opera and for job interviews simply wasn’t imaginable back then.

Like no other item of clothing, the jeans have undergone a constant image transformation, they are a symbol of different movements, and several interpretations of them can be found in most of our wardrobes.

The 20th May was the birthing hour of jeans – and with it the 501. Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis launched the trousers, which were known as waist overalls at the time, together with a numbering system, so the retailers could identify the different models. Right from the beginning, the 501 was regarded as the best quality choice. In the same year, around 6000 of the waist overalls were sold. And although 60

Levi Strauss, who was born in Bavaria and emigrated to San Francisco during the Gold Rush, had designed the robust jeans for the gruelling work of the gold diggers, they were also the favourite choice of farmers, ranchers, lumberjacks and cowboys. Until then, there had been no item of clothing that could withstand the workers’ requirements. But thanks to the copper rivets affixed to the pocket corners and other areas prone to wear and tear, they were much more durable.

The initially used sailcloth material was quickly replaced by the resistant, indigo-blue dyed Serge de Nîmes, which translated into English means ‘fabric from Nîmes’. The Americans then turned ‘de Nîmes’ into the word ‘denim’. The company still advertises with the image of two horses that can’t manage to rip apart a pair of Levi’s. The 501 was their global triumph, even if few decades passed before American soldiers brought the jeans to Europe after the Second World War. The jeans attained cult status in the 1950s when they defined the look of the rebellious youth.

The teenage troublemakers wanted to liberate themselves from the expectations placed on them by their parents’ generation and declared the 501s their trademark. After James Dean wore the 501s in the film ‘Rebel Without A Cause’ in 1955, this movement reached its peak. After that, jeans became a frequent presence on the silver screen. And when Marilyn Monroe slipped into the straight-cut model in ‘The Misfits’ in 1961, millions of girls followed her lead.

In the 1970s, labels like Gloria Vanderbilt and Calvin Klein launched the first designer

jeans, and Levi’s faced massive competition.

But this was still the glory summit of the 501s: the jeans model became the uniform of the American gay scene – combined with a T-shirt and boots. In the 1980s Levi Strauss & Co., which is still family-owned to this day, started focusing on lavishly produced TV and cinema advertisements. When the model Nick Kamen stripped off down to his boxer shorts in a laundrette, a new hype was born. The 501 became the must-have item of the entire western youth. This was followed by famous fans like Kurt Cobain, who made the jeans the fashion of the grunge movement, Steve Jobs only wore a black roll-neck jumper and Levi’s, and even US President Barack Obama appeared before the masses wearing a pair of 501s during his first election campaign in 2008.

Designer Tom Ford said: “I wish I had invented the 501.”

Although their star began to fade somewhat in the noughties – due to the boom in designer jeans causing a period of stagnation for authentic denim – the 501s are now back. And since Levi’s called for people to portray their own styling interpretations and upload their photos onto the brand’s homepage to mark the 140-year anniversary, every last fan seems to have awoken from their slumber: whether on Facebook, Instagram, fashion blogs or designer fan pages – the 501 is everywhere you look right now. www.levis501.com

Photographer: Beate Hansen 2012Š. Jeans: 1921. Knitwear: Maiami. Lace skirt: Jennifer Hahn

Embrace Nature.

Choose Cotton. cottonusa.de

SPECIAL DENIM WEAVERS ISKO CREATIVE ROOM

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CODENAME: CREATIVE ROOM Text Gerlind Hector Photos 7daysisaweekend

Veneto is renowned for its lagoons and risotto nero. But very few people know that the trends and developments of the denim industry are also masterminded from here: to be precise, from a small creative studio, which, with its wealth of ideas and technical knowhow, is impressing even the big players.

“Un caffè?” Umberto Brocchetto is a perfect host, who serves me a freshly brewed espresso with a flourish while making a few jokes about the weather, the Italian mentality and badly fitting jeans. There are no signs of the stress and the immense responsibility resting on his shoulders. He’s a real phenomenon, the man with the firm handshake and sparkling eyes. As the managing director of the ‘Creative Room’ he negotiates with major brands like Esprit, Geox, Pepe Jeans and Hugo Boss and provides them with tailor-made concepts.

Here, in the small town of Castelfranco Veneto, about an hour’s drive from Venice, are the headquarters of the creative office, which is something of a well-kept secret. Although it has an immense influence on the denim industry, only absolute insiders are aware of it. No security check, not even a strict receptionist is watching over the ground floor of Via Matteotti 7 c-d. Visitors simply march through a glass door and they’re already right in the middle of everything. A few busy bees are sitting at massive industrial-style desks. High ceilings, lots of light and barely a square centimetre of wall that isn’t covered with inspirations on the topic of denim.

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ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND COMBINED CREATIVITY This is where mood boards, meticulous product drawings and complex overall concepts are created. And there’s no shortage of denim to look at and touch either. From bundles of fabric down to the finished garment: denim as far as the eye can see. Plus a whole load of other ingredients for the secret recipe in the form of buttons, yarn and studs – the atmosphere is more than authentic, and yet the space, which was designed with plenty attention to detail, is not chaotic in any way. And there’s a similar scenario in the adjoining showroom. It is more than palpable here too, the combined creativity of Umberto Brocchetto and creative director Massimo Munari. Umberto gently runs his finger along an old Biedermeier sofa, which a local craftsman has covered in denim for him.

“But of course we added the colour splashes and traces of wear and tear ourselves!” he laughs.

Team Brocchetto and Munari founded the Creative Room about three years ago. Officially the studio belongs to Isko, a company belonging to the Turkish Sanko Holding. The claim ‘Isko – The Denim Language’ is not unfounded: Isko is the world’s biggest denim producer.

Every year they produce 250 million metres of denim. There are various registered trademarks, including ‘Jeggings’, which fit comfortably and skin-tight like leggings, but look like robust denim. Or ‘Isko Reform’, which sculpts the body and makes the critical rear-end view

look as if it’s a whole dress size smaller. “That’s really catching on,” winks Umberto Brocchetto.

“Women are so vain when it comes to this particular part of the body!”

TECHNICAL KNOW-HOW AND CLEVER STRATEGIES The female clientele are becoming more and more discerning – and not only them, Marco Lucietti, marketing director at Isko tells me: “Creative innovation, technical know-how and a clever strategy – you definitely need all three if you want to have long-term success in the denim industry, as there is a lot of competition.

With our Creative Room we are offering all of that from one source.” At first glance it seems astounding that a company like Isko, with its more than 30 years of denim expertise, has the entrepreneurial courage to completely rely on two creative Italians. But there’s good reason to their faith in the competence of Umberto Brocchetto and Massimo: they’ve both known each other for a quarter of a century – and each one of them has already been working in the fashion or denim industry for just as long.

Munari studied design and gained a lot of professional experience at noteworthy denim brands. And Brocchetto? He doesn’t have any formal training from fashion academies or business schools. But when it comes to denim no one comes close. He got into the fashion business at an early age, and just always preferred to get down to the practical side of things, rather than going to university to burden

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Massimo Munari (top left), Umberto Brocchetto

himself with the whole theory. The complete production chain of a pair of jeans – he can recite it in his sleep, every single step blindfolded. Is it a unique wash or a special effect you’re looking for? If someone knows the solution, then it’s Brocchetto.

