Issue 03/2012 . 17th Volume . ¤ 6.90

Welcome mass approach to Fashion The lucrative business with leftovers nobody is too big to Fail. An interview with Karl-Heinz Müller my Friend the retailer Why customers love himcommunicate!Is the jeans industry running out of themes?

Cover design by sandrine pagnoux

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Caleb wears: Anchor Pea coat

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THEY ALL WANT PEPE.THEY ALL WANT PEPE.

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pepejeans.com

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SHOP TOMMY.COM

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SHOP TOMMY.COM

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editorial

Let’s taLk about… The guests who aren't at the party are often the most interesting, they're the ones you talk about. But does the same thing also apply to a trade fair? An interesting question when you look at the line-up at this year's event in Berlin.

M aking yourself scarce is sometimes a good

strategy: The public is often bored by an

across-the-board approach - this rule applies as

much to celebrities as it does to brands. But is this

also valid for the industry's central meeting places?

Retailers travelling to Berlin this year will find huge

gaps in the exhibitors' portfolio. The fragmentation

that had already begun in the winter continues on its

merry way. But where could central meeting places

for intercommunication be in the future? And with

what kind of content? What topics would occupy the

industry in the future? Does it still have anything to

say? We've been searching for the answers to these

questions, not always an easy task - find out more

under "Communicate!" (Page 38) and in the interview

with Karl-Heinz Müller from the Bread & Butter from

Page 26. At the same time, fashion is attractive

for many suppliers – so exciting, so glamorous and

image-promoting that many would prefer to happily

jostle around in this market just to have a little of this

glamour rub off onto them. What rules determine the

mass fashion market, find out on page 28. However,

the individual retail market provides a contrast to this

by being personally available to the customer. Read

on Page 48 how this can work, under the heading:

"My Store, My Friend."

We hope you enjoy this issue. Your x-ray Team

EvErything happEns in thE EyEs

The Parisian photographer and artist likes illustrating lost souls best, people who are torn between opposites like beauty and tragedy and are in complete chaos. For the current cover of x-ray she puts real eyes at the centre of her illustration, in order to create a particularly deep bond with the viewer. To do this, she combined one of her photographs with an illustration. Her inspiration was a verse from the poem by Charles Baudelaire, "Le Serpent qui danse" ("The Dancing Snake"): "Your eyes, which neither hate nor love are ever found to hold, are two cold jewels which are made of iron mixed with gold." If the people in Pagnoux's pictures could speak, they might say something idiotic or emotional like ''Protect me,'' or ''Love me''. Why, the young Parisian explains in the interview starting on Page 60.www.sandrinepagnoux.com

On thE COvEr

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"Eyes are the window to the soul, they don't lie."

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contents

Contents

10 ––

08 Editorial 12 Right Now 24 Fairs

What's thE stOry 26 ''Nobody Is Too Big To Fail'' An interview with Karl-Heinz Müller 28 Welcome to the Mass Approach to Fashion How merchandise density is putting the trade under pressure 32 ''More Than Second Hand'' Ebay works on a change of image 34 World Wide Away Residual stock utilisation via the internet 36 Communicate! Is the jeans engine of innovation still running? 39 ''Not Just a Loud, Short Flash In The Pan'' Joachim Baumgartner speaks about denim trends 40 Foreign countries, Foreign customs The Russian market as El Dorado for European brands 44 Darling Denim? How the denim trade deals with the ups and downs of the market 48 My Store, My Friend How a retailer becomes a brand 52 The Third Eye The design agency Grand Studio guides brands to success 54 Back to Blue Garcia steps on the gas 55 Is Taking Part Everything? Salsa sets itself new goals

thE talk 56 Italy's New Generation The Antony Morato success story 58 Do You Have a Plan? How predictable is fashion in reality? 60 Eyes Don't Lie Cover artist Sandrine Pagnoux on the language of her pictures

FashiOn 64 Want It! 70 Boys Are Back in Town The revival of the new man 80 Heavy Patterns Exemplary

in stOrE 88 Retail News 90 Everything Must Go! Reason Outpost, New York 92 ''Without Graffiti We Would Have Nothing Today'' Le Fix, Copenhagen 94 The Graduate Graduate, Bordeaux 96 Like a Colourful Dog Loup Store, Saarbrücken 97 Fast Food Shopping KissKissBangBang, Vienna

98 One Last Thing . Imprint

28

12

52 9056

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Right nowtextIsabel Faiss, Ina Köhler

photosLabels

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02 COnvErsE BOught as usEd

Converse is introducing several new models with the Washed & Worn line in its spring/summer 2013 collection. The motto of the collection's theme is "Out of the Box" and is one that Converse is implementing with washed sneakers with as much individuality and character as possible. Classic Chuck Taylor served as the base model. Numerous street style images from all over the world were most probably used as inspiration because original worn Chucks can be found everywhere. The characteristic star is emblazoned on the "Stars & Stories" series as an all-over-print in loads of colours. The Pro Leather model from 1976 can be found as a suede and canvas show with a vulcanised sole in the new season.www.converse.com

01 adEniM a-nOt-Just-dEniM

The last set of reports from the trouser specialists ADenim had really set the bar high. Jeans had been fastened onto the roof of the German headquarters for months, shaped by wind and weather and then used as a style sheet in the laboratory. In the spring/summer collection for 2012, one of the Roof -Destroyed washings will be launched for the first time. In addition, the label's range will be expanding from the previous ten jeans models in 27 different washings with a five-pocket model with French front pockets. The non-denim share with linen and cotton Chinos in vintage look has also established itself. This mainly took place during the summer months along with the lightweight summer denim and so will be expanded further. "We make trousers as we would like to wear them ourselves. Pure, made from good fabric with handmade finishes. No frills, no obvious label or stitchings. Actually, we pretty much leave a lot out", Marco Lanowy, Managing Director of ADenim, clearly points out the direction they're going along.www.alberto-pants.com

03 Fuga OrdEr OnlinE

With its newly launched B2B online shop, the lifestyle brand Fuga has since May again been offering its customers the option of ordering current pieces of the collection from stock. In tandem with this, the range will be expanded with coloured Chinos, in particular. The long-term plan is to extend the range of all product groups in the storable collections.www.shop.fugadenim.de

04 drykOrn OnlinE FaCEliFt

After undergoing an extensive facelift, Drykorn showcased its new online store in July 2012. The store was launched in the autumn of 2011 so the measures mainly only focus on sales and marketing and hardly on the website. As from July, the complete collection will also be available via the webshop to customers from Austria and the Benelux countries. www.drykorn.com

freemantporter.com

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08 WranglEr BEauty COntEst

Fashionable Technology is a buzzword that has been following us around for years. But we have never been as close as this to innovative ideas turning into a reality and being affordable. The new women's jeans line by Wrangler has now set out to make the desires of its female target group true: A jeans line just for women, refined with extracts of jojoba or Aloe Vera using a special treatment during the wash process and which are to provide the skin with moisture when the trousers are worn, stimulating circulation and reducing cellulite. For this new Denim Spa Therapy line, three models were used Molly as Slim Fit and the two Skinny Jeans Courtney and Corynn. www.wrangler.com

06 FrOntlinE FrOM sEptEMBEr WithOut puriss

After twelve years with the company, Stefan Puriss, long-serving Managing Partner of Frontline GmbH, will be leaving at his own request in September 2012. The 42-year old will remain a shareholder and will help to find a successor. Puriss came to Frontline after taking a business studies degree in 2001 and since 2006 was a joint Managing Partner with Torsten Lange. Torsten Lange: "He has significantly shaped the development of the company and through this has also influenced the fashion-e-commerce industry. We are very grateful to him for this. We are delighted that he will continue to be part of the company as a shareholder. The Frontline GmbH was established in 1986 and is one of the most well-known and largest online suppliers in the young fashion market. www.frontlineshop.com

Expanding Zalando, the shoe and fashion supplier, started its internet sales and marketing with an export offensive in the spring. Following Sweden and Belgium, customers in Spain, Finland, Denmark and Poland will be catered for. With this, Zalando is also present in Holland, France, UK and Italy besides the German-speaking countries. Zalando launched its own collection in March. A designer cooperation with the Berlin Kaviar Gauche label is to follow in the autumn.

sOld The organic label Hess Natur has been sold to the Swiss holding company Capvis Equity Partners. Until now, the label belonged to the Primondo Specialty Group and has been looking for a buyer for a long time. Hess Natur had a turnover of around 73 million euros in the 2010/11 fiscal year.

05 ChiEMsEE thE spOrtiEst yEar OF yOur liFE

Kite surfing on Trinidad Tobago, windsurfing on Naxos or free-riding in Ischgl. Something that until now was only possible for cool dudes in snowboard and surfing videos, Chiemsee now wants to make possible for its fans too. The board sporting label is celebrating its 30th birthday this year. And the marketing department has come up with a pretty cool idea to mark the occasion: "The sportiest year of your life" is a campaign which will run from 28th January to 30th November 2012 and is calling on board sport fans to apply. First prize will be a six weeks board sporting holiday which is to include the hotspots mentioned above. In December, an expert jury will select 30 finalists who will then compete against one another in Ischgl for the first prize.www.chiemsee.com/deinjahr

07 tOMMy hilFigEr katiE hOlMEs as aMBassadOr

The Millennium Promise Foundation has set itself a goal of keeping a promise: By 2015, the number of people living below the poverty line in Africa is to be halved. To this end, Tommy Hilfiger has donated the Promise collection, 100 per cent of its proceeds will be donated to the Foundation. To do this, Tommy Hilfiger turned to American classics, designing them in African colours. It appointed the actress, Katie Holmes, as ambassador of the collection. She will wear these to appointments with the aid organisation and with the local media. "It is very impressive what Tommy Hilfiger is doing in support of Millennium Promise and its commitment towards improving the lives of people in Ruhiira/Uganda", says Katie Holmes. "Its support is greatly important towards making the unique work that Millennium Promise does in Africa public. I believe that together we can help to overcome the extreme poverty even in our own lifetime", the designer adds. www.tommy.com

BREAD & BUTTER 4th-6th JULY 2012AREA SPORT & STREETHANGAR 1BOOTH No. S2

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10 antOny MOratO shOpping ExpEriEnCE With sEarChandising

In May, the Italian Menswear label Antony Morato is launching its own online shop and will be following a new path into the presentation of goods and online shopping through numerous features. In addition to the classic shop, behind the Features button lie videos, the current Antony-Morato-Magazine and a blog covering a variety of themes. A blog with individual pieces for purchase can be reached by clicking on Style Feed. Innovation is written in a big way, products from the Antony-Morato-Magazine or the current advertising campaign can be conveniently placed into the shopping cart with just one click. Behind the Denim Fit Guide button, the user can find information on the different cuts of the trousers. But the heart and soul of the online store is Searchandising, a dynamic merchandising tool that personalises the shopping experience in real time by catering to the customer's desires and offering preferred product categories according to availability of colour and size. If any questions remain open, a stylist is on hand to offer advice in the livechat function or it's possible to publish shopping lists on Facebook and get tips yourself.www.morato.it

takE-OvErGreat Britain's largest sport retailers, Sports Direct International, has taken over the Firetrap label from the World Design & Trade company. The casual label Full-Circle had already gone from the insolvent WDT to SDI in the spring. Sports Direct International is also owner of the Dunlop and Karrimor or Hot Tuna trademarks. Firetrap is to be continued as a wholesale brand.

