“Meet me for Tea” with Berlin fashion designer Anna von Griesheim

For 25 years, fashion designer Anna von Griesheim has been an expert in elegant evening dresses and daywear. Born in Munich, she dresses celebrities and politicians such as Chancellor Angela Merkel and advises women on style issues. She commutes between Zurich, Mallorca and Berlin, where I meet Anna for a cup of tea and a little chat.

Anna von Griesheim loves the KPM office cup: “The craftsmanship, the colours and the size make the cup perfect.”

MyStylery: Anna, has a woman who goes shopping in sweatpants given up on fashion?
Anna von Griesheim: When I go to yoga, I also wear sportswear. And nothing is more comfortable than cashmere trousers for a cuddly day at home. But jogging pants as a constant companion are a no-go.
MS: Why do successful women dress like their male colleagues? Does the trouser suit stand for competence?
AvG: Yeah, still. The pantsuit serves as a shield, especially in male-dominated professions. I encourage my female customers to wear dresses. We live in a time in which intelligence, success in life and femininity are not mutually exclusive. Women in an androgynous look miss their femininity.
MS: You advise female leaders on their appearance.
AvG: Women want to be well dressed without worrying about their outfit every day. When they go on a business trip, they expect a wrinkle-free, comfortable wardrobe that fits in their hand luggage. They don’t want any recognizable logos or a sexy-hexy look. Clothing is a form of communication. It conveys an attitude to life and expresses what one wants to portray and convey.

“Most women are overwhelmed by their own wardrobe”, says Anna von Griesheim

MS: Not every woman looks good in every colour.
AvG: That’s right. Look, my skin tends to yellowish, which is why I harmonize with warm colours. You, on the contrary, are a light skin type that is well suited to blue tones, for example. I recommend every woman a well-founded colour consultation on which to build wardrobe and makeup.
MS: My wardrobe is really not small. Nevertheless, I stand in front of it and wonder what on earth to put on. Most of the time I wear the same pieces.
AvG: Well, we all know that. Some women have a keen sense of fashion, they start to mix happily: Zara, Hermès, plus a vintage piece, that’s their perfect look. But that’s rather the exception. Most women are overwhelmed by their own wardrobe. Why not go back to the tried and tested? We often find our counterparts interesting because we recognize them. Jackie Kennedy has remained true to her iconic style and always looked great.

MS: It’s like cleaning out clothes that haven’t been worn for two years or more. Now it’s time for velvet blouses, which I disposed of in the 90s.
AvG: But honestly, would you wear them again this time? I advise you to regularly sort your wardrobe. Get an overview by putting together complete outfits, including accessories. If you don’t want professional advice, ask your best friend. First of all, put the pieces aside well packed and decide after a certain time whether you want to part with them for good.
MS: Trends don’t really bother me anymore. When Leo patterns and berry tones are hip this winter, I don’t really care. How do you feel about it?
AvG: Exactly the same. That’s why I’m not looking for the latest trend for my collections. My designs should accompany customers for a few years.

„KPM is a special brand of great German tradition“, says Berlin fashion designer Anna von Griesheim

MS: Does good taste depend on the size of the purse?
AvG: The variety of fashion today is bigger than ever. With a bit of intuition, you can put together great outfits at low cost labels. So, good taste has nothing to do with budget. What I find terrible, however, is the production of cheap clothes by child labour, which are so full of plastic that they can never be dismantled again. This is irresponsible from an ecological point of view.
MS: What do you do with mispurchases?
AvG: Don’t let it happen in the first place (laughs). If I want to do something good for myself, I’d rather buy a book, go to an exhibition or do yoga. This is balm for the soul.