DENIM IS LIFESTYLE Denim is not just any old cotton fabric: everyone here at the Creative Room knows that.

Denim is lifestyle, an all-encompassing attitude to life. New technology and finishing trends are often tested out here first, before being discovered by the rest of the industry. Creative Director Massimo Munari is used to being proactive and visionary, which keeps him several steps ahead of his colleagues. “First of all, I have to have a feeling for what customers are going to want in a few years’ time,” he emphasises.

“Most importantly you have to have a free spirit, so you’re open to new ideas.” Trend research?

For Munari an integral part of his daily work.

He travels a lot and has an instinctive sense for the finest lifestyle trends. Internet? Yes, that too – but that kind of research is often too “cold” for his liking, plus it’s second-hand anyway.

Munari prefers to sense trends himself, which he can then later present to his customers.

There’s no competition with the company’s own designers. On the contrary, Munari and his team mainly provide lots of inspiration and offer overall concepts that you won’t find elsewhere.

What should the look be like, how should it feel when you’re wearing it, what about the label-

ling? Should there be visible stitching, unique details and buttons? And most of all: what are we going to call the whole thing?

The most recent cooperation with Esprit shows how comprehensive the work of the Creative Room is. In summer 2013 the clothing giant, which has its European headquarters in Ratingen, not far from Düsseldorf, will be debuting the ‘24-Hour Jeans’ for ladies, for which the Italians weren’t only involved in coming up with the name. In their own press release, Esprit proudly announces cooperation with Isko, the “groundbreaking denim experts”, and mentions the incredible comfort, look and wealth of detail that they have the unique Isko technology to thank for. But the fact that it’s the creative Italians from Veneto who are responsible for the fine-tuning remains unofficial.

Last autumn/winter, Geox, a label predominantly known for its patented rubber soles, launched a jeans collection. The aim was for it to be of the highest technological and aesthetic level – so Isko and therefore also the Creative Room in Castelfranco were their most important cooperation partners.

Matteotti might suggest otherwise. But without a little bit of fun and pottering about in between, top creative performances just wouldn’t be possible in the first place, or at least that’s the opinion of Umberto Brocchetto, who wanders over to give the espresso machine a quick clean and sees absolutely no problem in getting his hands dirty now and again. At his home, the ‘aqua alta’, the region’s typical springtime floods, are causing him a lot of trouble. Half his garden is flooded, he laughs, and he got covered in mud yesterday sorting things out and trying to clean up the mess. After all, they’re just a few metres above sea level, so he’s expecting a small tsunami anytime soon. With feigned panic in his eyes and a big gesture, he signals the ruin of half of Italy – before promptly offering me another ‘caffè’. After all, life does go on and the situation isn’t quite that extreme yet. Well, in the Creative Room anyway, where no one would drop their pen or push their computer mouse to one side just because of a little water. There’s simply too much work to be done. www.isko.com.tr

AQUA ALTA AND CAFFÈ The Creative Room’s successes speak for themselves, and Isko gives the small team of seven, including marketing specialists, graphic designers and other designers, a completely free hand. Real experts are sitting here, highly concentrated on their work, even if the relaxed atmosphere and the good mood on the Via 63

TRADE SHOWS INTERVIEW RAFFAELLO NAPOLEONE

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Raffaello Napoleone, CEO Pitti Immagine

THE PALACE OF FASHION Text Svea Jörgens Photos 7daysisaweekend

On 12 February 1951, the affluent Tuscan businessman Battista Giorgini organised the first post-war fashion show for Italian ladieswear at his villa in Florence. It was presented to an international press audience.

Ever since then this date has not only been noted as the birth of the predicate ‘Made in Italy’, but also as the starting signal for the Pitti Immagine Uomo – which today, together with Milan Fashion Week, is one of the most important international platform for menswear.

The event was given its name after it relocated to the Sala Bianca of the Palazzo Pitti in 1952.

Pitti quickly became the leading fashion fair in the world – but initially only for ladies’ fashion.

In 1972, the first Pitti Uomo fashion show and trade fair for menswear was organised. In 1988, it moved to the Fortezza da Basso, an architecturally impressive fortification from the 16th century. Since 1989 the qualified lawyer and manager Raffaello Napoleone has been on board. Today he is the CEO of the Pitti Immagine. He wasn’t predestined for a career in fashion, says Napoleone, but he’s learnt to understand it. He spoke to J’N’C about the past, present and future of the trade fair.

Mr Napoleone, can you please give us a résumé of the recent 83rd Pitti Immagine Uomo.

What else could I possibly say except that the fair was once again a great success? For the Pitti Immagine, for Florence and for me. I really have to thank all exhibitors for the wonderful event. Without exception, all of the collections were extraordinarily beautiful, fashionable 64

and – typical for the Pitti Uomo – of the highest quality.

Well, style and quality were never a problem for the Pitti Uomo and probably never will be. But can we talk about hard figures? Has Pitti been able to defy the crisis?

Yes, with regard to the figures, the most recent Pitti was another resounding success. Over 20,000 registered buyers were counted in total and around 30,000 visitors. Compared to the previous year, we had an increase of five percent of foreign buyers. For the fourth time in a row we were able to increase the number of buyers from abroad. But: the crisis did make itself felt; around seven percent fewer Italian visitors were counted. Although this wasn’t unexpected. The crisis is omnipresent. Italy is in turmoil, the buyers are uncertain, and the market and of course the trade fair, are reflecting that. To be honest, we are expecting the same for the upcoming 84th Pitti Uomo. I’m not worried.

Really?

Allow me to explain: the positive development in the international visitor numbers is an indicator of the current development on the market.

When it comes to fashion, men’s fashion in particular, the quality seal ‘Made in Italy’ has lost none of its relevance. The crux of the matter, however, is that this is currently being acknowledged less by the Italians themselves than from abroad, especially from outside of Europe.

The Italian buyers are staying away from the show. But in their stead, we are seeing a rise in foreign visitors who are compensating for this

decline. Our small Florentine trade fair is gaining increasingly in international significance.

So you see, the figures are certainly reflecting the difficult economic conditions in Italy, but also the opportunities that are arising from them: now we can prepare ourselves better for the international visitors. The trade fair will continue to become more international. Germany, for example, is currently a driving force in the fashion business. But also Great Britain und of course Scandinavia are on the rise. Asia has gained in significance at a rapid speed: in the shortest time China, Japan and South Korea have become an essential part of the market. Of around 7800 foreign buyers, in January a good 870 came from Japan. This is equivalent to an increase of 39 percent. And the USA, Russia and Turkey are important too, of course.

How are you reacting to the rising numbers of international buyers – apart from with delight of course?