09 laCOstE shOEs lEd dEsign

Not glowing shoes! By Lacoste shoes, the abbreviation LED stands for Lacoste Essential Design. For the coming spring/summer 2013 season, this special division is introducing a collection which used sources of inspiration taken from design classics by Eames, Jacobsen, Charlotte Perriand and Le Corbusier. The three characteristic Lacoste sports of tennis, golf and sailing were also taken on. In the course of this, a collection was produced that revamped the high-quality classics placing a strong focus on detail finishing.www.lacoste.com

11 FrEEMan t. pOrtEr plans FOr BErlin

Hendrick Schimmel is new Country Manager for Freeman T. Porter in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. He is an old hand in the sales, shop-in-shop and own stores areas. The Parisian EP6 company employed the experienced sales specialist exactly for this purpose, prior to this he was responsible for the department stores and sales area systems of G-Star in Germany and other markets. "The way the brand has evolved in France in the past puts me into a very positive frame of mind. That is a great challenge. I have made it my goal to create new and successful structures in Germany, Austria and Switzerland", says Hendrick Schimmel. At the top of his homework list now stands the launch of a store and a showroom in Berlin.www.freemantporter.com

12 dEluxE distriButiOn FOr happy pEOplE

The Berlin distribution agency Deluxe Distribution took over the distribution of the Norwegian brand Moods of Norway for the autumn/winter collection 2012 in Germany. As a result, the agency's brand portfolio is expanding. Alongside brands like Minimum or Customized For The Crowd, they now have another Scandinavian brand that offers an unconventional and progressive collection. The Moods of Norway's trademark is a pink tractor, which, as a stylistic device, dominates in all campaign images, and is a symbol of how the three founders of the brand do some things differently. The brand's headquarters and, to date, biggest showroom is still in the three founders' home town of Styrn, a little town with 6,750 residents in the middle of nowhere in Norway. They want to enter the markets in the Benelux countries, Switzerland, Spain, the US and Japan, and now the German market, using Deluxe Distribution.www.deluxe-distribution.de,www.moodsofnorway.com

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15 thE EBOOk pEOplE MEga stOnEd

''How does someone survive 50 years of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll?' This is the title of an article in the German newspaper Bild on the Rolling Stones' 50th anniversary this year. The young German company The eBook people, a spin-off of the publishing house The Interview People in Munich, are enthusiastically working towards their goal of compiling as yet unpublished archive material on the Stones in a 200 page ebook and publishing it in two volumes. In order to finance the mega project Matthias Würfl and Uli Karg have started a crowd funding campaign. Users from all over the world can participate in financing it on the website. Crowd funding is a proven method of funding, particularly for cultural projects. We'll have to wait and see if the Stones can find enough donors. www.indiegogo.com/50yearsRollingStones

14 diEsEl CinEMa FantastiquE

In this case, the term Darkroom Défilé, isn't concealing any dingy back room in a club with a very intimate atmosphere. 'Intimate Darkroom Défilé is a project by Diesel with the Viennese photographer Michael Dürr. That someone should actually present their new collection in a completely dark room, seems to be a paradox at first. However, then the big screen comes into play and the ingenuity of this idea becomes clear. Michael Dürrs Cinema Photographique shows fashion photography with background music in cinema format. The première of this exhibition concept took place in 2008 as part of the festival for Fashion & Photography in Vienna. In the meantime, it has been touring museums, galleries and festivals. www.diesel.com, www.michaelduerr.com

16 Mavi supErWOMan On BOard

The Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima is the face of the global image campaign of Mavi for the autumn/winter collection 2012/13. The jeans label from Istanbul has once more proved what a key role this advertising campaign plays in brand-name communication. Most likely, no costs were spared because, according to Forbes Magazine, Adriana Lima with 4.5 million euros a year is fourth on the list of best paid models in the world.www.mavi.com

13 g-star nEW lOCatiOn

G-Star is planning to move the German headquarters from Neuss to Düsseldorf-Flingern this coming September. The decision not to move the German headquarters to Berlin, but instead into the young creative area of Schwanenhöfe in the small and very cosy district of Flingern, was a total surprise. The 30-strong G-Star team will be moving into the 1,800 square metres of the large historical arched hall in the Erkrather Strasse 230. In addition, the in-house showroom will also host a shoe collection which has been licensed to Overland.www.g-star.com

04 – 06 July 2012 | Denim Base, Hall: Airfi eld, Booth: D 42

www.mustang-jeans.com

Welcome at Bread & Butter Berlin

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17 Mustang COOpEratiOn With thE BOsshOss

Mustang always had close ties with rock music. Earlier, there was the own record label, sponsoring of bands and festivals such as the Scorpions, Fury in the Slaughterhouse, Rock am Ring or the own Cologne music café JAM together with Viva. Now, the jeans label is cooperating with the Germany country rock group The BossHoss. The joint collection Mustang Black edition by The BossHoss has nine models: jeans, shirts, T-shirts and longsleeve. Rugged red selvage Japan denim by Kaihara is processed. The line will be released for sale from September 2012. The initial plan is to work with the musicians for three seasons. "We find The BossHoss really cool, they are authentic and don't give way", says Mustang CEO Dietmar Axt. As a bit of icing on the cake, The BossHoss will be appearing at Mustang's exhibition booth during the Bread & Butter. Let’s go! www.mustangjeans.com, www.thebosshoss.net

19 EnErgiE BrEak thE rulEs!

With its new Make Noise campaign, Energie is now loudly appealing to its target group. Whereas we in Germany find the term Wutbürger (enraged citizen) repulsive, this is exactly what the Italian men's label are wanting their followers to do: to protest. This project is expressed through their campaign and its motive emerged through the British rock band Rubber Kiss Goodbye amongst other things. The band's début album is expected this summer. The band itself was formed by the band leader Tara Ferry, son of Bryan Ferry. The black and white motive should reinforce the impact of the images with its Indie Rock charm. The Swedish photographer Alex Lindhal stood behind the camera.www.energie.it

20 lOis Birthday party

The former Spanish collection Lois celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. In 1962, the brand was established. For the occasion, the Legends collection takes on some of the styles from the brand's history. The One is an homage to the first jeans ever made by Lois. The model Torera is a replica of the denim jacket Tejana – one of the classic jeans jackets from the '70s. The line is complemented by T-shirts in the typical Lois vintage look and classic cords – even an evergreen from the golden '70s, when the brand was also worn by Abba. Lois Legends will be available in stores for the first time in September. In addition, the regular Lois collection will be presented at Bread & Butter: Bleached, coloured denim and other denim styles play a principal role in this. www.loisdenim.com

18 JustFaB FashiOn as a MOnthly suBsCriptiOn

The makers of the American online fashion and styling service JustFab.de don't scrimp on superlatives when describing their business model. Behind it is a new trend from the US, which is also being modified for Germany now. After the user has completed a free fashion personality test, style experts identify his fashion style, then the accessories, shoes and bags that fit his profile are pieced together in a boutique. Only JustFab products are sold in the process. As a VIP customer, you pay 39.95 euros per month and are guaranteed to regularly have new styles in your wardrobe. All other customers can buy products for between 49.95 and 69.95 euros. It's advertised using celebrity customers and stylists to the stars. Carried out using a service with branded products, this model could become seriously relevant.www.justfab.de

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a-denim.com

VISIT US IN BERLIN04 – 06 JULY 2012BREAD & BUTTERDENIM BASE, STAND D3

three-2-one.co

m

24 rEplay in MOtiOn

In the spring, Replay presented its German customers with a very special treat: In the cities of Berlin, Neuss, Hamburg and Munich, customers and sellers were trained locally with food and music. Large, 400 square metre areas were constructed for the so-called Traveller Tour in all the cities and guests such as P&C or Leos were invited. Replay wanted to strengthen contacts with its partners by means of these trade events and increase focus on the products. "We are investing in communication and in close cooperation with the trade", says Germany Managing Director Thomas Wirth. "This includes a full range of measures, starting from optimised delivery to commercial marketing." The innovative theme of laser blast, a new water-saving technology, is important to the company and one that Replay has expanded with its own collection this season and is supporting communication with a roadshow. There is also news in geographic terms. The Düsseldorf label moved into a new representative showroom in the media harbour in the Plange Mühle in May 2012. The new Germany headquarters is also to move there from spring 2013. The spectacular architecture of the Düsseldorf architectural office Ingenhoven shapes the distinctive appearance of the former wood silo. A facelift is also in the pipeline for the store in Cologne. It is to be revamped in late summer based on the models in Milan, Paris or Barcelona, further stores in Germany are to follow in 2013. www.replay.it

22 M.O.d. sElvEdgE dEniMs

At the upcoming Bread & Butter, everything for the M.O.D. Premium, M.O.D.'s new line, is focussed on the high-quality Japan selvedge denim. After its initial successful attempt with Japan denim in the collection for January 2011, the demand for new models and washings has steadily increased, confirms M.O.D. Co-owner and Designer Elias Rumelis. "Our aim was to bring Japan denim onto the market for less than 100 euros", says Akin Erdogan, Managing Director and Owner of the jeans manufacturer. "We have also visibly raised this very high-quality and distinctive line from the current line by means of a differentiated branding." The sales team would also like to acquire a new circle of customers. "We are convinced that our trousers for just under 100 euros don't need to shy away from comparisons with premium label products. Quite the opposite.", says Akin Erdogan.www.mod-onlineshop.de

23 pEpE JEans slOW and stEady Wins thE raCE

The first True-Blue collection from Pepe Jeans London appeared in selected brand stores at the beginning of May. With True-Blue, the brand achieved its own goal of using 95% less water, and absolutely no chemicals in the denim manufacturing process. To achieve their goal, they cooperated closely with production plants that developed a sensible method of recycling wastewater produced by washing the denim. Instead of chemicals so-called Dry-Finish Technologies were used, whereby, for example, used effects are achieved by using ozone gas and 3D laser technologies. Pepe Jeans is using six of its main jeans styles to launch the line, including Kingston, Tooting, Cash and Jeanius for men, and Venus and New Brooke for women.www.pepejeans.com

21 vans x BarBOur traditiOn MEEts skatE shOE

Vans the skate manufacturer and Barbour the British tradition brand are launching a capsule collection in the autumn. Vans X Barbour link typical design elements of the two brands from the old and new world. The models, slip-on, boots and lace-up shoes, come from Vans-Kosmos. Barbour-lovers can rediscover the classic army colours, leather details, tartan lining and the waxed linen appearance. The three models will be appearing as a special element in the Vans California collection in October. www.barbour.com, www.vans.com

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CONTACT: INFO@CHIEMSEE.COM

HANNAH WHITELEYCHIEMSEE PRO KITESURFER

JANNI HÖNSCHEIDCHIEMSEE PRO SURFER

FaiRnews

textAlexandra Hawel, Ina Köhler

photosFairs

Munich Fabric StartFuLLY bOOKED

already, at this early stage, the international trade fair for

clothing fabrics and accessories, which takes place from 4 to

6 September in Munich, can report more than 800 exhibitors.

Even the adjoined blue Zone in the Zenith hall, which provides

an important platform for the denim market, has encountered

a consistently good response. the organisation team around

Sebastian and Wolfgang Klinder feels they were right about the

direction of the fair: ''a strong domestic market is crucial to the

success of a trade fair,'' says Sebastian Klinder, ''and Germany is

still the strongest and most important market in Europe.'' in the

next round, in which materials and the makings of the autumn/

winter 2013 season are presented, Munich Fabric Start also

presents the new concept pattern studios. this is to be a creative

platform for suppliers of fashion designs and printing. the

ready-Made-Solutions (r.M.S.dpt) segment, which celebrated its

premier in the blue Zone last season, will be selectively extended

to the entire fair. it will be presenting complete solutions and a

full-service under this banner.