MS: What belongs in the wardrobe of a mature woman?
AvG: Two well-cut dresses made of soft material like jersey, which you wear during the day with sneakers and in the evening with pumps or ankle boots. A trouser suit whose blazer also works well with a pair of jeans. The white blouse provides a fresh complexion. And a classic trench coat. My favourite piece is a knitted coat, which I can quickly throw over.
MS: And what should we avoid?
AvG: Too tight tops that emphasize disadvantageous areas instead of concealing them. I find the partner look very creepy in the leisure sector and both in the same outdoor jacket. Leggings may be comfortable, but they are not leg flatterers at all. And please always buy the right size and not a size too small in the hope of losing weight. Beware of wild patterns. With a plain look, you are on the safe side. Combine it with a colourful scarf or patterned cloth.
MS: A friend recently said that she doesn’t wear knee-length skirts. She persistently wears her minis.
AvG: Not everything that looks younger makes younger. Our body changes over the years. Unfortunately (laughs). Often the upper body looks more compact, which is accentuated by a skirt that is too short. Women who used to get compliments for their legs look like a barrel on two toothpicks. Everyone has something beautiful about them and that should be the focus.

Anna von Griesheim: “Compliments are part of everyday life in France and don’t end up in the Metoo debate.”

MS: Why are French or Italian women dressed so much better than German women? Even when they go to the weekly market, they do it very elegant.
AvG: This is due to the traditions and self-image of women. Elegance seems to be arrested in their DNA. I’ve lived in France for a long time and I know that compliments are part of communication and have something playful about them. They are part of everyday life in France and don’t end up in the Metoo debate. This also has an effect on the dress style. In Germany, the natural feeling for femininity was eliminated with the Second World War.
MS: There is a North-South divide in clothing issues in Germany. While Hanseatic women dress more classically casual and Munich women like to dress traditionally elegant, the style of the Berlin woman has something indefinable.
AvG: Berlin is a reservoir is for individualists. This longing for uniqueness is not compatible with given dress codes. Nevertheless, young women in Prenzlauer Berg all look the same. They want to come across as casual and easy-going, but they seem rather uniform. By the way, also a kind of dress code.
MS: I only think about how German actors walk the red carpet: They come in a T-shirt instead of a tuxedo shirt. What has gone wrong? The liberation from the fashion dictatorship or just bad education?
AvG: Good question. Maybe a lack of mindfulness. Or an after-effect of the 1968ers and the associated urge for freedom, which could hardly be lived out in the closed-off Berlin. A tuxedo is not only a sign of esteem for the artists on stage or the musicians in the orchestra pit, but also symbolizes an attitude to life. I hope for a renaissance of good manners.

Anna von Griesheim: „My first KPM tableware was ‘Arkadia’, I was a student then and for me KPM was the epitome of luxury. Nevertheless, I was happy about the dishes every day and have been adding new pieces ever since.“

MS: Apropos, may I pour you some more tea?
AvG: With pleasure. Tea is my wellness program through the winter. I grew up with tea. My grandparents lived on Sumatra, where they had plantations, from where my father brought the tradition of drinking tea to Germany. And I have been used to drinking tea since childhood. Every morning my mother woke me up with a toast and an Earl Grey tea. Today I drink myself through the whole range of black, green and herbal teas. Always served in an antique silver pot, which is in daily use with us.
MS: You started with your own label in 1991 and have been represented with your own brand in Germany ever since. Have you ever thought about expanding abroad?
AvG: There have been international inquiries. But in retrospect, I’m very happy to be working only in Germany. I decide alone and don’t have to ask anyone. You can only do big things with big partners. And I never wanted to be the plaything of different interests. BvH

Contact Anna von Griesheim

AnnavonGriesheim.de

The interview-series “Meet me for Tea” is sponsored by KPM – Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin.
More MyStylery interviews you’ll find here.

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Designer duo Johnny Talbot, Adrian Runhof and I in their Berlin showroom

For 26 years, the Munich fashion label Talbot Runhof stands for classic elegance and feminine eveningwear. When US actress Kristen Stewart appeared years ago in a black Talbot Runhof robe during the Oscars, the designer duo also made the international breakthrough. Not just celebs appreciate the timeless look of Johnny Talbot and Adrian Runhof. It is important to both designers that women of normal proportions also make a good figure in their clothes. I have an appointment with the two Munich residents in Berlin, where they live in a pied-à-terre in the back of their showroom, which opened in 2017 in Berlin-Charlottenburg. However, Meet Me for Tea takes place without Johnny Talbot, who spontaneously assists a client with her bridal gown selection. An interview with Adrian Runhof. Not just about fashion.