You see, the Pitti Immagine Uomo doesn’t react, it acts. In order to understand the market and to remain a leading voice of the national and international fashion industry, you have to recognise such developments very early on; understand them and prepare yourself for them. As you know, we get the trade fair season off to a start so we can’t allow ourselves to be chasing after the rest of the market. Throughout the whole year I go to trade fairs, conferences and fashion events all around the world – just like my excellent team. Trend-oriented scouting and meticulous research are the essential pillars of a trade fair like Pitti Uomo. We will become more internationally oriented, no doubt about

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it. But we have to make sure we don’t forget our roots. Identity is the keyword. Without a doubt, every foreign buyer will confirm to you that our trade fair has a unique charm. Especially now, in summer, when numerous events surrounding the Pitti can take place outside. You are here, right in the middle of the city, so if you want to take some time out to enjoy an espresso in a café, or take the weight off your feet and sit by the Arno River, you can do it here. It is our strength, rather than a weakness, that we are comparatively small.

So you’ll be staying in the Fortezza da Basso and not looking for a bigger location?

Of course we will stay. This place has a long tradition, this location is our trademark and an integral part of our identity – and you should never lose your identity if you want to be involved in the international fashion business.

You don’t have to be particularly big; we are the best proof of this. However, we do very much concentrate on the essentials. We stick with what we are good at, and our competence now lies in the high-end segment. There has never been anything in our past to make us question the tradeshow’s positioning. In a time in which not only the end consumers, but also the retailers can make almost all of their purchases online, you have to do something to entice them to a tradeshow. The old fort offers the perfect backdrop for the high fashion that our exhibitors are presenting here. We don’t want to get any bigger. The exquisite selection is decisive.

Researching and curating are therefore extremely important elements. Buyers and exhibitors come to Florence because they expect to

see quality here, and that’s also what they’ll be getting here again in the summer.

dustry. The upcoming Pitti will be a homage to Italy. A return to the good old days.

What can you already tell us about the 84th Pitti in June? Can you give us a sneak peek?

My pleasure! I have already spoken about identity and about the fact that you have to make sure you don’t lose it, despite the crisis and the fact we are becoming more international. Basically, that’s precisely the motto of the upcoming show. As in past seasons, there will once again be installations, themed areas and a colourful, well-rounded line-up of accompanying events.

This time all under the heading ‘craftsmanship’.

Italian craftsmanship has made Florence and the region here famous and given rise to the most significant tradeshow for men’s fashion.

That’s what we’ll be focusing on. Weaving, tanning, tailoring, footwear and dressmaking are the keywords of the 84th Pitti Immagine Uomo.

We would also like to concentrate more on the European market.

That sounds romantic. But this is also a new tune for a tradeshow which, despite holding onto the relatively small city of Florence as its location, has maintained that success comes from the ability to keep changing There’s no need to worry. There are going be quite a few significant changes. A few investments have been made, and we have one or two surprises in store. But I can’t really give much more away than that. Except: there’s a lot to look forward to.

But didn’t you say that currently it’s first of all the non-European countries that are the driving force in the fashion industry?

Sure, at the moment. But I’m already one step ahead. I believe in Europe as the driving force of our entire economy. You see, we have 500 million customers here, who we can reach, with a potential of up to 800 million. Despite all of the euphoria surrounding the new markets in Asia, but also in South America and Africa, which have hugely gained in significance during recent years and definitely cannot be ignored, we still cannot lose sight of Europe! We have to consolidate our location, our retail, our in-

Thank you very much for talking to us.

Pitti Immagine Uomo 18 – 21 June 2013 Fortezza da Basso Viale Filippo Strozzi, 1 50129 Florence www.pittimmagine.com

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GET CONNECTED! Interview Fredericke Winkler Karl-Heinz Müller

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.

Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” That is probably the most famous quote by Steve Jobs from his ‘Stanford Commencement Speech’ in 2005. Inspired by these words, the upcoming summer edition of Bread & Butter has the motto ‘Connect’. In an interview with Karl-Heinz Müller we found out exactly what that entails.

Mr Müller, what are you currently working on at the moment?

At the moment (Editor’s note: end of April 2013) we are, of course, concentrating on the summer edition of Bread & Butter. Times have become a lot harder for everyone. And I am asking myself the question: what does the future of the global textile industry hold? Where are the opportunities and what are the risks?

Can you explain that in more detail?

Well you see, I’ve been organising the Bread & Butter for twelve years.

Before that I worked in sales for almost 20 years at different big brands, including Levi’s, Marc O’Polo and Pepe Jeans London, and I’ve also been a retailer with my 14 oz. stores in Berlin for quite a few years now. I can look back on a total of 30 years of experience in the textile industry. I’ve seen a lot come and go. The lifestyle/fashion industry has always been in motion, which is only natural, as that’s precisely what the fashion business thrives on. But in the past few years a lot has changed; we are in the middle of a profound paradigm shift. Today we find ourselves in an absolute end consumer market, in which the consumer has considerable influence. Many big brands have become dramatically less coveted and are thereby losing their dominance, are no longer in a position to define the fashion dictates. We’re living in an ‘H&M generation’. The verticals are diversifying at a crazy pace. The Inditex group is not only Zara, but also Massimo Dutti and Bershka. H&M is coming out with Monki, COS, Weekday, & Other Stories as their own luxury segment. The well-known verticals are meanwhile no longer the most price-aggressive and have to put up a fight to cope with discount promotions, and now Primark is coming along too. This absolute cut-price provider is already enjoying wide acceptance amongst end consumers. It’s with great dismay that I’m observing how people are starting to consume textiles like food. Furthermore, the traditional retail sector is frequently bypassed, because the brands are opening more and more of their own stores. This is not a very good development for the classic retailers, who have usually built up the brands and made them well known on the market at their own risk. The independent retailer fulfils a very important function, by making an individual choice of brands and collections with their own taste and instinct, because they know their customers. Paired with well-trained specialist staff who can advise the customers, this is a service which is not to be underestimated and which deserves recognition and rewards. If we start losing the hallmark characteristics of the fashion retailer, we run the risk of us all losing a certain culture and know-how. Brands are made in retail and not in a mono-brand store. So I am appealing to the brands to support their retailers; it will be worth their while.

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Do you have a specific example here?

Let’s take Berlin: a few years ago a very large shopping centre opened at Alexanderplatz, called Alexa. The leaseholders are, as well as the obligatory huge electronics store, the vertical textile stores and many mono-brand stores by renowned brands. But you’ll be searching for multi-brand stores in vain. An independent fashion retailer probably wouldn’t have even been able to keep up in the application process or in the competition for an attractive sales area. Another big shopping mall will be opening soon at Leipziger Platz. When I look at the list of leaseholders, it’s the same story: electronics store, the verticals, the big chain stores and a whole host of mono-brand stores. There’s such monotony everywhere you look. That’s not how to impress discerning end consumers. And that’s something the letting agents should also think about. The fact is that revenues in fashion have been stagnating for years now, or are in decline. Smaller turnovers are being generated on larger areas. And of course this is not healthy in the long term.

And then there’s also online retail where no sales premises are needed.

Yes, right, that is also a newer development, which is draining more turnover from the sector. Whereby this new technology also offers opportunities. Why shouldn’t a stationary fashion shop set up an online store? This technology isn’t the devil’s work, it’s controllable. However, I am definitely against ruinous competition, which for example happens when a big online provider advertises with a 100-day right of return, so is basically begging people to send the items back. And I also think the voucher promotions of many brands’ online stores are dubious. In a moral sense I think these offers are dishonest. Fair play please!

How are you positioning yourself with Bread & Butter against the backdrop of these massive market changes?