4 to 6 September 2012, www.munichfabricstart.com

nationaL

01 BrEad & ButtEr

dates: 4 to 6 July 2012Organiser: Bread & Butter GmbH & Co. KGsegment: Denim, urbanwear, sportswear, street fashion, accessories, shoesWhat's new: ''Temple of Denim'' with innovations in the area of denim www.breadandbutter.com

02 Bright tradEshOW

dates: 4 to 6 July 2012Organiser: Bright GmbH & Co. KGsegment: Streetwear, skateboarding, sneakers, boardsports What's new: Bright has been moved forward one day. www.brighttradeshow.com, www.alltomorrows.de

03 grEEn shOWrOOM

dates: 4 to 6 July 2012Organiser: Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbHsegment: Green fashion, women's outerwear, men's outerwear, children's outerwear, accessories, cosmetics, lifestyle products What's new: A pop-up store along with the Ethical Fashion Show at the ewerk www.green-showroom.net

04 CapsulE

dates: 5 to 6 July 2012 Organiser: bpmw Agency New Yorksegment: Men & women up and coming What's new: New location at Postbahnhofwww.capsuleshow.com

05 EthiCal FashiOn shOW

dates: 4 to 6 July 2012Organiser: Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbHsegment: Casualwear, urbanwear, streetwear, prêt-à-porter, women's outerwear, men's outerwear, children's outerwear, accessories, cosmetics, lifestyle products What's new: Expansion to two halls with more than 50 exhibitors, Future Summit

''change your cotton', new pop-up store www.ethicalfashionshowberlin.com

06 thE gallEry düssEldOrF

dates: 28 to 31 July 2012Organiser: Igedo Company GmbH & Co. KGsegment: Designer, avantgarde and accessories collectionsWhat's new: Follow-up event by CPD signatures in Düsseldorf www.igedo.com,www.the-gallery-duesseldorf.de 07 prEMiuM ExhiBitiOns

dates: 4 to 6 July 2012Organiser: Premium Exhibitions GmbHsegment: international premium brands, designer, womenswear and menswear brands. Accessories, shoes What's new: Shoes and accessories were separated according to space, the focus on international exhibitors is even bigger, e.g. Korean designers, young designers from Istanbul, as well as Austrian fashion. www.premiumexhibitions.com

08 sEEk

dates: 4 to 6 July 2012Organiser: Premium Exhibitions GmbH

segment: International street fashion and menswear brandsWhat's new: Seek has expanded to three floors and about 60 exhibitors in total. There is also a new pop up store with product design by www.slowdownjoe.comwww.seekexhibitions.com

09 shOW & OrdEr

dates: 3 to 6 July 2012Organiser: Show & Order GmbHsegment: High-end fashionWhat's new: Many labels were never displayed in Germany before, more than 160 international labels are taking part in the summer.www.showandorder.de

10 gds/glOBal shOEs

dates: 5 to 7 September 2012Organiser: Messe Düsseldorf GmbHsegment: Shoes, accessories What's new: A trendy focus-point is sustainability, the Design Attack area is transformed into the port city Aqua Marina. www.gds-online.com,www.globalshoes-online.com

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chic YOunG bLOODchanGE OF ScEnErY

the fair chic Young blood in beijing is moving: the second event

is organised from 26 to 28 October in the cool, arty and hip quarter

Dashanzi, the so-called 798 art zone – 751 D.Park. at the same

time, just around the corner the second Mercedes benz china

Fashion Week will be taking place. about 100 lifestyle brands and

young designers from the casual, denim, streetwear, active and

sportswear segments are expected at the upcoming chic Young

blood. the new location is a former industrial area built in the

'50s, in a style inspired by bauhaus, which today houses galleries.

a special stand design appropriate to this look was developed for

the exhibitors, which takes on the look of the industrial building.

Side events will be held, such as a big opening party and the buyer

culture & trends Salon, which is reserved for buyers. Part of the

chic Young blood concept is opening the event up to consumers.

Chic Young Blood: 26 to 28 October 2012, Chic Beijing: 26 to 29 March 2013, www.chicyoungblood.com

inteRnationaL

01 gallEry COpEnhagEn

dates: 9 to 11 August 2012Organiser: Gallery Int. Fashion Fair Cphsegment: Contemporary womenswear, menswear, designers, accessories What's new: Increased number of exhibitors with about 330 brands, cooperation with The Shanghai Fashion Week and Fashion Shanghai www.gallery.dk

02 JaCkEt rEquirEd lOndOn

dates: 13 to 14 July 2012Organiser: Jacket Requiredsegment: Contemporary menswearWhat's new: Exhibitors such as Levi’s Made & Crafted, Levi’s Vintage Clothing, Our Legacy, Sawa and Esemplare have now joined us. www.jacket-required.com

03 stitCh MEnsWEar lOndOn

dates: 15 to 16 July 2012Organiser: Stitch Menswear, Brian Duffy, Business Design Centresegment: Menswear, urbanwear, streetwear, accessoriesWhat's new: Switch streetwear area www.stitchmenswear.com

04 Cph visiOn, tErMinal 2 COpEnhagEn

dates: 9 to 11 August 2012 Organiser: Exhibition Professionalssegment: International menswear and womenswear, accessories and shoes, denim, sportswear, streetwear, designers What's new: Amalgamation of CPH Vision and Terminal 2 into a vision on what was Terminal 2's spacewww.cphvision.dk

05 WhO’s nExt prêt à pOrtEr paris

dates: 30 June to 3 July 2012 Organiser: WSN Developpementsegment: Menswear and womenswear, avantgarde, accessories and shoes, urbanwear, designers What's new: After the merger in January, the organisers modified the concept of the fair again. 300 menswear brands, 800 womenswear brands and about 900 accessory labels are expected. www.whosnext.com

–– 25

SeekBread & Butter

Chic Young Blood

Who's next Prêt à Porter

d oes denim have a problem? Karl-Heinz Müller: Yes, regarding content.

it's no secret that innovations are missing.

there aren't many themes at the moment,

something i also notice in my shop. in my

opinion, there's a certain generation conflict

with classic denim labels. i've always been a

big denim fan but i'm also over 50. We grew

up in jeans and will probably die in them

too. but it's a totally different thing with the

young generation. there isn't an ideological

allegiance with the theme any more.

What kind of reason does today's young consumer have for buying a pair of jeans for 179 euros? that's a very complex issue. today, when

i look at a label like Diesel which has been

managed by the the same owner, renzo

rosso, for years, then i don't see any break in

the flow. the biggest challenge is reaching

the next generation.

the principal argument is always that there

are a lot of labels besides h&M and Zara, such

as cheap Monday, that make a really cool

product relatively cheaply, well under 100

euros. nowadays, nobody's bothered if you

wear a cheap pair of jeans, unlike in the past.

that's the new generation.

"nobody is too big to FaiL"For the first time in the history of the Bread & Butter Karl-Heinz Müller is on the defensive. Because the Denim Base, of all things, the core segment of the fair, has had to take some painful rejections. Levi’s, Bench, Replay, Diesel and Miss Sixty. Is this simply a reflection of the market or is Berlin no longer sexy enough?intervieWStephan Huber

textIsabel Faiss

photoBread & Butter

With just a few exceptions, jeans specialists

don't have a particularly strong collection.

the ones that are doing well today haven't

just built up their business purely on jeans,

they also offer complete collections. Pepe

Jeans for example, or G-Star and hilfiger

Denim. they are well placed even if denim

is in decline because of the chino trend. but

sales can be compensated.

is that going to be a problem for the denim Base and the Bread & Butter as a whole?no. Even if it's painful, of course, when long-

term partners don't take part. a trade fair is

always a reflection of the market, how could

it be any different. anyway, we have always

placed large strong brands such as adidas,

converse, Superdry or Scotch & Soda in the

Denim hall to complete the denim range.

Our buyers have always received this mix

very well because it is offered in the shops

like this too. We still have problems with

space in the Superior hall. the demand

for square metres there is always greater

than the space available. Which is why, for

example, we've placed Marc O'Polo in the

Denim hall directly next to the Superior

hall. Strellson is also in the Denim hall,

26 ––

WWW––––––––––

www.breadandbutter.com

bRead & butteR –– What's the story

perhaps we should call this hall the Main hall

in future. this new mix of halls is ultimately a

natural development.

the denim market has always been in flux.

When i started my first sales rep job at Levi

Strauss in 1982, it was damn hard selling

jeans. there was a strong italian high Fashion

wave at the time and fashionable slacks

made of linen and poplin were in vogue. the

great denim boom started in the mid '80s

up to the mid '90s, triggered by Levi's back

to the roots campaign. Labels like Diesel,

replay and blue System came on strong.

When i opened my 14 oz store in cologne in

1999, denim was experiencing a downturn. at

the same time, i'd taken up the denim cause.

it was only around 2002, 2003 that the great

boom with so-called L.a. brands came back.

Women discovered denim. now coloured

chinos have been the major themes for

three or four seasons and denim is naturally

suffering because of this.

do you see a conceptual challenge coming to the Bread & Butter?the bread & butter isn't a pure space renter. We

face content-related challenges all the time,

even today. a few years ago, we created L.O.c.K.

there, we provided a concentrated focus on

authentic labels with tradition and heritage, we

really got something going with this.

today, our response is called "berlin -

temple of Denim". i'm absolutely convinced

that we are standing on the verge of a new

denim wave. if only because consumers

have basically been abstaining from denim

for a number of seasons now. Our temple

of Denim is docked right next to the

Denim base and will show the innovative

power that really exists in denim. at the

same time, we also have the environment

theme: With the Laboratorio from trc

candiani in cooperation with tonello, we

are showing how water-saving washes work

today - through the use of ozone and laser

technologies. at his booth, the turkish

premium denim-weaver Orta anadolu will

be showing what opportunities exist for the

use of organic cotton today. Scott Morrison

will be building his 3x1 store, just like the ones

in Soho and new York, and will be making

customised denim in his sewing room.

besides this, several denim labels whose

strengths lie in the women's denim sector,

such as Seven for all Mankind, aG adriano

Goldschmied, Denham the Jeanmaker and

closed will be exhibiting there. Many small

innovative denim labels will also be showing

their latest collections.

are there discussions about prices? Or at least people are moaning about costs behind closed doors.an appropriate tradeshow presentation

naturally requires a corresponding budget.

When times are bad, this expenditure is

obviously questioned. the bread & butter is the

most cosmopolitan and major fair platform of

its kind in Europe, if not worldwide. activating

such a large number of professional visitors, as

we do every season, can't be done using any

other marketing measures. So, it is well worth

brands having the appropriate arena for their

relevance to the market.

Many people look at this arms race critically.Of course, you have to look at this very

differently. if a beautiful woman has a

double-D bosom, of course she needs a

double-D bra, she can't just squeeze herself

into an a cup. the bread & butter, as i have

already mentioned, isn't a national event, it's a

leading international trade fair. accordingly,

major labels represented on an international

scale such as G-Star, adidas, hilfiger Denim

and Scotch & Soda receive their visitors

(numbers lie between 6,000 and 10,000

people) in an suitable arena. that has nothing

to do with an arms race, just with necessity.

however, if the size of the booths don't match the market relevance, it's certainly a pure arms race which doesn't make any sense from the point of view of content and isn't advantageous.

there are, of course, also labels that we try

to recommend a smaller stand to, more in

fitting with their market relevance. but,

sometimes out of a false sense of pride

this isn't accepted. the leaders of the label

would prefer not to take part rather than

reduce the size of their booth.

What do you think of the Berlin location in the medium term?You certainly can't find fault with the town.

there are always those who ask: "What's next,

blondie?" though most people are happy

that the bread & butter is taking place in

berlin. they're asking about the next city

because fashion always needs a new thrill.

and? do you care?not particularly. but, there are some people

who have kept on whispering things into my

ear over the last few years making demands.

admittedly, berlin has lost a bit of sexiness

because everybody's jostling about here

now. Even the igedo is there now, even if it's

just a tiny event.

how intense is the competition in Berlin?We have always had something of a

"borderline" between the Premium and the

bread & butter. but we don't work against

one another though. We have a peaceful

co-existence. the Show & Order is just

expanding their area. they're doing that

well. in the end, competition is good for

everybody. in a nutshell, you must never be

arrogant. Every organiser has to keep making

an effort with exhibitors, accommodating

their wishes and cooperating effectively.

nobody is too big to fail. x

–– 27

"As a brand, you should be able to show the retailer that ultimately it's important for the whole market. From the retailer side, I only ever hear that it's been badly received when important labels are conspicuous by their absence. The retail market is finally happy to have a platform that is as complete as possible. A trade show means wanting to compete with competitors."

28 ––

mass appRoaCh to Fashion –– What's the story

E xceptional circumstances in roppenheim:

at the end of april, in the small town in

alsace, which currently has 928 residents,

everything was focused on the opening of a

new fashion outlet centre. a reflection on the

fashion market? because, there too, everything

seems to centre around professional utilisation

of residual stock– the customers love it, the

result is a place with constant bargains. Outlets

in the city and in the countryside, shopping

clubs, coupon portals and discount stores

– the selection of distribution channels for

discounted fashion has grown. then, mass

retailers like amazon and Ebay are also getting

on board the supposedly lucrative fashion

business. Does this mean that the multi-brand

store is falling by the wayside?

''i don't see amazon and Ebay as a particular

problem for retailers – for me, it's simply

used too often as an easy excuse,'' says Mark

Petereit of Snipes. ''Declining prices and a

lack of quality distribution are definitely bad

for products' quality-rating because the end

consumer's view is contorted by the price.