Meet me for tea with Adrian Runhof in his Berlin pied-à-terre

MyStylery: It’s cozy here…
Adrian Runhof: The apartment has been completely renovated. The previous occupant died in this room. So firstly we had to get rid of the “bad vibrations”.
MS: I always find it exciting to see who has lived in such an old apartment before.
AR: Me too. In my Hamburg apartment in the Schlüterstraße, at the corner of Johnsallee, lived a Cape Horner once…
MS: A sailor?
AR: Exactly, one who sailed around the Cape Horn. I happened to meet my neighbor on the street in the middle of the night, when he told me en passant that the captain had died in my apartment. From then on, I could not be in the apartment any more, imagined a one-eyed person with a wooden leg, saw him ghosting around in my apartment at night. Suddenly, I also realized that something was always creaking in the apartment. That was scary.
MS: Seems like the childish fantasies appeared then. Do you like to think back to your childhood?
AR: No, not really. Although, of course, I am grateful to have been born and raised in this country.

“Generally I do not like to think about the past. I’m a forward-looking person who lives in the here and now.”

MS: How did you experience your childhood?
AR: As a kid, I felt locked up. My parents’ house was not the environment, in which a child could to grow up happily. It felt more like a bourgeois museum where nothing was allowed to break. My parents were always worried about us, they were afraid of kidnapping. We lived in a huge Art Nouveau villa, from whose windows I could watch the other children playing in the street. I was not allowed to play, because we always had to stay on our property, on which there was a large garden with a swing, slide and sandpit. The other children were not allowed to come to us either. My siblings and I always played in threes.
MS: Hmmm…
AR: Do you feel sorry for me?
MS: Yes. Your parents probably had their reasons. But for you children that must have been difficult to understand.
AR: That’s true.

Adrian Runhof thoughtful during the Meet Me for Tea interview

MS: You come from a wealthy home. Did you want to prove anything to your parents by doing your own thing?
AR: That was not the point. It was important to me to never depend on my parents. They made it clear from the beginning that I would not get anything anyway. While other children from the well-heeled circle of friends of my parents were overridden real estates. The fact that I later actually inherited something was a big surprise.
MS: And how did you free yourself from the childhood trauma of being locked up?
AR: I went to Munich, that was always my absolute longing. As a teenager I browsed through the Bild Zeitung and Bunte magazin, saw the column of the author Michael Graeter and thought, there can be nothing better than Schwabing. I studied in Munich and met Johnny. That was my lifeline.
MS: And then came Paris.
AR: I already knew Paris from my youth, was street-smart and felt like I belonged there. Actually, I’m someone who likes to be everywhere at the same time. When we were in Amsterdam, I wanted to move there straight away, and I felt the same way with London.

MS: In which Parisian arrondissement do you live?
AR: In the first. We are there every two months. But I also like to be in Berlin and I am glad that we have our little apartment here. We also visit Zurich regularly and commute between the cities.
MS: Living out of the suitcase. That sounds like a certain restlessness…
AR: …that I do not like very much. I like to arrive. But do not like to leave. But this is brought along by the fashion circus (laughs).
MS: And which of your locations do you prefer?
AR: Munich. Munich stands for continuity, nobody moves away, everything is in its place. In Paris, you never know before, whether it was broken in, there was a water damage or a mouse infestation during your absence.

“Berlin is not in the forefront in international fashion business. Although the local street style influences young labels. Berlin is undoubtedly a metropolis in which fashion is created.”

MS: You have been in the fashion business for 26 years. How do you manage to survive in the industry?
AR: It has a lot to do with discipline. We have to design 32 pieces per collection, the show in Paris is coming, there’s a lot of pressure on us. You have to be good at different things at the same time. Creativity, courage, a good product, commercial know-how, contact care are among them. But you also have to recognize your own potential, explore your own limits, always be honest with yourself. We have a good team. As for Johnny and me, we both do everything.
MS: It did not always work out for you. Your cleaning lady had to help you with a cash injection in the beginning.
AR: That was really the case. Since then it has been uphill, though in small steps. We still have to do our calculations today. Thus we are self-financed. We do not have the big investor in the background.