Naturally, the aforementioned developments have not left Bread & Butter entirely unscathed. They have been palpable for a few seasons now.

Our brand portfolio has changed. Several well-known brands and firm favourites are no longer represented at the event. The goals of the brands have changed. An often costly trade fair participation, due to the sheer size of it all, was regarded for many years as a tried-and-tested tool for presenting and representing. These efforts were shouldered by the retailers and buyers. Today countless brands are preferring to invest their money in the major development of their own stores. Although it’s not really possible to say whether these brands are benefitting from it.

The problems lie in the acceptance of the brands. Often the design and the way they address their target group no longer works. The value for money is no longer in proportion. Sure, the buyers’ door is the hardest to open, but it is also the most honest. Specialist retailers can only work together with successful brands. If you can rise above the competition, you’re well positioned. I definitely don’t want to dispute the legitimacy of mono-stores – I am convinced by multi-channel distribution marketing, and this includes specialist retailers, shop-in-shops, online and, without a doubt, also mono-stores. It goes without saying that a brand has to have the chance to portray itself in its entirety. Brands that master this mix well are successful, also for the retailers. We have all heard of positive examples. There are still lots of very successful brands that want to work

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closely with specialist retail. However, some of the players on the market have changed. Despite all of the euphoria, as far as online trading or mono-stores is concerned, we shouldn’t forget that specialist retail is still the most important mainstay of most brands.

So can we expect an interesting tradeshow in July?

Definitely. With brands that still have their sights set on specialist retail.

These brands are interesting and relevant for Bread & Butter and their buyers. And we’ll have a successful tradeshow with them. In its segment, Bread & Butter is still the strongest and most attractive platform in Europe. The most important brands and labels for the retail market will be represented; we will be presenting countless new exhibitors. In the L.O.C.K. area we are showing the best of contemporary urbanwear with more than 100 labels and brands, which are mainly distributed by the specialist retailers. When it comes to fashion, we are unbeatable. We have an incomparable brand portfolio. We have not only reacted to the needs of the market, but will also continue to act.

Are there any noteworthy new additions or changes?

Yes, we’ve learnt a lot over the years. One season ago we turned down the cooperation with approx. 120 brands. That caused a lot of resentment.

In retrospect I realise that my decision was wrong in several cases. Many of these brands were long-standing exhibitors of the Bread & Butter and they were upset at not being invited. Especially considering the fact that all these brands very much see their field of activity in retail, our buyers were missing exactly these exhibitors. The most important thing is that our exhibitors actively participate in the Bread & Butter and offer our retailers and buyers a promising product. And it’s not always about the so-called image brands, but about the fact that the retail trade can generate good turnovers with fresh brands and products and thereby earn money. And the retailers have to be able to discover new things. In July 2013 the Bestseller Group will be represented with all of its brands for the first time. They will be taking up the complete Hangar 1 on an area of approx. 6000 m2. We’re looking forward to the collaboration because with the Bestseller Group we have been able to gain a strong partner for international retail as exhibitors. The individual brands of the Bestseller Group are young, contemporary, progressive, successful and internationally distributed. There is a big overlap with many other Bread & Butter exhibitors. Our visitors save time, because they can stay at the event.

That means it’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Does that mean other system providers will be taking part in Bread & Butter?

No, not for the time being. And the Bestseller Group is not just a system provider anyway. It has a wide brand spectrum and accordingly serves many trading forms, from the independent retailer to the ‘heavyweights’ in the cities down to areas in a department store – and, as I already mentioned, on an international level. The Bestseller Group has mastered the aforementioned marketing mix and is amongst the most attractive and strongest providers in its segment.

By how many square metres will the tradeshow increase in size with the participation of the Bestseller Group?

Due to the downsizing process, which we initiated ourselves, Hangar 1 was no longer occupied in January 2013. But now that it will be used again, we’ll be reaching full capacity once more.

The upcoming event is under the motto ‘Connect’.

What’s it all about?

This time the Bread & Butter bear will be depicted as a different-coloured circuit board. Like on a circuit board, the different dots will be connected with one another. This is a reference to Steve Jobs’ legendary speech ‘Connect the Dots’ (Editor’s note: the Stanford Commencement Speech from 12 June 2005). Our task is to bring together, or to connect the different retail partners. It is important that the right retail partners come together. Their motivations have to be similar. But both parties have to be willing to make a move to achieve this; they have to be active.

The brands have to want the customers, and the buyers the brands. The buyer is visiting a trade fair to view the new collections, to make preliminary decisions that will lead to orders or to place orders. The intentions

of the retailer should be in line with the goals of the exhibitors. We want exhibitors who are interested in international trade. We want to ‘connect’ them with one another.

Do you have anything else to add?

Yes, there’s going to be a necessary change, let me explain it briefly: back in 2007, during our time in Barcelona, we decided to do away with entrance fees for specialist visitors. Instead of this we levied a charge on the exhibitors. So basically the brands were inviting their buyers. Parallel to this, we built up a multilingual guest management team. Ever since then the accredited visitor has received their ticket prior to the event, which saves them long waiting times. A great service, which was primarily supposed to benefit our retailers and buyers and the reporting press.

This measure was pioneering at the time. As the Bread & Butter became more appealing, however, more visitors started coming who I would like to call indirect professional visitors. For examples: representatives from the real-estate industry, like estate agents for commercial property, fabric agents, producers, trade fair organisers, people responsible for selling advertisements from the magazines … From now on we’ll be charging these peripheral professional visitors – who I call ‘special interest people’ – an entrance fee of 500 euros for a three-day ticket. All of the aforementioned groups of people use the Bread & Butter as a networking opportunity, are doing good business, but without making a contribution.

That’s not fair. Legitimate, pre-accredited buyers and retailers and the reporting press are still entitled to free entry.

So will these additional revenues benefit the tradeshow community?

I don’t think there’s any tradeshow that gives back as much as Bread & Butter. Anyone who has visited our event will confirm that. When it comes to our gastronomy, for example, we attach the utmost value to quality, service and atmosphere. This is unique for a trade fair and therefore also very costly. I remember back to our legendary opening parties where absolutely everything was provided for. That’s where we bring the community together. We see that as a necessary commitment. And that won’t change. We will continue to invest in our event.

Getting back to Connect: will the theme be visible at the tradeshow?

Yes, both visually and in terms of the content. Connect is a clear business theme. It stands for the successful linking of the familiar with the new, like stationary retail with e-commerce. If the independent retailers address the subject of online trading, new business fields can be opened up, they will be able to extend their appeal to new target groups. We will be organising specific information forums on this subject.

So the industry urgently needs a paradigm shift.

In view of that, how would you like to see the retail trade develop in the future?

The central question for me at the moment is: what will the fashion trade look like in the year 2050? How will it develop? Several examples are already indicating a trend. I believe that in the future the retail trade will be a mix of retail, showroom and online store. Only one store or only one online store alone will no longer suffice. In the future the modern retailer will have to build up several distribution channels and merge them with another, as the brands are already doing. Only then will they achieve the credibility, flexibility and coverage that are so important. Service and customer retention are also of vital importance. The new 14 oz. store on Berlin’s Ku’damm shopping street, covering an area of 600 m2, will serve as our testing ground here. We’ve already rented an area of 1500 m2 directly above the store, where there are wonderful, palatial rooms that allow plenty of space for new ideas. But that’s all I want to say on the matter for now, as we’re still involved in the process.