Which, in turn, has a negative effect on the

retailers. in which case they are chasing

their own tails, because most retailers use

Ebay and amazon as a platform and so are

contributing themselves to the fact that

their customers don't visit their store any

more.'' in his opinion, multi-brand retailers

have a special responsibility: ''Mass selling

is a natural form of competition both on

and offline, because of certain overlaps in

product ranges. however, it's our duty to

motivate our defined target customers to

buy from us using attractive offers.

the increase in goods on the market,

especially among mail-order companies,

is an issue for a lot of retailers. ''clearly,

more competition means more and more

merchandise density, which is, of course,

tangible in the market,''says Philipp Gramse

of frontlineshop. ''but that is a development

we have already been observing for some

years. What's important is that we actively

discuss this situation with suppliers: how can

we reduce merchandise density, and avoid

a situation where all retailers have the same

product. the result would otherwise be that,

at some stage, we could only sell things based

on their prices. and that is neither in our

interest, nor in the interest of the supplier.“

(Price) information that is available all the time

often puts individual retailers at a disadvantage,

those who miss out on bargain sales figures – and

so lose customers. ''a lot of my customers are no

longer as open to new products,'' says bardia

beigui from Supreme agency. ''customers don't

order because they are simply interested in

making savings. competitors like Dressforless,

brands4Friends, vente-privee.com, Groupon

or tK Maxx are eating away at sales figures. at

the moment, smaller customers are not really

reordering, ultimately, it's not happening.''

rEsidual stOCk utilisatiOn FOr all retailers must also think about how they

market their leftover goods, without

damaging their image. For example, Snipes

has its own physical outlets in Frechen and

bonn, or sells goods on its own website. ''You

can organise a clearance sale very discreetly

or make it very eye-catching,'' says Petereit.

''We no longer want to display prices that are

reduced by more than 50% in store, there,

the outlet is a good way of selling them off

cleanly.'' Zalando has created an inner-

city branch for itself with its outlet store in

weLCome to the mass appRoaCh to Fashion While medium-sized retailers fight for spaces in city centres, residual stock utilisers like shopping clubs, factory outlet centres or surplus dealers are achieving high growth rates. The mass approach to fashion on a large scale is putting retailers under pressure. textIna Köhler

photosRetailers

illustrationAndreas Klammt

berlin-Köpenick. this is definitely necessary

because the rate of returns is estimated by

industry experts to be up to 70 per cent.

in the high-end segment too, private outlets

are a way of keeping showcase stores free of

eye-catching reductions, for example in the

case of Jades in Düsseldorf. ''thanks to our

outlets, we have a good way of selling off stock

from the second season. this works very well

in Düsseldorf and berlin because we would

theoretically be doing ourselves a disservice

if we weren't careful,'' says tanja Lehnertz,

marketing manager at the agency unifa.

however, rather than turning to residual

stock utilisation, a lot of retailers focus first

on other priorities. For frontlineshop a major

priority is to avoid leftovers: ''in the past,

we invested a lot of time into management

of the product life cycle, in order to avoid

leftover stock and high reductions as much

as possible,'' says Phillip Gramse. ''We want

to achieve the highest possible sales ratio.''

For more than a year, Frontline has also

been working together with Ebay and, as

a strategic partner, has its own premium

outlet on the portal. ''if the product can and

should no longer be marketed on our site,

then it's a good option, simply because Ebay

has positioned itself as a fashion retailer.

We have had good experiences with this

arrangement,'' says Gramse.

Surplus dealers act as the last link in the chain

of those who sell-off leftover stock, whereby

they are seen as controversial. ''basically, you

have to have a real stock problem to sell to

surplus dealers,'' says Mark Petereit of Snipes.

''as a brand i understand it, but as a retailer it

can't be seen in the margins. here, you can

better pass on the advantages to your own

customers,'' he argues.

the best solution would probably be less

stock on the market, with retailers ordering

–– 29

Fashion sales as mass-produced articles: Over-supply puts pressure on prices and teaches consumers to become bargain hunters.

30 ––

less. however, the considerable pressure

coming from brands to order goes against

this. Mark Petereit sees a good share of the

problem as being on the side of the supplier:

how many products can the market swallow

up without there being too much supply?

basically, the brands have to do their job

and keep desirability high, even in the case

of a commercial product.'' For him, a good

example is the converse chuck taylor in

black – basically a mass product, because it

exists in lots of channels in high numbers.

''Still, 2012 was a record year in terms of

turnover for converse,'' says Petereit. there

are products for which it doesn't matter if

there are 500 or 500,000 on the market.''

FaCtOry OutlEts and shOpping CluBs arE grOWingthe expansion of lots of brands with their own

shops in the inner cities is creating further

merchandise density. this surplus stock goes,

when the season is over, to several factory

outlet centres. in the meantime, these act

as both ''clean'' and profitable channels and

are springing up in the countryside – from

successful roermond, to Wertheim and

ingolstadt, Metzingen and Maasmechelen,

berlin-Wustermark and Zweibrücken, or

roppenheim in alsace. the Spanish retailer,

neinver's, factory outlet centre offers 107

stores on almost 30,000 square metres,

from adidas, to Guess and Quiksilver. at the

same time, the Spaniards are also running

the Style Outlet in Zweibrücken, one of the

oldest factory outlet centres in Germany

– 3.3 million visitors in 2011 and massive

extensions to the retail space are indications

of a successful model.

Shopping clubs with permanently growing

sales figures are also a sign that there are

more than enough goods on the market. the

French online shopping club vente-privee.

com is one of the most successful, and made

more than a billion euros last year. in 2010,

amazon bought buyVip, Ebay bought the

berlin company brands4Friends. the Otto

Group operates its own shopping club,

Limango, and the list could go on indefinitely.

FEEling gOOd in thE rush FOr Bargains the unwanted side effect: customers become

completely conditioned to discounts and that's

in the truest sense of the word. the scientists

Willy Schneider and alexander hennig backed

up the theory that customers can't defend

themselves against their basic instincts. this

is what they describe in their book ''to the

checkout, bargain!'', discounts activate the

gratification centre of the brain. ''Only 30

per cent of our purchase decisions are well

thought out, 70 per cent are spontaneous,''

says hennig, who teaches as a business studies

professor at the cooperative State university

(DhbW) of Mannheim. the chain store tK

Maxx uses this effect to its advantage. it has

developed its inner-city network of branches

massively and is opening the 56th branch

in Saarbrücken in May. according to the

company, tK Maxx promotes ''spontaneous

buying'', and advertises in its branches using

big brands that are reduced by at least 60

per cent. the uS group behind tK Maxx,

tJX companies inc. is the biggest off-price

company in the world and, in 2011, it had an

annual turnover of 23.2 billion uS dollars.

So, fat chance that the mass approach to

fashion will disappear from billboards again

in the foreseeable future. x

TK Maxx is only one of many bargain markets, in which branded goods are sold at reduced prices. Image: TK Maxx

01 ''Buying behaviour has changed enormously. Yet, there are consumers who prefer individual concepts and brand portfolios and personal contact with the seller or unique design, to widely mass-produced concepts. The retailer's task is to fill these commercial niches, or create ones that are completely their own.'' Mark Petereit, Snipes

02 ''Clearly, more competition means more and more merchandise density, which is, of course, tangible on the market.“ Philipp Gramse, Frontlineshop

03 ''Thanks to our outlets, we have a good way of selling off stock from the second season. This works very well in Düsseldorf and Berlin.'' Tanja Lehnertz, Unifa Düsseldorf

03

02

01

What's the story –– mass appRoaCh to Fashion

W hat does ebay expect from involvement in the fashion market? is it about image or sales figures?

Leonie Bechtoldt: the category of fashion,

accessories and shoes is one of our strongest

categories by far. When it comes to our

public perception, we have undergone

huge change. First, we began with second

hand products, then, we became more

grown up and we positioned ourselves as

''retail-like''. at the beginning of 2011, the

Ebay fashion outlet featuring brand shops

was introduced. these sell surplus goods,

second season products and articles from

overproduction with discounts of up to 70%.

in order to make this more palatable for the

end consumer and the fashion media, we

have been creating Lookbooks since 2011.

today, these show a mix of new stock and

vintage products. We produced the current

Lookbook and the ''My Mix'' online campaign

in cooperation with international bloggers

like the italian Eleonora carisi and the new

Yorker, anda & Masha. We want to stir up

curiosity within our target group, inspire

them, and show that Ebay has more to offer

than second hand goods. the mix does it!

how high is the proportion of fashion on Ebay? and how high is the share of new stock in comparison to second hand stock? 64 per cent of stock turnover are items with

set prices. commercial retailers' product

ranges today make up 59 per cent of all items

sold on ebay.de. in the fashion category, we

have 7.67 million different users per month.

do you want to increase the share of new stock in the long-term? it's growing but we want to have a healthy

mix . We are a platform, on which buyers

and sellers meet. Vintage stock is therefore

still important and individualism is a uSP for

Ebay. Where else can you buy goods, new and

second hand, for a fixed price, or at auction,

and then dress yourself accordingly? the

Ebay fashion customer can style himself/

herself creatively

Ebay works with a lot of brand stores, such as Eastpak, runners point, Buffalo, görtz, Brands4Friends or Frontlineshop. how does cooperation with these retailers work? do they pay a fee to Ebay? Yes, but here it's important that we have

continued to develop in the meantime, and

move away from the classic outlet way of

thinking. at the moment, the sector is called

Fashion Shop because the brands can display

unreduced items and current products

beside outlet products. in the classic fashion

category, buyers also have the option of having

individual product ranges made up for them.

Ebay had a test run in london with a physical pop up shop, where you could scan items by qr code, buy them, and have them sent to your home. is a physical

store concept like this conceivable in this country too? We are still thinking it over. Mobile buying

is a huge issue, for both buying and selling.

We can imagine it happening in Germany,

however not only in the capital berlin, but

in several cities. We see mobile commerce

as an important trend. there are lots of

possibilities and it is an exciting type of

buying and selling with huge potential. Just

as an example: Every five minutes a pair of

women's shoes is bought on the German Ebay

market place by means of a mobile app. x

What's the story –– mass appRoaCh to Fashion

32 ––

''moRe than seCond hand'' Ebay appeared at the last Fashion Week in Berlin with a relax lounge, and brought out an online fashion campaign with famous international bloggers. What does ebay expect from involvement in the fashion market? The online supplier is working on a change of image.textIna Köhler

photosebay.com

FaCts

The trading platform Ebay has existed in Germany since 1999. In 2011, the listed company had a turnover of 11.7 billion dollars and so made a profit of 3.2 billion dollars. In the first quarter of 2012, they achieved an increase in turnover of 29 per cent to 3.28 billion US dollars. Alongside the payment service provider Paypal, the firm also owns various different suppliers like e.g. mobile.de, or the shopping club Brands4Friends.

''We are a platform, on which buyers and sellers meet.'' Leonie Bechtoldt, ebay

01 Style-conscious: Ebay is focusing on the co-existence of vintage and new stock.02 Leonie Bechtoldt works as Ebay's press officer for the fashion image of the platform.

02

01

THE ROCKBREAD & BUTTER

04 – 06 July 2012AIRPORT BERLIN-TEMPELHOF

www.breadandbutter.com

phot

o by

ingo

robi

n

BBB-THE ROCK_SiP_220x300.indd 1 21.05.12 15:19

g etting rid of residual stock online, by

means of closed shopping clubs, was

an ingenious coup. but then something

happened that no one had read in the

elaborate strategy descriptions of the

club operators: despite radical discount

campaigns, piles of goods remained unsold.

the shopping club giant, Limango, was one

of the first to solve this problem using the

classic offline residual stock sale. back to

the good old warehouse sale with a bargain

counter feel. and suddenly branded stock

had arrived back where no one wanted to

see it any more, in retail.

Ever more wholesalers are therefore starting

to take the issue into their own hands and

establish their own residual stock platforms

online. the most famous example is Otto,

the biggest mail-order company in Europe,

which sells surpluses, residual stock and

returns on its website, corso. Sales are made

exclusively to wholesalers. the b2b trading

platform, zitra.com, presents a similar

platform, in which tengelmann Ventures, a

subsidiary of the tengelmann Group, holds

a 45 per cent stake. according to its own

data, Zitra concluded the first round of

financing five months after its launch, with a

figure in the mid-seven digit euro range (as

of December 2011). therefore, the success

bears out the model. however, one sentence

in the General terms and conditions is

perplexing: ''Zitra, as a matter of principle,

does not check if the offers appointed, by

the sellers, and other content, such as data

provided by sellers are legitimate, truthful

and complete.'' Similar wording for all

retailers. Which poses the question whether

the model of the world wide clicking away

of surpluses could have other side effects,

apart from the boomerang risk, which are

not apparent on the screen.