MS: Your strength?
AR: I can hide my dilettance well. I have learned nothing and cannot do anything really well.
MS: Is this supposed to be fishing for compliments?
AR: I can do a lot a little good. I cannot read balances, cannot draw, have no patience, can not express myself creatively.
MS: That sounds a bit desperate. Maybe you put the scale on yourself too high.
AR: No. That’s my self-image. During my studies, I always bought all the books that were recommended to us. With the purchase, however, I also thought that that’s enough. I had not even read a single copy. Nevertheless, I came through somehow.

“Inspirations for the next collection? For example, the embroidered collar of your blouse may be an idea for the next dress. The street, the television, books – one is bombarded with impressions. But you have to filter them.”

MS: You made it fast into the international market. What else can come now?
AR: The industry is very dynamic, new markets in Asia, countries that I do not really care about, but still need to be served. The status quo there and the pure brand orientation isn’t for me. I miss the subversiveness.
MS: Strange that big online shops such as “Net a Porter” or “Mytheresa” do not carry your brand.
AR: Yes, and that offends me. Presumably, it’s because we do not have relevance in the new media. We just do not make printed logo shirts, where you can immediately tell, who they are from.

MS: What do you think of fashion bloggers?
AR: When we had publications in a magazine in the past, there was a measurable demand. On blogs or posts, on the other hand, there are only a few reactions. Then, a Caro Daur must have worn our dress on New Year’s Eve in Dubai. With 70,000 likes, maybe two people will get in touch and ask, where they can buy the dress.
MS: Is the hype about the fashion bloggers maybe a bubble that bursts at some point?
AR: Quite possible. But the budgets of the high-end brands are very high, they do not run out of steam so quickly. It is interesting that in the USA still 70 percent of the advertising budgets flow in print media and only 30 percent online. Here, 90 percent of digital media are consumed and only ten percent in the print sector. We rely on good PR. At the heart of our public relations work is the Defilee in Paris, where not only a great deal of energy, but also a lot of money is invested with the goal of far-reaching media coverage.

“I really like the KPM cup because it’s classic but still modern,” says Adrian Runhof about the KPM Kurland porcelain

MS: What is your own digital user behavior?
AR: Of course, I also spend time on the phone all the time. Recently there was a technical problem. Then the feeling of a slight panic sets in. It’s terrible without a cell phone (laughs).
MS: Are you an online shopper?
AR: Only. I buy every spoon online and nothing in real shops anymore.
MS: The cow you milk should not be slaughtered, they say. After all, you also own stores.
AR: As a customer, I’ve always found stores horrible. How many jeans have I bought in my life, which the sellers claimed, oh, but it fits perfectly. The opposite was the case, as I found out in retrospect (laughs).

MS: Is it difficult to survive alongside the industry giants in Paris?
AR: You cannot make the mistake of comparing yourself to labels or the shows of Louis Vuitton. But it would be stupid to show the best show in Berlin and nobody comes. Whereby the Berlin Salon is a pleasing and important exception.
MS: How do you manage to separate job and private?
AR: Talbot Runhof is our project and that connects at all levels. Even though we now live separately in Munich, we do a lot together. In Berlin, we shop together at the KaDeWe, in Paris, on the market. The German actors Nadja Tiller and Walter Giller were once asked for the recipe for a long partnership: You just have to accept that you cannot change the other one. And there is some truth in it. Johnny stands closest to me, that’s a very special kind of intimacy, and that’s great. We also have a common dog, a Border Terrier, an important and connecting factor.

“When we had 10,000 Euros, we always made sure we did not spend more than 11,000. This is a ubiquitous problem in the industry. Our motto is: It’s all about knowing when to stop.”

MS: And you drink tea…
AR: Absolutely. In the morning we start with ginger tea. Detoxing and staying healthy is important to me. By the way, the KPM cups are great. I was spontaneously happy, when I saw them here earlier and hoped that they would be our latest achievement. The colors match perfectly to the green of our walls (laughs). Of the many dishes I inherited from home, there are very few things that I like. A glass series from the sixties of Theresienthal with a gold rim, for example, that stood in a showcase at my parents’. At ours it is being used. Even at the risk that something breaks. That’s part of it.
MS: You manage to reinvent yourself over and over again. Talbot Runhof features films such as “High Society”, you designed “Fashion 2 Sea” for the MS Europa2 and “Couture feather tops” for the Meiersche Art Institution.
AR: That’s right. Whenever we meet people who we find interesting, we say: Let’s do something together. We do not go out of ideas so fast.  BvH

“The antique cabinet is an heirloom from my mother,” says Adrian Runhof, who was born in Mainz and grew up in Wiesbaden. “In Munich, it does not fit into our living concept. Everything is very modern and more design-like. In Berlin it has now found a good place.”