Thank you very much for the interview.

2 – 4 July 2013 Berlin-Tempelhof Airport Platz der Luftbrücke 5 12101 Berlin www.breadandbutter.com 67

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FASHION’S LODESTAR Text Gerlind Hector

All credit where credit’s due: Anita and Norbert Tillmann launched Premium over ten years ago. And the fashion industry didn’t have to be asked twice to attend this milestone anniversary in January: visitor numbers rose by five percent compared to the year before.

As a symbol and mainstay of Berlin Fashion Week, it’s impossible to imagine the German capital without this trade fair.

“We had a vision so we just got on with it,” shrugs Anita Tillmann when asked about the beginnings of Premium. With this complete absence of pathos it’s easy to forget that the capital city on the banks of the Spree River was, at the time, not only poor, but completely unsexy. Luckily those days are over. Berlin is meanwhile considered a real hotspot for young artists and lifestyle experts. Twice a year the international fashion community makes its pilgrimage to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week – and Anita and Norbert Tillmann, who created Premium Exhibitions GmbH over ten years ago, can happily congratulate themselves on being among the first to recognise Berlin’s creative and cultural potential.

However, these Berliners-by-choice prefer to be modest about it all and would rather draw attention to themselves with their competent work than by blowing their own trumpet. The well-considered concept of this trade fair is constantly being fine-tuned. Because it’s better to be moving and shaking at the forefront, than merely adapting to changes on the market.

“Fashion is always changing,” acknowledges Anita Tillmann. “We curate.

That is a large part of our concept. We have to change as we go to remain relevant, and we will definitely be keeping that approach.” What the two Tillmanns hold particularly close to their hearts is an interesting brand portfolio consisting of, at the last count, around 900 different labels, including a carefully selected number of premium denim labels. The proportion of newcomers – who were not only making their debut appearance in Germany, but also in all of Europe – was around 30 percent last January.

The main goal of Premium is to represent the international market while keeping an eye on the high-fashion segment. “That is exactly what is equally enticing to our exhibitors and retailers, and, given the current economic climate, is also extremely important,” says Anita Tillmann.

The event location they have been using since 2005 is the former postal freight train station at Gleisdreieck, which Premium Exhibitions GmbH bought in 2007. The venue offers over 20.000 m2 of exhibition space right in the heart of the city.

A major contributor to the continually growing international reputation of the trade show is the ‘East Goes West’ initiative, which has been running for a few seasons now. Every six months, numerous designers from Japan, China and South Korea present their collections at Gleisdreieck and the rise in the number of Asian buyers has been notable. During the January event, a delegation of around 80 Chinese buyers were particularly 68

well looked after. Their itinerary ranged from visits to other trade fairs taking place at the same time, such as Bread & Butter and Panorama, to a cultural programme aiming to bring the city’s fashion guests together.

“In this way we want to establish Berlin as an important destination for Asian retailers, which is a long-term investment in Berlin’s future.”

The support of young fashion talent is a further important role to which the Tillmanns have made a strong commitment. To kick off MercedesBenz Fashion Week, F95 (the in-house fashion store) regularly awards the ‘Premium Young Designers Award’ in three categories: ladieswear, menswear and accessories. The winner of the prize, sponsored by District MTV, is provided with a free stand at Premium, as well as allround PR support. In addition, the winning collection is professionally photographed in a shoot on the day of the awards, as well as being integrated in the ‘Premium Young Talents Showcase’: thanks to a cooperation with Galeries Lafayette, the young designers have the possibility of presenting their work in the windows of this renowned fashion store. And equally appealing to many participants is the prospect of having their work included in the product range at F95. The prerequisite for a nomination is of course the young designer’s ability to be market-compatible.

When the orders come in, they have to be able to produce and deliver the goods on time. In this way, the Premium Young Designers Award differs from many others, which only offer a brief media resonance and little else.

For their efforts in establishing Berlin as an international fashion location and for their philanthropic initiative, such as the support of Berlin’s disadvantaged kids, the Tillmanns have been awarded the Order of Merit of the State of Berlin. When asked about this, Anita Tillmann’s very modest response is: “We were lucky enough to do the right thing at the right time. Berlin has a lot more room for creativity, for new events and niches. We see ourselves as part of the Berlin fashion cosmos and want to contribute to its long-term development by helping to create synergies.”

Premium Berlin 2 – 4 July 2013 Station-Berlin Luckenwalder Straße 4-6 10963 Berlin www.premiumexhibitions.com

TRADE SHOWS

02/2013

GALLERY OF GOOD TASTE

FABRIEK FASHION

Text Gerlind Hector

Text Gerlind Hector

Copenhagen rules! The Gallery int. Fashion Fair cph in Copenhagen has developed into one of the most important Scandinavian fashion fairs. Every season CEO Christian Gregersen proudly reports increasing visitor numbers and he is already making expansion plans for August. Sharpening the fair’s profile is high on the agenda.

Copenhagen has a population of just over half a million – and yet when it comes to fashion and design the Danish capital has long since been making a name for itself. So it’s no wonder that international buyers jump at the chance to make the pilgrimage to Copenhagen Fashion Week every six months to search for inspiration and buy in the latest goods.

Taking place at the same time as CPH Vision and Terminal-2, Gallery presents an interesting mix of international and Scandinavian brands.

Whether J.Lindeberg, Fred Perry, Tiger of Sweden or Roeckl – the main focus here is on fashion and accessories that embody quality and are modern and innovative. But superfluous, short-lived trends and frippery are not Christian Gregersen’s thing. “Above all, Gallery is an effective and unique order platform for mens- and womenswear,” emphasises the CEO. Buyers from Net-à-Porter, Barneys and ASOS attend the event every season. As does Sarah Lerfel, the founder of the unique Paris store Colette, who is regularly sighted at the tradeshow, taking a closer look at what the newcomers are offering.

“Every season we give five fashion newcomers the opportunity to exhibit at Gallery,” confirms Gregersen. “That’s a one-off chance, and of course we have a lot of requests.” But Gregersen will continue to apply his strict selection criteria, for both newcomers as well as established brands, as he takes a clear-cut profile very seriously. He is also the managing director of a Copenhagen PR agency so he knows what it takes to stay interesting and stand out from the crowd.

Christian Gregersen is observing the rising numbers of Chinese, Japanese and Russian buyers with great delight. The small Danish tradeshow, which, in its debut year in 2007 might still have been regarded as a nice little local event, has meanwhile become a real global player and the most important fashion fair in Scandinavia. “The last edition of Gallery in February broke all records,” reports Gregersen. “It was attended by more than 12,000 visitors, which, in comparison to last year, is an increase of around ten percent!” The exhibitors’ mood was almost euphoric, and so for the upcoming event from 8 – 10 August 2013 a further expansion is planned. There will be an additional 1000 m2 of exhibition space and ten international catwalk shows. And the line-up of accompanying social events is also impressive; but most of all Christian Gregersen is looking forward to the Gallery closing party at Skt. Petri, the award-winning five-star design hotel: “Well, I know if I were a buyer,” he laughs, “I certainly wouldn’t want to miss it!”