Mr. Engel, residual stock utilisation on the internet holds a certain risk because you have little control over where goods land and how they are treated. are there any control mechanisms, or do you leave it to the market to regulate itself?

woRLd wide awayThe unpopular grey area, in which residual stock utilisation happily dodges clear strategies, is being outsourced more and more. Solving problems with a click of the mouse. Less work, but also less control. Who clicks on your products how, and which model is more profitable than others?textIsabel Faiss

illustrationFrieder Schneider

photoZitra

34 ––

Click and away. The internet provides plenty of ways to solve the headache issue of residual stock utilisation. ''we aRe

pRobLem-soLveRs''

In July 2011, Frank Engel founded the B2B platform, Zitra, together with Phillip Kraft. In just one year, it has become the biggest free, online market place which focuses on providing goods from fashion, lifestyle and electronics to online traders, stores and outlets. His company has been taken over by gold rush fever.

Frank Engel: that's right, marketing aimed

at wholesale buyers is attractive for fashion

brands, but it holds the risk of running into a

few black sheep. in addition, it's a laborious

business with difficult trading partners. Zitra

solves this problem because sellers don't just

get access to thousands of tested buyers but

they can also refuse to carry out a transaction

with a buyer. So, the seller has the last word.

controlling the resale of goods and end

customer prices on the basis of guidelines

is unfortunately possible neither for sellers,

nor for us. the only thing that helps here is

systematic selection of buyers.

But how do you argue against sellers' concrete risks and fears in practice?Often, there is no one who is given the

permanent responsibility of looking after

residual stock marketing and there is often

no process for its marketing either. this

means that it's often unpopular.

For this reason, we don't want to create more

work, rather a simple and effective solution

by means of standardised processes for

sellers, so that we take work off their hands.

how do you see yourselves in comparison to platforms like Brands4Friends?Our business is clearly different to that of

brands4Friends. We work purely in the b2b

field, and we aren't wholesale buyers, but

rather problem-solvers. What we do have

in common, is the marketing of goods that

is compatible with the brands in question.

this is definitely a unique feature in the b2b

sector. Where otherwise you only find lists

and prices, in the b2b field, we also present

residual stock in a brand-compatible way

and in a high-quality environment, because

after all the stock is not 'bad'.

What role does trust play in your business?a very big one because the residual stock

market would otherwise be labelled as a grey

market. there are many dubious business

partners at work here. So, we don't just

check our buyers, but also every seller who

joins the platform. We ensure e.g. a buyer

guarantee of over 10,000 euros. We couldn't

do this if we weren't sure of receiving original

stock with provable histories at guaranteed

delivery times.

how has the handling of excess stock and surpluses changed as a result of the internet?a lot, because an offer is now potentially

available all over the world and can be

immediately presented to several thousand

buyers at home and abroad by newsletter.

We go one step further and identify the

demand in the market in order to be able to

buy and sell according to our targets.

do you see big growth potential for your business model?Yes, the German market alone is gigantic. We

value the market here at an annual volume of

more than seven billion euros, in segments

relevant to us. For Europe as a whole, you

can multiply this figure many times over.

if you take ecommerce growth alone and

the development of returned goods as a

benchmark, this market will also increase

significantly in coming years.

We were awarded the ''red herring Europe

award'' for our ''Disruptive business Model''

and fast growth.

are there special services for fashion customers?Yes, we work with experts from the industry.

We have specialised staff for every category,

who know what they are talking about and

can speak with buyers and sellers from

fashion on their level. in addition, we also

offer credit control and can take over the

whole sales process.

Excess stock utilisation is an unpopular subject. how do you advertise your platform?Of course, it is of great concern to us that

we inform the heads of fashion companies

about this subject, which is unfortunately

often neglected. the subject usually only

becomes interesting if it becomes a burning

issue. in other words, if things aren't going

well, then they realise what dead capital is

lying in storage. however, if they managed

to create early processes for selling off

slow-movers and leftovers, then a well-run

company has an additional sales channel and

enough liquidity. x

''We value the market here at an annual volume of more than seven billion euros. For Europe as a whole you can multiply this figure many times over.'' Frank Engel, Zitra GmbH

–– 35

www––––––––––

www.zitra.com

Frank Engel is the founder of the online market platform Zitra.

mass appRoaCh to Fashion –– What's the story

36 ––

Mobility and modernity – with really innovative products, the industry could capture the hearts and minds of consumers. Photo: Commuter Jeans by Levi‘s.

CommuniCate –– What's the story

CommuniCate! For decades, jeans have been the epitome of youth culture and rebellion, inextricably liked with the music, film and entertainment industries, an innovative force. However, recently it's become incredibly quiet. Does the industry have nothing more to say? textIna Köhler

photosLabels

t he end of april 2012, in London:

Managing director Lee Kun-hee presents

the new Samsung Smartphone Galaxy S3. the

staging resembles a rock event – and makes it

onto the news at prime time. the procedure

is copied from apple head Steve Jobs, who

regularly presented his product innovations

like a new world religion. With success – their

fan base today neither buys the cheapest, nor

the most technologically advanced device,

rather the promise of a nicer and better life

with an iPod, iPhone or iPad. the purchase is

an emotional decision, nothing to do with

reason. as a fashion brand, we can learn a lot

from this. however, what staging of fashion

can still manage to capture the hearts and

minds of consumers? it ought to have been

easy to take on themes. this was not the case

– the era when tV advertisement spots were

dominated by jeans brands, music charts

and clearance sales is over.

thE Era OF Cult prOduCts- OvEr? clothes and accessories are the most

emotional products there are. by means

of what we wear directly on our bodies, we

non-verbally communicate our preferences,

values and attitude to life. but what the 501

was in the past, the smartphone or the bike

is now: powerful competitors for the sector.

as a result, the product has developed an

incredible amount: Jeans from 1992 and

2012 are worlds apart. new possibilities for

washes and adaptations, innovative materials

and new cut and colour techniques have

improved the product enormously and,

more than anything, have individualised it.

then there's eco-balance – beginning with

water consumption, all the way to toxin-free

colouring methods. however, hardly anyone

dares to come out of the woodwork and

speak about it definitively.

at the Munich Fabric Start in February 2012

alone, about 500 organic materials were

displayed. how much of this resonates

consciously with the consumer, not to

mention appearing on the news? the car

industry's three-litre car hung around in the

headlines for years, although there were only

a few models. three-litre jeans with an ozone

wash are made by numerous manufacturers –

but hardly any consumers know about them.

–– 37

03 ''We invest a huge amount in these Laser Wash events, to show not only the buyers, but particularly the sellers, how the product works. Because they, in turn, must pass this on to the customers.“ Thomas Wirth, Replay

04 ''The G-Star design philosophy is moving beyond jeans, that is, to denim art objects.'' Shubankar Ray, G-Star

05 ''Shoes pose a particular challenge in terms of product design. Yet, the industry continues to surprise us with its creativity.'' Kirstin Deutelmoser, GDS & Global Shoes

01 Protoypes that lead to new products: G-Star experiments with denim objects. 02 Unusual design stirs up emotions - even shoe designers take more risks than many clothing companies. Design: Julian Hakes

05

02

01

04

03

38 ––

WhO is Filling thE agEnda? however, if you look more closely, then you

discover a whole host of exciting themes. in

spring, relay presented its new laser blast

collection, first in Milan and then the rest

of Europe. the laser technology, originally

pushed by Francois Girbaud using the phrase

watt wash, is, in fact, not brand new but is

finding its way into product ranges in a big

way, like at replay: ''From our point of view,

the technical craftsmanship and its result,

which radiates passion, is amazing thanks to

this technology, which i like to characterise as

gentle, in that it is environmentally-friendly,''

says Matteo Singaglia, cEO of Fashion box.

in Germany, we presented the technology

to retailers in a road show. ''We invest a great

amount in these events, to show not only

the buyers, but particularly the sellers, how

the product works. because they, in turn,

must pass this on to the customers.“ says the

managing director in Germany, thomas

Wirth. in addition, there are events in retail

that present the laser technology to end

consumers using a machine on site.

Pepe is scoring with a similar topic: the tru-

blu collection doesn't use any chemicals

in the washing process and reduces water

consumption with its ozone wash. however,

uwe boser, managing director in Germany,

acknowledges after their initial experiences:

''First and foremost, the visual appearance of

the wash must be right, only then will people

be interested in how it's made.''

Sustainability is one core issue, mobility

another: Levi's have developed so-called

commuter jeans with functional features

for urban bikers, which still look like proper

jeans. ''the idea came from our designers

in San Francisco, where a lot of people use

bikes,'' says christian Meister of Levi's public

relations department. Since april, the

product has been in a handful of Levi's stores

and at the specialist retailer Stilrad, the

second collection will follow in July. it went

down well when it was publicised: ''right

away, we had an above average response

from the media. it reflects the general need

for mobility in society,'' says Meister. a small

idea with big results – perhaps because it is

coupled with one of the classic innovative

issues: Mobility.

is FashiOn a prOduCt WhiCh has BEEn ExhaustEd? Some brands are moving beyond the

fashion horizon, brands which offer

crossover products, such as G-Star with its

furniture collection Prouvé raw Furniture,

created in cooperation with the furniture

manufacturer Vitra. G-Star's Global brand

director Shubankar ray says: ''Within these

projects, our functional design aesthetic

meets product development. this leads

to unexpected associations and unique

products. these – like the G-Star collection

– are based on industry classics and modern

design, beyond trends and fast fashion.''

alongside furniture, G-Star also cooperates

with manufacturers like Land rover and

cannondale. Feedback to fashion is

desirable. ''the G-Star design philosophy

goes beyond jeans, into objects of denim

art. So, the Skeleton Dogs are part of a

01 Successful living in the truest sense of the word: Diesel now also stands for living environments. 02-03 Laser technology is inspiring a host of companies like Replay (below) or Pepe (above) to new collections – but it's important to also communicate this to the consumer.

01 02

03

series of denim objects, which convey our

search for new ergonomic shapes in denim

and design,'' says ray. Originating from

this experiment, we are now implementing

product lines like arc Jeans.

Diesel, too, has made a name for itself with

other products beyond fashion and, in its

home collection Successful Living from

Diesel, it displays lights, furniture and kitchens

that have been developed in cooperation

with manufacturers like Foscarini, Moroso

and Scavolini.

if you extend your search for new products

to footwear, you come up against new

obstacles: it's even more difficult to bring in

real innovations into footwear, because the

limited shape of the shoe leaves little room

for manoeuvre. ''Shoes present a particular

challenge,'' says Kirstin Deutelmoser, Director

of GDS & Global Shoes. ''all shoe models must

offer a minimum functionality to be at all

wearable. Despite this, the industry continues

to surprise us with its creativity. an example

of excellent design is, for example, the Mojito

by architect Julian hakes.

a quEstiOn OF COMMuniCatiOnJust like the jeans industry, the shoe industry

is fighting an image, which is not always the

cleanest, for which it needs new strategies:

''the company Snipe didn't just develop the

first traditionally manufactured shoe that is

up to one hundred per cent compostable, but

also went into distribution in new ways,'' says

Kirstin Deutelmoser. ''retailers could order the

shoe, but would get to see it only on delivery.

recycling, conserving resources, sustainability

– there would be a lot to say, because the

consumer is interested in this area. but what

big company can claim to communicate

transparently, where and under what conditions

it produces? recent years have brought with

them a host of certifications, which have not

made transparency any better. this causes a

fatigue effect among consumers – not only in

the denim industry. Maud von hoff, press officer

at ispo Munich also says: ''We have focused on

sustainability for a long time and we still do.

but , we have to keep communicating about

new themes, otherwise a theme wears out

at a certain stage. in the field of sports, there

are certain companies who have turned over

very good products. however, here too, we

have to be careful about communicating this.

consumers are very sensitive, and if someone

promises something that they can't fulfil, it

comes back at them like a boomerang.“ x

–– 39

W hy has fashion become less of a driver of innovation than, for example, the mobile

communications or car industry?Joachim Baumgartner: i don't exactly see it that

way. currently, there are lots of innovative

approaches in fashion, you just have to look at a

few examples from recent international shows.