Contact Adrian Runhof

talbotrunhof.com

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Keld Mikkelsen and I – However, my dress is not by ‘Day Birger et Mikkelsen’

I still remember the white tunica I bought at the end of the 90s in a boutique in Hamburg: rich embroiderie, a bit ethnic and by the Danish label ‘Day Birger et Mikkelsen’. One of my absolute favorites, which I wore with jeans, in the office or at partys and which accompanied me for many years. Don’t you have a retro piece like that in your closet too?

Here we go! The new spring-summer collection 2016

I therefore looked forward to my interview with founder Keld Mikkelsen even more. Meanwhile there is a whole lifestyle concept behind his brand: Dress like ‘Day Birger et Mikkelsen’ and live like ‘Day Birger et Mikkelsen’ – they have a home collection as well, designed my Marianne Brandi, Kelds partner. And there is also a second line, called ‘2nd Day’, plus an accessory collection. Keld and Marianne travel between St. Barth, Lugano and Copenhagen. What still drives someone like him after all those years in the fashion industry?

Keld Mikkelsen: “St. Barth is more a holiday thing for us, never a working area.”

MyStylery: Why don’t you just spend your days relaxing on the beautiful beaches of St. Barth, Keld?
Keld Mikkelsen: That would be too boring for me, not inspiring enough. St. Barth is rather for holidays, I don’t work there, I’d rather relax there.
MS: Is it your first time in Berlin?
KM: No, I visited Berlin already 4 or 5 times, coming in and out, mostly for ‘Premium’, the fashion-fair, even though I don’t like fairs very much.
MS: Why don’t you like fairs?
KM: (laughs) Too many people, too noisy, too packed and too exhausting.

Girls, don’t look so serious! After all you are wearing fancy clothes by ‘Day Birger et Mikkelsen’!

MS: You’ve lived a long time in Asia and describe yourself as nomad and cosmopolitan. What fascinates you about the Far Eastern culture?
KM: In India, I met inspiring people and an impressive culture full of diversity. I love the traditional saris with all the embroidery and the craftsmanship. The world is my muse.
MS: What is the new collection about?
KM: It’s retro yet modern, sharp yet soft, Scandinavian yet ethnical. We want to create an effortless sophisticated look. That’s why we call our new collection the New Bohemian.

One of my favorite pieces – casual and elegant

MS: The collection was designed in the design centre in Lugano, right?
KM: We had to make a decision and we wanted to survive, that’s why we moved our design centre with the brand management and creative part to Lugano, but we are still a Danish brand with our complete logistics and our Showroom in Copenhagen. I am proud to have this kind of organization in a small way, we aren’t a huge company.

Retro yet modern? Yeppp!

MS: How did you get into the fashion business?
KM: My first job was at a gas station. Later I worked at a music store, before I was offered a job for the fashion label Vero Moda. There was no fashion industry in Denmark 20 years ago, so this was a challenge and luckily became a bestseller. When we started our own brand in the 90s the US Vogue wrote that Day Birger et Mikkelsen is so different. Day was a niche, we are very big in Scandinavia and England. We follow our heart and we still love what we do.

I am absolutely addicted to shoes: I can’t have enough – and yes, these ones must be in my collection!

MS: You started the business together with Malene Birger …
KM: Malene was my first designer and I loved the idea that people thought we are a family. We had the vision to create fashion which one can use. For example brands like Yamamoto or Dries van Noten are not suitable for everyday use. Our style was always relaxed – and still is today.
MS: Don’t you fear running out of ideas?
KM: I don’t run out of ideas. Travelling around the world is my inspiration. I work a lot although I am 57 now and sometimes I get sick of people not listening to me when I try to make clear where we want to go.