Gallery 8 – 10 August 2013 Forum Copenhagen Julius Thomsens Plads 1 1925 Frederiksberg www.gallery.dk

The Modefabriek fair in Amsterdam doesn’t just aspire to be a simple trade-only order fair. Visionary concepts and lifestyle themes will once again be playing a role at the venue located on the Gedempt Hamerkanaal. On 14 and 15 July newcomers, established brands and a whole host of artists will be invited to present their latest ideas.

One important premiere has already been celebrated: after more than 120 years a king and not a queen is representing the Netherlands again.

It hasn’t yet been confirmed, however, whether Willem-Alexander, who has impressive style credentials thanks to his fashion-forward wife Maxima, will also be dropping by the Modefabriek in July.

Although that won’t have too much bearing on the trade fair’s success anyway: that’s already in the bag. Like every season, the ultimate Benelux tradeshow is offering a whole host of extras that go way beyond a classic ordering event. There is talk of numerous unique events and presentations. And indeed the offer ranges from a unique platform for young talents, who can expect to receive a lot of professional support here, down to diverse music events. On an exhibition area of around 40,000 m2 it goes without saying that established brands like Bench, Ana Alcazar, Laurèl and Khujo will be presenting their newest styles.

Last summer Modefabriek started integrating ‘Mint’ as an additional platform within the event. With Mint they want to offer a combination of a trade show and lifestyle event and therefore a visionary concept, which isn’t merely aimed at the industry and trade, but explicitly also at journalists, bloggers and other fashion people who have a say in the industry. For the first time, the Dutch multi-talent Egbert-Jan Weeber will be representing Mint as an ambassador and will already be on board prior to the event to contribute his ideas and inspiration. The attractive actor, DJ and music producer is a staunch supporter of sustainability, and believes it will continue to be an important topic throughout the whole industry in the future. For Egbert-Jan Weeber, it’s all about “fashion that treats people and the environment with respect, and yet doesn’t pose any limits in terms of style”.

Once again, ‘Trash & Treasures’ promises to offer plenty of entertainment to trade fair visitors and exhibitors. This summer it will be a part of the Modefabriek for the fifth time: covering an area of around 200 m2, there will be a shop, which, in addition to fashion and accessories, also sells music, art and books. Around 30 selected exhibitors will present their wares here, and visitors can also hangout and enjoy drinks and cakes.

As usual, the ‘Blueprint’ platform will be attracting jeans innovators who will be showing a selection of their best products and techniques. Big brands like Lee and Edwin Jeans will be in attendance, but also interesting discoveries like the Dutch denim label Kings of Indigo, which focuses on sustainability. And this should certainly appeal to King Willem-Alexander, who, as a self-professed nature lover, embodies a whole new royal generation and is also an enthusiastic jeans wearer in his free time.

Modefabriek 14 – 15 July 2013 Gedempt Hamerkanaal 29 1021 KL Amsterdam www.modefabriek.nl 69

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FINE AND DANDY NEW YORK

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RETAIL B56, COPENHAGEN

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DANISH DUO Text Gerlind Hector Photos Christian Bang

Here are a mother and daughter who have joined forces – on a professional level!

And yes, Hanne and Stephanie Gundelach complement each other perfectly. One is an experienced retailer, the other a brilliantly networked blogger. And in Copenhagen they are showing how their combined experience is the ideal basis for a joint project.

Plenty of young women would do anything to be able to live out their ‘passion for fashion’!

Churn out a bunch of blog texts, be featured by trendy fashion labels and bag front-row seats at the shows in New York or Paris. But if you want to approach the task more seriously and really have something to say, you’ll take the same route as the ladies from Anywho.dk. The three Danes launched their own fashion blog around five years ago and insist on remaining independent and unbiased in the expression of their opinions. Ingrid, Elise and Stephanie have declared themselves ‘not for sale’ and refuse to be lured in with generous parcels of free clothing sent by any old fashion label desperate for the PR. This is what markedly differentiates the 72

Anywho trio from their ever-increasing online competition.

One of the three bloggers, Stephanie Gundelach, also works as a stylist and is a qualified design technologist – and, since last year, she has also been working on her career beyond the world wide web. Together with her mother Hanne, she has opened B56 in the centre of Copenhagen, a store where she offers a platform to mainly young Scandinavian brands. Not far from Amalienborg Palace, the city residence of the Danish Royal Family, and slightly off the beaten track of the big shopping malls, Stephanie and Hanne discovered a charming little mews house, which they renovated. The store opened in March 2012 and the online shop followed soon after.

If you manage to negotiate the small forecourt of bumpy cobblestones in stilettos, you’ll be rewarded with an unostentatiously elegant shopping atmosphere inside. The rusty-brown stoneware tiles exude a robust and down to earth flair; the stairs and shelves are all in understated black. In combination with snowwhite walls and perfectly designed lighting, an

ideal stage for fashion, shoes and accessories has been created. A whole host of Scandinavian brands are on offer, as well as international ones; with items such as the polka dot boots by Opening Ceremony, dresses by Wackerhaus and shirts by Peter Jensen.

As if they were precious one-off pieces, all of the garments are lavishly showcased. Over three floors, shoes are presented in pairs and styled tailors’ dummies are set back a little so the chosen outfits really come into their own.

For Stephanie Gundelach, who has been working with fashion and trends for a long time now, the opening of her own store was simply the next logical step to take, although one that she had not originally planned. “My mother has owned an interior design store for 15 years and really knows the retail business well,” explains Stephanie. “I’m the fashion expert in the partnership so I mainly take care of the buying side of things.” The young Dane often travels around to find new inspiration at trade fairs and fashion shows. Something she can perfectly combine with her job as blogger. After all, it goes without saying that Stephanie also presents her latest

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RETAIL B56, COPENHAGEN

‘finds’ on Anywho.dk.

“It’s the variety that makes my working day so exciting,” she enthuses. The multi-tasker not only takes care of the store and blog, but also the online shop, as well as taking on styling jobs. She spent a lot of time perfecting the B56 logo, which portrays her own store premises as a stylised graphic. This was also the ideal template for Trine Tuxen, Stephanie’s jewellery designer friend who promptly created a beautiful necklace with the B56 logo engraved onto a pendant. Which means that true fans can now wear their favourite Copenhagen store – available in either gold or silver – very close to their hearts.

B56 BREDGADE 56 1260 KOPENHAGEN T +45 33113396 WWW.B56STORE.COM

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RETAIL FINE AND DANDY, NEW YORK

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DANDY DELICATESSEN Text Gerlind Hector Photos Matt Fox

If only Oscar Wilde or Beau Brummel had have been born a few hundred years later!

Right here in the heart of New York, the two ultimate dandies would have found their own personal shopping paradise. This is where Matt Fox indulges his passion for dandyism, showing us how to find fashionable calm amidst the hustle and bustle of a modern metropolis.