For example, how brilliantly the balenciaga

designer nicolas Ghesquière linked retro and

the future, that is unique. Or how the Japanese

designer tsumori chisato brings folklore,

active sport and nature together, i don't know

of anything like this in the other industries. that

the media doesn't really perceive fashion as a

driver of innovation, can be linked to the fact

that fashion has become more of a consumer

product – also because today everyone can

afford fashion.

in the past, jeans were a symbol of rebellion and innovation. Why have they lost this image?because they are integrated everywhere, in

fashion, culturally, sociologically, stylistically.

as soon as something is everywhere, you can

no longer rebel with it. it also doesn't seem

like jeans will ever reach this status again.

they are too popular for that, even if there are

fluctuations.

What role does sustainability play in trends? is it still important?Of course it's still important. in my opinion,

it is a muted long-term trend and not a flash

in the pan. here, sustainability is, in the

meantime, more of a mind-set than a visual

trend. nowadays, no one wants the stamp

of the environment imposed on them.

Sustainability and fashion are no longer

mutually exclusive. this is portrayed

beautifully by the certified materials that

Munich Fabric Start presents every season.

''cost-effective materials can be integrated

into all collections in principle. they are no

longer inferior to other materials in terms

of colour or refinement. they are just a

little more expensive and obviously more

complicated to handle and price.

how is sustainability implemented in the industry? Can we see progress here?Progress has definitely been made. almost

every company is dealing intensively

with this subject. Just three examples of

innovations:

1. there are new natural viscose fibres made

from leaves.

2. Laser finishing has since been better

developed and is being used more and more.

it is replacing other finishing techniques

that are damaging to the environment.

3. certified printing techniques are now

opening the way for printing in this area.

how is the issue of sustainability discussed with the consumer?this is the crucial point. there has been too

little publicity, perhaps for fear of speaking

badly of jeans from traditional production.

but the end consumer is educated about

the issue and can, in the meantime, inform

himself well on the internet, for example on

the website biokleidung.org. x

''not a smaLL, shoRt FLash in the pan'' Joachim Baumgartner is a trend expert for the fabric trade fair in Munich, Fabric Start. x-ray spoke with him about sustainability, innovations and the role of jeans in the fashion industry. intervieWIna Köhler

photoMunich Fabric Start

CommuniCate –– What's the story

40 ––

„Volkov bojatjsja - v les ne hoditj.“ He who fears thorns,should keep clear of bushes. One of the most common tips you hear from sales managers, who know know the Russian market is always: Play fair. The predicted potential of this market is pretty much balanced out by the high demands and unexpected surprises for foreign companies.

FoReign CountRies, FoReign Customs –– What's the story

FoReign CountRies, FoReign CustomsThe Russian understanding of fashion has high entertainment value, at least the image that is portrayed to the outside world. But it‘s not these clichés that place the country at the centre of the expansion plans of international fashion brands. It‘s the huge potential for growth, the brand awareness of a new middle-class, and the appeal of entering a new market which is once again being praised like before. textIsabel Faiss

photosCPM, ADenim, Dockers, Camper

s uddenly, the image of a scampering hor-

seman appears, he‘s racing up a small hill.

When he reaches the top, he jumps off the

horse. With great conviction he rams the pole

into the ground. a sunset in the background,

fanfare off-stage. ‚‘russia is cowboy country.

First come, first serve. it‘s all about being the

first to plant your flag,‘‘ says Marco Lanowy,

managing director of aDenim, clearly one of

the biggest reasons why the russian market is

still an El Dorado for many European brands.

Miguel Fluxa, cEO and owner of camper

also has good advice for all who are playing

around with the idea of entering this market:

"the sooner, the better.‘‘

Everyone is raving about how the fashion

business there is still pure and original, where

real retailers design product ranges and who-

se highest goal is to offer their customers,

whom they know very well, a service that

meets their needs. With the ambition of sel-

ling their goods at a price. no own brands.

Despite double-digit growth rates in the mail-

order business business in physical stores has

still not been compromised. no marketing

restrictions. brands can and even should be

more than just present. While on the German

market you have to bargain for every square

centimetre of attention and presentation

space, in russia there is still a lot of poten-

tial,‘‘ says project manager at cPM, christian

Kasch. ‚‘the changes in the construction of

exhibition stands is a good symbol for how the

market has changed in recent years. in the

past, it was simply important for brands to be

seen in Moscow. today, things like image and

stand design are much more central. Made

in Germany, is still a mark of quality, despite

this, the brands want to position themselves

on the market in a much more target-group

orientated way then before. So, step by step,

more and more segments are appearing.‘‘

in March, the collection Première Moscow

made a record in their ninth year with 19,100

professional visitors. about 20 per cent of the

whole exhibition area was taken up by Ger-

man companies, a figure which is ever-increa-

sing. 23.4 per cent of the professional visitors

came from the jeans segment alone. after the

considerable slump in 2008 and 2009, russia

recovered faster than expected. and the jolt

also had positive effects, because the market

spread out more evenly into its price seg-

ments. the low and mid-price segment is gro-

wing faster than before the crisis. the market

has become professional. the initial start-up

euphoria of 2002 to 2007, where, according to

the European Fashion and the textile Export

council, market volumes quadrupled is over.

it has shifted down a gear. the initial short-

distance records have now been exchanged

for a long-distance route. it still holds about

143 million potential customers.

Out OF thE COuntrythe study by the Moscow market research

company Market Masters came out at the be-

ginning of 2012 and rearranged the current

image of russian fashion retail: the market

is growing more in the individual provinces

than it is in the two metropolises of Moscow

and St. Petersburg. 53 per cent of fashion

retail came from eleven big cities with only

about one million residents, only 18 per cent

–– 41

01 „You should never be arrogant in Russia, or go into this market overestimating yourself. Rather, you must listen carefully.‘‘ Marco Lanowy, ADenim

02 „Russia is a world of it‘s own, they dance to a different tune there. Lots of things that we can easily do here in Europe are sometimes problematic in Russia.‘‘ Christian Kasch, CPM

03 „The biggest challenge in our industry is to say no. Particularly in Russia, it‘s important to be patient and to wait for the right customers or partners.‘‘ Manilo Massa, Managing Director of Antony Morato

03

02

01

42 ––

came from Moscow and 13 from St. Peters-

burg. Despite this, in talks with marketing ex-

perts, figures of between 200 and 300 doors

are still mentioned, which, per segment, is

realistic for this gigantic country. although

russian retail is growing in the field of multi-

brand stores in particular. ‚‘Multi-brand stores

are much more present in the cities than

they used to be. Particularly thanks to a new

generation of buyers, who travel around a lot

and bring with them many influences from

abroad, the existing structures have changed

quite a bit,‘‘ says christian Kasch. big depart-

ment stores like Moscow‘s holding center or

MoDaMo are seeing more and more compe-

tition from chain stores like Marks & Spencer

or the inditex Group, but also from domestic

chain stores, whose market share is already

over 50 per cent (Esper Group, 2011). ‚‘there

are very cool and original shops on the rus-

sian market. it‘s a new trend to build up your

own store structures, which form your own

corporate identity. We are living in very ex-

citing times at the moment. the retailers are

open to anything that supports them. at the

moment, shop in shop concepts and close co-

operation at PoS are very popular,‘‘ says Marco

Lanowy. When aDenim entered the market

in russia, which happened almost at the same

time as the brand launch, it profited from

its parent group alberto‘s ten years of expe-

rience and the groundwork it had done as a

result of this. "this market is changing rapid-

ly and has also opened up a completely new

jeans market. For brands that are still young,

the jeans segment currently offers them huge

opportunities to establish themselves there.

to date, we have not been far off the goals we

set for ourselves." as a German company, we

have been receiving early praise, especially

when it comes to reliability. So, aDenim‘s

goals are: "We want to be a completely pre-

dictable partner for russian retailers. this

constitutes delivery dependability and the

service of delivering the right product, with

which sales can be made. Our task is to listen

to the market and to define its characteristics.

We are making a product from the market for

the market. therefore, it‘s especially impor-

tant to listen,‘‘ says Marco Lanowy.

status syMBOl Brandit‘s a paradox of sorts that russia is one of the

biggest textile producers in the world, but

at the same time the industry hasn‘t yet ma-

naged to establish domestic brands. Demand

for international brands is too high. ‚‘When

russia opened its borders, brand recognition

increased enormously and was mainly direc-

ted at European brands,‘‘ says tomas Schmidt,

vice president of commercial operations at

Dockers. "the retail structure is characte-

rised by the current generation, which is ac-

tive in purchasing and sales there. that then

translates into a significantly bigger vision

in subsequent generations. that is a situa-

tion in which Germany found itself years ago.

brands are still status symbols, once again

they represent prosperity. therefore, foreign

brands play a very important role,‘‘ he says.

Dockers‘ collection has developed in recent

04 „The number of Russians who have higher than average purchasing power is growing. The percentages of demand for foreign products are increasing accordingly.‘‘ Tomas Schmidt, Dockers

05 „The Russian consumer is greedy for inter-national quality products. They expect goods with the highest possible quality standards. “Miguel Fluxa, CEO Camper

05

04

01

years from trouser specialists into a com-

plete look, and depends more on its own stores

to present the look and feel of the brand.

Dockers also benefits from the fact that its big

brother Levi‘s is already established on the

russian market with 40 stores. ‚‘We are spoiled

by russia because it is a completely different

situation when it comes to competition. in

Germany, you no longer get applauded for

presenting innovative cuts.

in Germany, we also have huge competition

with own brands. in russia, customers speci-

fically seek out foreign brands. Even though

the customers know that they pay more for

them,‘‘ says Schmidt. "the general population

of russia maybe has lower purchasing power

than we are used to, but this top-end which is

spoken about a lot is very big and no longer

focuses on high fashion brands. it is a very im-

portant market for Dockers. all brands that

we see as competition, are either at the star-

ting blocks or are already there."

thE MarkEt dOEs nOt FOrgivE MistakEs“the russian market is a difficult market. in my

opinion, it is not possible to deal with it from

the outside. the most important thing of all

is a partner on site, who knows that you can‘t

make mistakes,‘‘ says christian Kach of cPM,

which helps with the acquisition of profes-

sional partners in the russian market through

its website (information on www.cpm-

moscow.com - trade show/service). Miguel

Fluxa from camper confirms that the huge

potential that is attributed to this market is

defined, more than anything, by how clever-

ly you choose your partners on the ground.

Since 2005, the Spanish shoe specialist has

been represented on the russian market

and mainly relies on its own stores for this.

“in contrast to the European market, we are

only represented in our own stores in russia

and we don‘t work much in cooperation with

retailers. Our initial expectations have barely

changed to date. So, there was no rude awake-

ning or the like. Our goal, as always, is to esta-

blish ourselves as a leading brand in the pre-

mium casual sector. Our brand recognition

has risen continuously and visibility in the

most important shopping streets is also deve-

loping positively.‘‘ at the same time, camper

also had to contend with local tricky issues,

which related particularly to the require-

ments with respect of the products:

What is possibly the most important diffe-

rence to the European market is the tough

winter in russia. this meant for us that we

needed to modify some of our models, so that

they could withstand the difficult conditions

on the ground.‘‘ Manilo Massa is managing di-

rector at the italian menswear label antony

Morato, which defined expansion to russia as

one of the big goals for the near future. “in our

industry, the biggest challenge is to say no.

and not to be tempted come, and to refuse

one day deals that can‘t last for long. Some-

times that means saying yes to a smaller firm

rather than a big reference customer. For us,

on the russian market, more than anything it‘s

about being patient and focusing on the right

customers. as a young firm, we have to set cer-

tain rules for our partners and be able to trust

that they act accordingly. For this, we need

the right partner, not only in russia.‘‘

BEWarE OF OvErEstiMating yOursElFthe question hangs in the room and demands

an answer: the number of russians who are

so wealthy that are they actually looking for a

European image boost in this market, is a

small elite. and this is traditionally devoted to

high fashion brands with eye-catching bran-

ding. So does this market actually have the

expected potential for products in the mid-

price segment? can products exist here that,

like shoes by camper, convey a good deal of

philosophy through muted design language?