Keld Mikkelsen: “The typical ‚Day‘-woman mixes and matches the brands.”

MS: Together with Marianne Brandi you have started the ‘Day home collection’.
KM: Right. We started with pillows. My wife is the creative designer who has the ideas and inspirations. The interior industry is very different to the fashion business.

Keld Mikkelsen: “We have established as retailers with our online-shops for the new generation.”

MS: Where do you see yourself in ten years?
KM: (laughs) In ten years? I hope my daughter is overtaking and being a partner of the business.
MS: Do you have any advices for her?
KM: You can sell everything everywhere, but you have to tell a story so that people know you and the collection. The consumer must always be sure that there are people behind ‘Day’ who love their jobs. And you have to be alert every day that the business can kill you. BvH

A perfect dress for my next holidays: It works on the beach and in the evening, an important aspect when packing my suitcase

The little black dress with valance: girly and sexy

Chic layering in pastel! Spring, when are you coming?

Contact:

www.day.dk

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Beautiful staircase

He is good looking, speaks five languages fluent – Portuguese, Italian, French, English and German – lived in Milan and Paris. Sammy Voigt was born in Brazil, in the small site called Rio Grande near the Argentinian boarder. His grandfather, a German from Bremen, came to South America after the World War II.  After school Sammy studied marketing in Rio where a photographer at the beach scouted him. Shootings for Vogue Italia and Uoma Vogue followed: the beginning of his modelling-career and his life out of his suitcase. Since twelve years Sammy jets around the world, Tokyo, Los Angeles, New York. At shows of international Fashion weeks he runs for Valentino, Yamamoto and Gautier. He comes to Germany, visits mother and brother in Munich. And then he decides to temporarily stay. Sammy does a German course, as in his childhood one did not speak a lot of German. Berlin is his base for five years now, a little side road, near the Hackescher Markt. In Berlin the successful model uses the chance to dare something new. He designs the fabrics for an old-established tie-manufactory. Now he founded his own label: Infinity.

Designer Sammy Voigt in his Berlin apartment in Mitte district

MyStylery: When I have a look around your apartment, you seem to be pretty busy at the moment…
Sammy Voigt: (laughs) Sorry for the chaos, I am working on a new collection!

Sammy works on his new Infinity collection. Its message: no stagnation, but to always stay in motion

MS: How do you become a designer as a model?
SV: I always had an interest for fabrics and design. Then in Berlin I got to know the Edsor-tie-manufactory. At first I was responsible for the concept of the store, then increasingly for the fabric design – an exercise that I learned step by step.

Photo from Sammy’s model career

MS: And now you have your own brand.
SV: Indeed, I founded Infinity in July last year. Infinity stands for best, but payable quality. Scarfs and foulards cost from hundred Euro, dress handkerchiefs 29 Euro. People do not want to spend much for accessories, as they already do it for clothes and shoes (laughs).

In this moodboard Sammy Voigt collects ideas for the new Infinity collection

MS: Where do your ideas of your drafts come from?
SV: I am researching the actual trends and I am thereby able to slip the zeitgeist in. Pictures and travels inspire me as much as a museum visit or an art catalogue. Out of all these details I create a ‘mood board’ as a base for the design team, that agrees with me together on the final design in Como. Concerning fabric qualities, Italians cannot be overcome.

Available are the accessories already in noble boutiques in Los Angeles, Monte Carlo, Cannes and in the famous ‘Bon Marché’ in Paris. In Germany you can receive them via his online shop

“The apartment is only 55 square meters big”, says Sammy Voigt. “I like small apartments, they convey a feeling of comfort.”

MS: Which parts involve your collection?
SV: Ties and bow ties, but especially scarfs out of wood, silk, cashmere and also wool, which – based on a new technique – are eco-friendly weaved and dyed. This means that we relinquish unhealthy chemistry and instead choose Chitosan, which is gained out of seafood. The good thing is that everyone needs scarfs, whether you are 18 or 80 years old.