A visit to the Fine and Dandy store in the middle of Manhattan is like going back in time; at least at first sight! You won’t find a cool lounge atmosphere or stylish interior here. Instead, a jetblack panelled façade tempts passers-by into the small shop, which is cosily housed below street level. The exterior lighting is provided by two brass lamps above the lovingly decorated shop window. And it’s not only the ornate lettering on the window that seems old-fashioned, but also the neatly arranged assortment behind 74

it: a tweed blazer and braces are hanging over a wooden valet stand, a stiff men’s hat is waiting to be placed on a perfectly coiffed head of hair and the two-tone brogues next to them would even do Al Capone proud.

If curiosity gets the better of you and you pluck up the courage to step inside the store, you should make sure you have plenty of time to spare. Owner Matt Fox’s attention to detail clearly knows no bounds. “Dandyism is in my blood,” he laughs. “My grandfather always made it his priority to look smart, even though he was a farmer. Which makes him my first style role model. But I am also inspired by Hollywood stars like Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire.”

And the complete store does in fact seem like the dressing room and office of a bonafide dandy from silent film era. The finest cashmere socks with argyle patterns are piled up in an open leather suitcase. There is also a selection

of colour-coordinated gaiters. Handkerchiefs, ties, scarves and countless bow ties are hanging in open wardrobe trunks or on antique curtain rails. But there’s no point searching Fine and Dandy for pre-tied bow ties with a practical clip. “Where’s the dignity in that?”, says Matt Fox. “A real gentleman has to be able to tie his own bow tie.”

Not quite from this day and age, you’re thinking? Think again! Matt Fox is very much part of the 21st century and, as a modern entrepreneur, he has also started up an online store. He even has contemporary tips at the ready when it comes to the topic of ‘how to tie a bow tie’: “There are some great videos on Youtube. Just watch them and practice, practice, practice.”

And of course Matt is also willing to reveal the odd tip or trick personally, with his complimentary style advice. Even by e-mail or Skype if his clientele wish. His idea of dandyism is taking

RETAIL FINE AND DANDY, NEW YORK

02/2013

FINE AND DANDY 445 WEST 49TH STREET NEW YORK, NY 10019 T +1 212 2474847 WWW.FINEANDDANDYSHOP.COM

the time to perfect one’s appearance and demeanour. The dignified calmness and the cosy ambience at Fine and Dandy reflect exactly this philosophy. Decorative items including old college photos on the walls, an wooden oar and a typewriter as well as diverse polished trophies create a homely atmosphere.

This concept is also appealing to a lot of young New Yorkers who are fed up being a slave to fast-moving trends, which end up being out of fashion after one season anyway. A return to traditional values and true quality is what Matt Fox is so eloquently advocating at Fine and Dandy. And of course he’s also happy that by doing so he is entirely in line with current lifestyle prognoses.

the current menswear and a new kind of care.”

Matt Fox sees himself as the perfect advocate of this. Tradition or Twitter? He can do both, and he certainly invests a lot of time and effort into putting the epithet “Dress well and succeed” into practice.

“Basically, one hundred years ago men still put a lot more thought into their outfits and preferred a well-groomed appearance,” he observes.

“But I’m definitely noticing a transformation in 75

RETAIL LA FERRAMENTA, BOLOGNA

02/2013

BOTTEGA BOLOGNESE Text Gerlind Hector Photos La Ferramenta

The Italian city of Bologna is affectionately known as ‘la grassa’, the fat one. Could it perhaps have something to do with the rich, traditional local cuisine? The concept store La Ferramenta, however, stands out less for its size, than for its small, exquisite assortment on offer. Instead of laying it on thick, the owners have been lovingly restoring the premises and gently fine-tuning their concept. Their mix of up-to-the-minute streetwear and antique interior is one of a kind.

Paolo Bertacchi has decided to tie his destiny to an old convent! And the reason for this is neither the recent papal elections nor a wish for ascetic seclusion. On the contrary. Paolo is not only living life to the full, but is also a selfprofessed fan of fashion, fun and ‘ferramenta’ – which is the Italian word for ironware.

Sounds strange? So what if it does. Paolo Bertacchi and co-owner Pietro Rampa have fulfilled a life-long dream. Around one year ago, right in the middle of Bologna’s city centre, whose typically ancient Roman streets are 76

arranged like a chessboard, they opened an extraordinary concept store. In the narrow Via delle Moline, a short distance away from the shopping hustle and bustle around the Basilica of San Petronio, the two enterprising North Italians came across an architectonic gem and were blown away. “It was really love at first sight,” enthuses Paolo. “As if we had suddenly stumbled upon a magical piece of heaven, right in the middle of our hometown!”

He could go on for hours with this much pathos and passion about what it was that fascinated him so much about La Ferramenta right from the beginning. And it even gets a little bit grisly when Paolo Bertacchi reveals his store’s past: between the 14th and 18th centuries a convent was housed here. The discovery of various corpses from the river running below the Via delle Moline has revealed a lot to historians about how the people back then used to live.

During the entire 19th century this was home to the biggest ironware store in the region. And to this day it is not only the name ‘La Ferramenta’ which pays testimony to that, but also the extra-

vagant interior, which the two owners decided to take on without any further ado.

The old sales counter and many custom-made built-in cupboards with countless drawers are particularly impressive. They offer infinite storage space and also look great to boot. Thanks to their natural patina they make the elongated store seem warm and vibrant. Following the loving restoration and repairs, which took almost four years, they are very impressive in combination with the extraordinary ceiling height. The laborious precision work carried out by local craftsmen has paid off, and they were able to restore the old wood and the rusty metal fittings to their former glory. A star architect couldn’t have done a better job.

And the range of ladies’ and men’s items on offer is arranged with just as much sensitivity and precision. The preference here is for limited editions by casual streetwear labels like Our Legacy, Pendleton, Levi’s Made & Crafted and Maison Scotch. Accessories and shoes also play an important role in the store’s fashionable portfolio. In a small basement area to the

RETAIL LA FERRAMENTA, BOLOGNA

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rear of the store customers will find shoes by BePositive, Daniele Ruffa and Nike Tier, as well as exclusive eyewear by Mykita, Kuboraum, Persol and Super.

And at this point, if not sooner, Bologna’s locals will realise that the origins of La Ferramenta consist of a collaboration of two local stores: one specialising in shoes and accessories and the second in unusual eyewear. Whichever way you look at it, Paolo Bertacchi and Pietro Rampa feel very much at home in their ‘hallowed halls’ and are permanently polishing the profile of their special brand mix, which is regularly being updated. There’s only one thing they

won’t change, swears Paolo Bertacchi: “Our century-old interior design is perfect; that’s one thing we definitely won’t be modernising!”

LA FERRAMENTA VIA DELLE MOLINE 16 A 40126 BOLOGNA T +39 51 239346 WWW.LAFERRAMENTA.ORG

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photography CHriStopH Voy www.christophvoy.com Styling Biki JoHn www.bikijohn.com Hair & make-up anna Bauer www.maske-annabauer.de Stylist’s assistants diJana z. elfadiVo & SuSanne kirCHer models JoSefin Herrmann @ www.seedsmanagement.de natalia @ www.izaio.de photo assistant BeatriCe geHrmann location WWW.Berlin-kart.de SpeCial tHankS to Berlin kart.