"Of course there is the potential. Particularly

in Moscow and St. Petersburg a broad middle-

class with huge buying power has appeared,

in recent years in the course of economic de-

velopment,‘‘ says Miguel Fluxa.

“if price structures develop from very cheap

to very expensive, then all levels of the pop-

ulation for textiles are covered, like in our

market. this is exactly how this market will

develop. however, one challenge is that, in

russia, whole districts don‘t have any need for

regeneration. there, you can‘t go in overest-

imating yourself and thinking you can turn

the market upside down. You need the will to

grow with the country, to listen carefully and

then to define possibilities within this. Other-

wise you will be out as fast as you go in,‘‘ con-

firms Marco Lanowy. x

–– 43

02

01 No bling or showers of rhinestones. For the young generations, foreign brands are status symbols in themselves, so no additio-nal pageantry is needed.02 The trouser specialist Dockers is benefiting from the ground-work already done by its big brother Levi’s.

FoReign CountRies, FoReign Customs –– What's the story

daRLing denim? Denim – once everybody’s darling in the product line, has been suffering a minor crisis for the past few seasons – Chino and Co. were in competition, women especially were unfaithful to the labels. How did the denim trade deal with this? Did it benefit or did it go empty-handed? And when will the next big denim wave arrive? textIna Köhler

photosKaltenbach, Fast Forward, U1 by Wöhrl, Yeans Halle

44 ––

01

the CLassiC jeans shop –– What's the story

thE traditiOnalist norbert Kaltenbach, owner of Jeans

Kaltenbach in Munich, remodelled part of

his shop in spring in order to increase the

percentage of denim. a clear statement

in times when the blue classic isn't exactly

at the forefront. "What we want is to have

an even stronger denim line in the fashion

department in the basement", says the owner

norbert Kaltenbach. "We've increased the

ratio of denim to 65 per cent, from autumn

this will grow further to 70 per cent." he is

relying on greater demand from autumn.

"We've been in the business for many years

and in our experience, right at the point when

denim is generally weak in the market, experts

like us can profit", says norbert Kaltenbach.

that's when competition isn't very high and

customers look for denim products from

specialists. "We also think it's important to

have different lengths in stock - at least two

lengths for men and three different lengths

for women", says Kaltenbach.

"Most customers are looking for jeans with

us, not so much tops", says Kaltenbach. as

a result, losses in the hard winter of 2011/12

weren't so great. the price structure has now

zeroed in and changed slightly: "the 49 euros

price level has disappeared with the men,"

says Kaltenbach. "Men don't pay so much

attention to price when buying, they go up

to about 149 euros. Women are more likely to

look at the price. Price levels between 69 and

99 euros are usually very strong here. More

expensive models really only sell well when

they have something special to offer." With

men, the classic jeans wall plays a key role:

"Particularly in the classic range, which needs

a lot of advice, we still work with it a lot", says

Kaltenbach. by contrast, the walls are broken

up by presentations in the fashion area. the

customers want to serve themselves here

and don't need as much service even though

this is a high priority with the jeans specialist

"We invest a great deal in sales training, our

instructors train every week. On request,

customers can reorder their model and nOS

follows once or twice a week.

Jeans Kaltenbach in Munich was founded in 1953,

the shop's sales area in the Herzogspitalstrasse is

around 800 square metres. In January, the company's

Fashion Men department was extended - with even

more jeans and a greater variety of cuts, washings,

labels and lengths.

thE all-rOundEr the u1, the young progressive department

in the Wöhrl clothing chain has relied on

denim labels since time immemorial. two

years ago, andreas Zimanyi took over the

department as area Manager. "the denim

sector had already declined at that point.

then along came the chino and colour wave

and we adapted the range accordingly. We

took out some of the jeans labels when they

weren't as strong. that did hurt a little bit

but from an economic perspective, it was

certainly the right decision. nevertheless,

denim had an important part to play over the

last two years, it was just smaller." but, like

his colleagues, he also sees development

turning in the other direction again: "chino

–– 45

"When denim is weaker in the market then we as experts can profit from this." Norbert Kaltenbach, Jeans Kaltenbach

and coloured Five-Pockets will still continue

to perform but i think denim will have a lot

of things going for it in the autumn again. We

have greatly strengthened the denim range,

and as well as taking up with new suppliers,

we've also strengthened the classics. We

now have more width in the range as well

as more depth." as part of the decline in

denim, brand awareness has also changed -

it is generally much more pronounced: "it's

more important to boys to be wearing a label

than it is for girls - it's not quite a disinterest,

but their share is just smaller. if the label isn't

so important then other criteria play a role

such as quality, style and price. One of my

assignments was to create a pricing structure

with u1." this started at 49 euros with vertical

labels, the key players positioned at 100

01 Specialists for jeans since 1953: Jeans Kaltenbach keeping the denim faith. 02 Fashion is at the forefront at Fast Forward – Denim is an important part of this.03 U1 by Wöhrl has relied on denim from the start – even when quotas were cut back.

02 03

46 ––

euros up to Diesel with a price level up to

249 euros. in-between, labels such as Ltb or

Mavi find a niche.

There are 28 of the young U1 departments in a total

of three sizes: Nuremberg is the largest with 3,500

square metres. Then, the focus houses such as

Würzburg, Berlin, Augsburg and Ingolstadt. Wöhrl

has base houses in medium-sized cities which have a

more commercial set-up. Denim is an important area

with U1, listing such key players as G-Star or Pepe.

thE FashiOnaBlE For Fast Forward, the trading company based

in berlin, working with jeans labels has been

at the forefront for a long time, even when

the range's blue quota was only around 30

to 40 per cent. the rest revolves around

fashionable goods and shoes. "We fall over

ourselves to take the fashionable denim

label collections", says District Manager

isabelle Mosig. "in addition, we also work

with short-term programmes." She also

observed that labels were more important

to men last season than they were to women.

"Men are more brand-loyal, women buy

more according to style and are more open

to new trends because of this." nevertheless,

they haven't stopped believing in denim.

"Our customers know what to expect from us

and it's definitely our expertise in all things

denim." the interior decoration emphasises

this. From the summer, the branch in

berlin's alexa will be supplied with so-called

Denim cubes which will be placed in the

centre of the room and show the depth

of the range. the price range is also rather

moving upwards too - starting at around 100

euros for men and women. the company is

also additionally planning to open the Fast

Forward black concept in the alexa. "What

we've found is that our somewhat older

customers are looking for more high-quality

styles which we want to present in a bit more

of a boutique style", says 'isabelle Mosig. "this

will be a kind of creative playground with

special collections from our suppliers."

Schahied Herbawi founded his Fast Forward company

in 1997 and manages 13 branches in cities such as

Hamburg, Berlin, Potsdam, Leipzig and Dresden

which have an average size of about 300 square

metres. The range focuses on fashionable denim

labels and shoes including such labels as Pepe, Sixty,

G-Star, Diesel, Scotch & Soda and Adidas.

thE ExpErts in South Germany, particularly in baden-

Wurttemberg, the Yeans halle represents

concentrated jeans expertise with a denim

ratio of more than 50 per cent. "Our

credo is that every customer should find a

suitable pair of jeans with us", says thomas

Kuhnhäuser, responsible for purchasing.

but even the Yeans halle felt the heat of

change: "Last year, turnover moved more

in favour of flat woven fabrics, particularly

in womenswear". that also had an impact

on the price ranges as the end consumers

were more price-sensitive, particularly with

non-denim. "nevertheless, this season will

see an upswing in denim again, even with

higher prices. new shapes and washings are

in demand", says Kuhnhäuser. "it pays off that

people see us as specialists. What works in

our favour is when other people are breaking

down whole denim departments." in the

autumn, another 1,800 square metre large

branch focusing on jeans will be opening in

Darmstadt. "We can show just how wide our

expertise is there and this will also include our

great visual denim presence", says Kuhnhäuser.

Service such as alteration facilities or intensive

consultations are perfectly natural for him

here, too and something that underlines the

expertise as a specialist. "this is expensive, but

in the end, it pays off."

There are 14 branches and three outlets in South

Germany under the Yeans Halle name - sizes vary

from 500 to 4,000 square metres of retail space. The

company was founded by Horst Mühlberger and has

been selling jeans since 1977. It's core range include

labels such as Diesel, Replay, G-Star, Hilfiger Denim,

Levi’s or Mustang. x

What's the story –– the CLassiC jeans shop

01 "Denim had an important part to play over the last two years, it was just smaller." Andreas Zimanyi, U1/Wöhrl

02 "Men are more brand-loyal, women buy more according to style and are more open to new trends because of this." Isabelle Mosig, Fast Forward

03 "Our credo is that every customer should find a suitable pair of jeans with us." Thomas Kuhnhäuser, Yeans Halle

The Yeans Halle relies on visible competence and a broad selection of denim.

03

01

VISIT US AT BREAD & BUTTER

WWW.AGJEANS.COM

KOMET UND HELDEN SHOWROOMLODENFREY PARK

HAUS F, EINGANG 21OSTERWALDSTRASSE 10

80805 MÜNCHEN

DISTRIBUTED BY

48 ––

a RetaiLeR as a bRand –– What's the story

my stoRe, my FRiendHow does a retailer become a brand and its store an institution? How does it manage to becomethe number one place to be for a young public? Because it's not only the personality of the owner that counts, but also chemistry with customers.textNicoletta Schaper

photosRetailers

illustrationAndre Sanchez

B ielefeld, bahnhofstraße. a highly-

frequented shopping mile with the

usual, boring chain stores. not exactly the

right place for a hip store with an individual

product range deliberately sought out by its

fans. however, those who are in the know go

through a simple wooden door and turn their

backs on the mainstream. a long corridor

leads to the second Ozone store in bielefeld,

with a young skate product range opened by

andré Lösekann in 2009. ''its location on the

pedestrian mile was ultimately wrong for our

target customers,'' he says. but the wooden

door which gives it the effect of being

hidden away and which we thought up as a

temporary arrangement, hit the spot.''

andré Lösekann is well versed in the business

of young fashion. in 1989, he opened his first

store by the name of brooks, with brands

like Diesel, replay and chevignon and later

carhartt, G-Star and caterpillar. to add to

this, almost ten years later came Ozone with

a range of skater products on 40 square

metres. the shop got about and soon there

was not only an Ozone in bielefeld, but also,

under the management of partners, in five

other cities such as Essen, Dortmund and

rostock. up until 2004, the product range

in the Ozone in bielefeld was more or less

reserved for skaters. then, andré Lösekann

integrated the brooks concept into the

Ozone store and shifted the focus of the

product range onto upper streetwear at a

new location spanning 214 square metres.

not least, in order to open up the store to a

wider audience. this worked out very well

but the store was leaving the young target

group further and further behind. Lösekann

wanted to change this with the new Ozone

for younger shoppers.

thE suB-CulturE is dEad, thE sCEnE livEs On but today the scene is different. this is also

clear to tatjana bruss, who opened her chicas

boardshop in Munich with snowboarding,

surfing and skate brands for girls in 2004, at

a time when there were only skate shops for

boys and a product range like this was a real

rarity. the number of boardsports brands

for girls has increased hugely, at the same

time fashion in general has become less

sporty, and a lot more elegant. this means

stronger competition on the market. ''Most

skate shops are taking women's things out

of their product ranges completely because

it is difficult to keep up with h&M and Zara

nowadays,'' says tatjana bruss. ''Many young

girls buy there because the fashion is fast and

cheap and they maybe only wear the things

three or four times. this has already changed

fashion appreciation.''

yOuth WOrk it's not much easier when it comes to boys.

For high Five skate shop in hanover, their

–– 49

''In the past, the boardsports scene identified itself as a group through their clothing, but the kids don't feel part of the scene any more. I'd like to change that.'' Tatjana Bruss,Owner of Chicas & Chicos Boardshop

WWW––––––––––

www.highfive-skateshop.dewww.chicas-boardshop.de

www.ozone-sports.com

biggest competition is titus. Lots of kids

shop there, the product range is big and

the store, located near the main station, is

easy to get to. those who know what's what

go to hanover Linden to high Five. the

owners Dennis Laaß und Oliver albrecht

are skateboarders in their hearts and souls

and are actively involved in the hanover

skateboarding scene. this makes them role

models and makes their store all the more

authentic, their store which has a product

range including labels like cleptomanicx,

Chicas Boardshop by Tatjana Bruss, for everyone who feels an affinity with boardsports.