Sammy bought the black and white pillows on the couch in Portugal, as he loves color-constellations like black-white and grey-and taupe-tones

MS: You took over the apartment mostly with its already existing furniture. Do you still feel home?
SV: I do not really have a home. Home is where I currently stay. I think that there is no real ideal place and am therefore always making compromises. I like to travel and that is what I am doing for over twelve years now. Property would only bother me. Everything I own has to fit into to suitcases. BvH

On the picture on the left you can see Sammy. Next to him Kate Moss with a similar body language: “I admire her a lot”, says Sammy about the supermodel

The kitchen is a made to measure out of cherry wood

The bed and the chinese lettering are both chinese antiques

With his pictures and photographies Sammy brings something personal into the otherwise furnished apartment

Star photographer Michel Comte took pictures of Sammy’s first Infinity collection

The old apothecary cabinet comes from the Berlin interior store “Zeitlos” and was painted by matching the color of the bed

Beautiful Art Déco lamp

Magnificently details in this Berlin Mitte-staircase

Beautiful stucco detail

Contact:
www.infinity.boutique

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Model Corinna in a piped leather top and stretch leather pants. Designer Claudia von Schacky (left) checks if everything is put into perspective

I can’t believe it – and don’t really want to, but summer is now coming to an end. There’s nothing we can do about it – we need to slowly adapt to the cooler season and thus mentally prepare for parkas and boots.

The photo-shoot over the rooftops of Berlin. What a cool location – unfortunately with grey clouds. Will they disappear?

Here the fashion designers are off better. At least conceptually, they are ahead the season occupationally. Whilst we now consider, in which piece we invest for the coming autumn, the creative fashion people think about the latest trends, which we then wear in the following year. Just now, the Munich fashion designer Claudia von Schacky has photographed her new spring collection in Germany’s capital. MyStylery was there, too, over the rooftops of Berlin, and shows you where the specialist sees the finest stretch leather in spring and summer 2016.

Stylist Odessa plucks a bit on the trouser leg, while Model Corinna gets into position wearing my absolute favorite Flared pants with matching, embroidered jacket

The – in my opinion – best news first: The so-called Flared cut remains. I looove the 70s look, and thus also the flared pants. And what looks nobler than razor-thin goatskin pants with flip? In her spring-summer collection 2016, Claudia von Schacky prefers casual cuts and oversized silhouettes. Perfect, because who wants to wear skintight clothes at warm temperatures.

At last the sun comes out. Perfect lighting conditions, which are immediately used by photographer Wiebke Bosse and her team

Who loves their dungarees this year, perhaps invests in bib-leather pants in one of the most promising Schacky colors: Moon, Ocean, Tabac and as a splash of color, a Cherry Red. And for the cool summer evening, fur expert Schacky offers feather-light summer-fur. Fluffy summer-fur. A breath of nothing that still warms. Yes, is that possible? BvH

Quite windy up here: Hold tight on everything, is the motto. And Model Corinna has to ‘think away’ her goosebumps

Spring Summer 2016 may come!

Selected parts from the Schacky collection Spring Summer 2016 for the shoot. Until everything is in the box, a whole day passes

Ops, better check twice: Luxury Designer Claudia von Schacky with Model Corinna and Stylist Odessa

Photo-shoot over the roofs of Berlin

Over the roofs of Berlin

Sexy in leather crop top: Thereto Corinna wears a tobacco-colored gilet, which is a reinterpretation of the classic trench coat. Available from November!

Contact:

www.schackyandjones.com

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MyStylery in the studio of fashion designer and TV presenter Thomas Rath – with prominent visitors who stopped by for a fitting of Rath‘s men’s collection.

Thomas Rath in his studio in Dusseldorf

When Thomas Rath talks about the stages of his career, the names of almost all large German fashion labels gush out of his mouth and it is hard for me to keep up the writing: as a trainee at Basler he learned the business from scratch, including cutting sequences, material storage and the making of collections.

On the wall the mood boards for the next summer collection

Then he worked for Uta Raasch as an assistant, followed by Jil Sander, Windsor and international brands such as Mulberry, Sascha Fontaine and Casey Madden. Rath put Riani upside down, doubled sales, and even designed the logo with the four R’s. He worked with Linda Evangelista and Claudia Schiffer. None other than Michel Comte photographed his campaigns. Then the former Escada boss Wolfgang Ley was a knock at the door and Thomas Rath ended up in the luxury segment. Moscow, St. Petersburg, cashmere and sable. Escada began to go downhill, which gave Rath the idea to start his own label.