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K PRESSE+BUCH HH-DAMMTOR D-20354 HAMBURG

K PRESSE+BUCH MÜNCHEN-PASING BAHNHOF D-81241 MÜNCHEN

K PRESSE+BUCH DORTMUND HAUPTBAHNHOF D-44137 DORTMUND

K PRESSE+BUCH HAMBURG FLUGHAFEN D-22335 HAMBURG

SCHMITT & HAHN BAHNHOFSPLATZ 9 D-90004 NÜRNBERG

DRAWN & QUARTERLY P.O. BOX 48056 MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC CANADA 4S8 H2V

K PRESSE+BUCH DRESDEN HAUPTBAHNHOF D-01069 DRESDEN

HDS RETAIL FLUGHAFEN HANNOVER D-30669 HANNOVER

SCHMITT & HAHN FLUGHAFEN NÜRNBERG D-90411 NÜRNBERG

AROUND THE WORLD 148 WEST 37TH ST. NY-10018 NEW YORK CITY

RELAY – HDS FLUGHAFEN DÜSSELDORF D-40474 DÜSSELDORF

HDS RETAIL HANNOVER HAUPTBAHNHOF D-30159 HANNOVER

GRAUERT KG OBERHAUSEN HAUPTBAHNHOF D-46045 OBERHAUSEN

GRAUERT GMBH DÜSSELDORF HAUPTBAHNHOF D-40210 DÜSSELDORF

BAHNHOFSBUCHHANDLUNG HEIDELBERG HAUPTBAHNHOF D-69039 HEIDELBERG

K PRESSE+BUCH STUTTGART HAUPTBAHNHOF D-70173 STUTTGART

HDS RETAIL FLUGHAFEN FRANKFURT D-60547 FRANKFURT

FALTER BÜCHER & PRESSE HINDENBURGSTR. 190 D-41061 MÖNCHENGLADBACH

WITTWER FLUGHAFEN STUTTGART D-70629 STUTTGART

128

BOZAR SHOP RUE RAVENSTEIN 23 B-1000 BRUXELLES MAGMA 117-119 CLERKENWELL ROAD GB-EC1R5BY LONDON DO DESIGN C/ FERNANDO VI, 13 E-28004 MADRID PAPERCUT KRUKMAKARGATAN 3 SE-11851 STOCKHOLM

02/2013

INDEX

ACNE WWW.ACNESTUDIOS.COM

HENRIK VIBSKOV WWW.HENRIKVIBSKOV.COM

RICH & ROYAL WWW.RICHANDROYAL.DE

ADIDAS SLVR WWW.SLVR.COM

H&M WWW.HM.COM

SCHUMACHER WWW.DOROTHEE-SCHUMACHER.COM

AUGUSTIN TEBOUL WWW.AUGUSTIN-TEBOUL.COM

HUGO BOSS WWW.HUGOBOSS.COM

SHOKAY WWW.SHOKAY.DE

AVELON WWW.AVELON.ME

IRIS VON ARNIM WWW.IRISVONARNIM.DE

SKINY WWW.SKINY.COM

BAGAZ WWW.BAGAZ.DE

IWC WWW.IWC.COM

SOPHIE BY SOPHIE WWW.SOPHIEBYSOPHIE.COM

BARBOUR WWW.BARBOUR.COM

JIL SANDER WWW.JILSANDER.COM

SOULLAND WWW.SOULLAND.COM

BIJULES WWW.BIJULESNYC.COM

JOSEPH WWW.JOSEPH.CO.UK

SPORTMAX WWW.SPORTMAX.COM

BIKKEMBERGS WWW.BIKKEMBERGS.COM

KARLOTTA WILDE WWW.KARLOTTAWILDE.COM

STINE GOYA WWW.STINEGOYA.COM

BJØRG WWW.BJORGJEWELLERY.COM

KAVIAR GAUCHE WWW.KAVIARGAUCHE.COM

TIBI WWW.TIBI.COM

BLESS WWW.BLESS-SERVICE.DE

KLEIDERREICH WWW.KLEIDERREICH.DE

TIGER OF SWEDEN WWW.TIGEROFSWEDEN.COM

INDEX TOPSHOP WWW.TOPSHOP.COM

BY MALENE BIRGER WWW.BYMALENEBIRGER.COM

LEVER COUTURE WWW.LEVER-COUTURE.COM

VIBE HARSLØF WWW.VIBEHARSLOEF.DK

CHRISTIAN WIJNANTS WWW.CHRISTIANWIJNANTS.BE

LEVI’S WWW.LEVI.COM

WEEKDAY WWW.WEEKDAY.COM

CONNECTED BERLIN WWW.UVRCONNECTED.DE

MALAIKA RAISS WWW.MALAIKARAISS.COM

WOOLRICH WWW.WOOLRICH.IT

COS WWW.COSSTORES.COM

MANOUSH WWW.MANOUSH.COM

DANDY OF THE GROTESQUE WWW.DANDYOFTHEGROTESQUE.COM

MARC JACOBS WWW.MARCJACOBS.COM

DAWID TOMASZEWSKI WWW.DAWID-TOMASZEWSKI.COM

MARKUS LUPFER WWW.MARKUSLUPFER.COM

DESIGUAL WWW.DESIGUAL.COM

MARIA BLACK WWW.MARIA-BLACK.COM

DIESEL WWW.DIESEL.COM

MERC WWW.MERC.COM

DIMITRI WWW.BYDIMITRI.COM

MINT & BERRY WWW.MINT-AND-BERRY.COM

DRYKORN WWW.DRYKORN.COM

MOGA E MAGO WWW.MOGAEMAGO.COM

DSTM WWW.DONT-SHOOT-THEMESSENGERS.COM

MYKITA WWW.MYKITA.COM

EVIL TWIN WWW.EVILTWINTHELABEL.COM FILIPPA K WWW.FILIPPA-K.COM

G-STAR RAW WWW.G-STAR.COM GEORGE’S WWW.GEORGES-SHOES.COM HELMUT LANG WWW.HELMUTLANG.COM

130

ODEEH WWW.ODEEH.COM PALLADIUM WWW.PALLADIUMBOOTS.NL PAUL & JOE WWW.PAULANDJOE.COM RED SEAL BY REPLAY WWW.REPLAY.IT RENO WWW.RENO.DE

FASHION BUSINESS, BRANDS AND URBAN CULTURE

ENGLISH

FRENCH CONNECTION WWW.FRENCHCONNECTION.COM

NEW LOOK WWW.NEWLOOK.COM

STYLEGUIDE BARCELONA INTERVIEW PIERRE MORISSET 2/ 2013

STYLEGUIDE BARCELONA INTERVIEW PIERRE MORISSET

KOSTAS MURKUDIS WWW.KOSTASMURKUDIS.NET

2 / 2013

BURBERRY WWW.BURBERRY.COM

D 9,50 EURO B NL A 10,50 EURO E P I 11,50 EURO CH 15,80 CHF

ENGLISH EDITION

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY CHRISTOPH VOY STYLING BIKI JOHN HAIR & MAKE-UP ANNA BAUER MODEL NATALIA SUIT LEVI’S RED TAB WOMEN CUFF DAWID TOMASZEWSKI

CENTURYBRANDS – DISTRIBUTION EUROPE info@centurybrands.de