“My client determines herself how she wants to wear Thomas Rath. Sporty or elegant”

Loaded with the contacts that he had built up in 30 years in fashion industry. “Customers know what they can expect from me and get it”, Thomas Rath describes the trust of his clients. “My look was always classic with a certain twist: Shorts, tight jacket, Ludwig Reiter Shoes – done.”

“I know how my client lives and what kind of car she drives. She loves no surprises in fashion, but wants reliability. “

Even as a child Thomas Rath knew that he wanted to become a fashion designer. The son of a sausage manufacturer fortunately had a sympathetic family who let him do it. Since 2010, there is now the Thomas Rath brand. “And it is going very well”, says the native of Cologne, who does not seek to conceal his origin and the easy Rhenish accent.

Almost like home: A little comfort in the office is nice to have

At the same time, he started by a juror at Heidi Klum’s Top Model TV show. “A God’s providence, albeit an exhausting”, says Rath while laughing. Clearly the show would have given him a lot of fun and benefits of its notoriety. His camera presence however did not affect the company. But all the more it added to the stress factor: When Thomas filmed in Los Angeles for three months, the council team was flown to Hollywood. Eventually, collections can’t be created by their own. He came to understand that one is shouldn’t get bogged down. Good bye, top model.

On the wall of the meeting room framed silk foulards

Welcome to QVC. Indeed Raths TV abstinence did not last long. Since 2014, the likable sales-talent presents an eight-hour life broadcast twice a month on the Home Shopping channel from the US and sells the sportive second-line ‘THOM’. This requires commitment so that Rath has to work with his international team almost 24/7. Quality is his statement, which is why the creations of the first-line Thomas Rath Semi Couture is completely produced in Germany and Italy. However, he admits with a wink: “When the pot is full, we close it.”

The Rath office spans multiple floors

Since two years Rath makes men’s fashion, too. 45 pieces are included in the collection, jackets, vests, coats and trousers. The target group is the 35 to 50 year olds, who like the figure-accentuating cuts, but not Philipp Plein.
He is pleased with his customers, including prominent names like Desiree Nick, Frauke Ludowig or Katja Burkhard. The ladies love his label. And they pay for it – because Rath doesn’t like the VIP facilities for free: “I don’t sell a single piece anymore, just so that someone walks over the red carpet in a Rath dress.” And his 120 retailers that sell the fashion of Thomas Rath, think the same. “It’s the question of what you want: Die in beauty or make money.”

Small balcony with a view: How nice!

And then prominent visitors arrive for a fitting:
The band ,Vintage Vegas’ which is responsible for the music program at Thomas Rath’s show on Sunday evening. Giovanni Zarrella – known to many from his time with the band Bro’Sis – with his bandmates Inan Lima and Tom Marks. Giovanni, German-Italian singer and married to Brazilian model Jana Ina, had the idea of creating sort of a Rat Pack band for a long time. ‘Vintage Vegas’ stands for SWOP – Swing meets Pop. They already had 300,000 enthusiastic spectators during the last ‘Holiday on Ice’ tour. BvH

Giovanni Zarrella – former Bro’Sis singer – performes with his new band ‘Vintage Vegas’ at Thomas Rath’s show ‘Allez à la plage’ in Dusseldorf on Sunday

Inan – a Brazilian – is an accomplished pianist and worked as a producer and composer for artists from different music genres

“Giovanni, Inan and Tom embody exactly my target audience,” says Rath pleased: “Sport and nutrition-conscious, 35-50 year old high earners.”

Tom, born in Poland and living in Wiesbaden, has toured as a backing vocalist with Joe Cocker, Shakira and Herbert Grönemeyer. Thomas: “The pants fit perfectly!”

“A certain appeal can’t hurt,” Thomas Rath says about ‘Vintage Vegas’. “The boys, of course, also have the bodies for the slim-fitting suits.”

Sympathetic trio: Two years ago they founded the band ‘Vintage Vegas’: Giovanni Zarrella (left) with his bandmates Inan Lima and Tom Marks

Contact:
www.thomas-rath.com

www.vintagevegas.de

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