50 ––

trap, DVS, Zoo York and Globe. ''a lot of over

18 year-olds come from the surrounding

villages. they travel across half the city to

get here,'' says Dennis Laaß. ''customers

are very-well informed through Facebook

and know almost exactly what they want.

but when it comes to shoes and boards i go

for it, there i like to tell people something

about the background of the brands. i sell

in a way that i know. i want to come across

reasonably.'' For him, this also means being

honest. he prefers to explain to his customer

that he doesn't need ball bearing cream

for his board for a long time yet, instead of

simply selling it to him. ''behind the counter,

i am the one who can give the customer

something,'' says professional skater Laaß. ''i

don't want to sell him any old rubbish, i want

to do it right.'' the prices too are appropriate

to the young target group. trousers cost 80

euros maximum at high Five, there are also

t-shirts for less than 30 euros and shoes

should cost no more than 100 euros. the

atmosphere at high Five is laid-back. the tV

showing skate videos in the lounge is a must

for Dennis Laaß, even if some have said to

him that it's not very beneficial in terms of

sales figures. as well as this, high Five also

allows small skate sessions to take place in

the 85 square metre store. ''the store should

become a platform, a base where people

meet,'' explains the owner. high Five is only

in the early stages of this process, the store

will be three years old in October. but it's

already adding up. ''here, buyers are still

treated as customers, that contributes to our

personality,'' says Laaß. ''We hope that we can

maintain this in the future.''

institutiOnZigZag in Gütersloh has been in business

longer, a store which has not tied itself

down to any one target group. Phillip Pelster

opened in 2001 and ten years later moved

up a few houses on the same street. he is

expanding to 300 square metres with brands

like carhartt, nudie, irie Daily, cheap

Monday, reell, Eleven Paris and boombap.

two months after the move, the new location

is already paying dividends. On the one hand,

as a result of the big car park behind the

building, which makes shopping at ZigZag

easier. On the other hand, thanks to the bus

stop right in front of the door which means

that lots of kids who come from the nearby

school pass the time in ZigZag while waiting

for the bus. ''today, many already know

exactly what they want,'' says Peer blomberg,

who is responsible for buying. For example,

coloured Skinny Jeans and a simple t-shirt

for skaters as we all as for fashion enthusiasts.

''We regularly post new things on Facebook,

the frequency is extremely high. in the

afternoon, kids then come to try things on.''

For Gütersloh, ZigZag is an institution and

that's not only when it comes to brands,

but also the friendly environment which is

important to the operators. ''i don't act like

a salesperson, more like a mate,'' says Peer

blomberg. ''it's important, not to just think

about numbers, but to deal with the young

customers. Even if nothing suits someone,

Ozone in Bielefeld hits the spot for its target group.

i'd prefer to say to him: come back in in two

weeks, then we'll have something new. it gets

around that we're honest.'' the furniture also

remained simple after the move. ''there's

nothing off-the-shelf here, our signature

must remain recognisable,'' says Peer

blomberg. ''We do everything ourselves, if

we didn't, it would seem strange. the people

love us because we're real.'' Peer blomberg

and Phillip Pelster notice this with their loyal

regular customers, who still buy from them

in Gütersloh, even if they have moved to

berlin or hamburg to study. the stock may

also be there, but here they feel like they're

visiting a friend.

part OF thE sCEnEtatjana bruss of chicas boardshop also

focuses on personality. She posts her widely-

acclaimed favourite outfits on Facebook and

she also displays them on her online shop

chicas-boardshop.de. She displays the goods

by wearing them herself, or on staff and

customers, who have expressed an interest

in doing it. ''having a display window on the

internet is important, it does a lot for us,'' she

says. the online competition is big and the

fact that sought-after brands can be bought

on the big online shops makes it even more

difficult for physical core shops. ''You can

get the items everywhere, there is twice as

much stock on the market because suppliers

thought they could double their turnover,''

criticises tatjana bruss. ''but this didn't bring

about any more consumers.'' For her, this

means that she has to focus even more on

service. anyone who shops in her store likes

to forget the time, rummages through the

products and gets recommendations for

new outfits, like a feminine top by Element

with skinny jeans by nikita, which she hangs

together in the changing room. a little like

with a best friend – the customers like this.

On average, they are aged between 20 and

30. in addition, tatjana bruss is no longer just

focusing on one thing and has developed her

product range for boys online and in her shop.

anyone who wants to remain part of the

scene needs a lot of commitment and

talent for event organisation. this begins

with night-time ski tours and goes as far as

snowboarding film premières, for which a

club with a DJ was even hired out. bruss hosts

late night shopping and baltic events in the

store in cooperation with the Munich label

unitedskateboardartists to inspire the young

clientèle. ''in the past, the boardsports scene

was a group that identified itself through

its clothing, but the kids don't feel part of

the scene any more,'' says bruss. ''i'd like

to change that.'' tatjana bruss also neither

can nor wants to win the price war against

cheaper online retailers. She prefers to

donate ten per cent of her turnover to

projects for her regular customers, which

the customers themselves choose, perhaps

a post exam trip or a local youth sports club.

''i do something for my customers, that's the

message and it goes down really well,'' says

tatjana bruss. ''it's important that i develop a

relationship with them.'' Lösekann also finds

it important to be close to customers. ''We

also want to give something back,'' he says.

''however, we don't sponsor the good team

drivers, but those who put their hearts and

souls into it. and young musicians, whose

samples we sell in the store.''

shOp FurniturE is nOt What's iMpOrtantbut what really makes a store the place to

be? ''the least important thing is furniture,''

says andré Lösekann. You need the right

stock, that's where it starts. here, it's not

the trends that are important but that the

articles appropriate to the trend are there in

the right amounts. People who have nothing

can't sell anything.'' however, for Lösekann

this also means opening himself up. So, as

well as carhartt and cleptomanicx, there's

also Dr. Denim, cheap Monday and fashion

by Eleven Paris, Suit and Minimum. ''there

is no real sub-culture any more, but i think

that the diversity that has emerged from it is

great, so is the tolerance,'' says Lösekann. ''We

are definitely niche, yet open to everyone.''

that this hits home is made clear through

our success, because Ozone is popular

beyond the city borders of bielefeld. Maybe

it's also a a result of the fact that Lösekann

gives internships to every pupil who can

really feel like a member of the team at

Ozone. that has gotten round the schools.

''if you also have good staff on top of that,

who are determined and authentic, and who

can convey the stock well, then you become

even more successful,'' says Lösekann. ''Girls,

like boys, know exactly what they want.

the art is getting to talk to them, building

a foundation so that you can recommend

something. then, they come and ask too.

that's how it develops.''

however, for andré Lösekann, there is

another precondition for good sales figures:

Order. ''it's important for everyone, not

just parents,'' he says. as well as this, he has

checklists for his stores that his staff must

respect. it covers the volume of music to the

state of the floors and trouble-free lighting

and even vouchers, which must be left in the

right place. ''if everything is presented well,

you can increase your turnover by ten to

twenty per cent,'' says andré Lösekann.

it still remains a little unpredictable,

whether a store becomes an opinion leader

and a place to be or not. Finally, there's also

something intangible at play, atmosphere

and chemistry. before opening the second

Ozone store, andré Lösekann started a

survey of what his customers would like the

new store to be like. '' 'Everything's great,

stay the way you are!','' was the answer from

many'', he says. ''this didn't tell us anything

concrete, but it was a great validation.“ x

–– 51

01 ''16 year-olds need someone older, they wouldn't buy from someone their own age. The seller should be confident, then he can convey the stock in an authentic way.'' André Lösekann, manager of Ozone

02 Behind the counter, I am the one who can give the customer something. I don't want to sell any old rubbish, I want to do it right.'' Dennis Laaß, manager of High Five

03 ''We do everything ourselves, if wedidn't,then it would seem strange. People love us because we're real.'' Peer Blomberg, Purchasing ZigZag

03

02

01

a RetaiLeR as a bRand –– What's the story

52 ––

01 Grand Studio offers a complete package from design and product development to strategic and trend consulting.02-05 The team has become more grown-up and more professional. That is the reason why, in 2011, they changed their name from F.e.t.i.s.h. to Grand Studio.

01

02 03

04

gRand studio –– What's the story

p atrick Peritz is not a designer but a business

administrator. he studied economics in

university in Zürich. his link to fashion came

from his family. ''at the table at our place,

we always spoke about textile concepts. at

some stage, it just sticks,'' says the Zürich

native. in cases like this, there are always two

possibilities: Either you become a nurse or

you completely go for it. that's what he did.

today, he is the proprietor of the Zürich-

based concept store the Gloss, and founder

of the design agency Grand Studio Ltd.

stratEgy, innOvatiOn and dEsign

they are the three basic pillars of Grand

Studio Ltd. they grew up in the snowboard,

skating and surf business. Soon, they also

had fashion brands as customers, now sports

brands also avail of the service. today,

brands like Quiksilver, Oakley, Kjus, Eastpak,

Strellson and nike are among the customers.

''We help brands to achieve their goals by

advising them strategically and supporting

them with design and production. Our

approach comes from both the creative and

the economic side,'' says Peritz. the service

includes design, product development and

production as well as strategic consulting

and research into trends. Peritz made

his contacts with producers through an

internship in a production office in hong

Kong and through his previous job as a sports

textiles buyer for a Swiss department store.

One of their first and long-term clients was

the Swiss boardsport and clothing brand

Zimtstern. at the time, we started off with

very small quantities, which we produced

in asia. Later, we developed a complete

collection for them,'' he says. ''Zimtstern is

one of the best examples of what is now our

15-year career.'' in 2011, it was time for a new

name. ''For 14 years we were F.e.t.i.s.h. in the

meantime, we had become more grown up

and even more professional. therefore, it

was also time for a new name and we changed

it from F.e.t.i.s.h. to Grand Studio Ltd.''

trEnd supErvisiOn, COnCEpt, iMplEMEntatiOnat the beginning of 2012, Grand Studio

brought out a trend book for the autumn/

winter season 2013/14 in cooperation with

the trend information agency mode...

information. the third Eye covers twelve

the thiRd eyeFrom strategy and design to production - the Zürich-based design agency Grand Studio Ltd. guides brands towards success.textNicolette Scharpenberg

photosGrand Studio

''We help brands to achieve goals and to be successful in doing so.'' Patrick Peritz, Grand Studio

WWW––––––––––

www.grand-studio.com, www.thegloss.ch,

www.grandism.com

grand studiO

In 1997, Patrick Peritz founded the design agency F.e.t.i.s.h. (For Esthetes There Is Still Hope). In November 1999, he opened The Gloss in Zürich's fashionable district 5, which is now among the top addresses in conceptual retail. Then followed the high-quality Grand Boutique and ''Glossy'' in Shanghai. In 2011, F.e.t.i.s.h was renamed Grand Studio Ltd. In the same year, The Third Eye, a streetwear trend book was released in cooperation with Mode Information. In 2012, Grand Studio Ltd. opened an additional office in Shanghai.

Contact: Grand Studio Ltd., Hofackerstrasse 13, 8032 Zürich/Switzerland, T 0041.44.4407400

trends with the help of diagrams, illustrations

and sketches, with 300 product and print

designs on 163 pages. brands like adidas,

Puma and Decathlon have already bought

the trend book worth 1,300 euros.

according to Peritz, strategy consulting is

currently an area where there is pent up

demand among many brands. ''the demand

in this area is increasing steadily, therefore

we offer a complete package: From research

into trends and strategic advice to defining

the target groups and even complete

branding. it gets very positive reactions

because, along with design talent, we also

bring sound economic know how and a lot of

experience to the table,'' says Peritz. today,

they advise distinguished brands and chains,

grand studiO gOEs East at the beginning of 2012, we opened an

additional design office in Shanghai. ''in

china there is a lot of pent-up demand in this

area. it is slowly dawning on chinese brands

that they can't simply copy and produce,

that they need collection concepts and an

independent brand statement.'' here, Grand

Studio advises for the European market as

well as the chinese market.

the only question left is: What comes next?

Peritz laughs: „basically, the only thing that's

missing is a collection of our own!“ x

–– 53

05

What's the story –– gaRCia

54 ––

baCk to bLueSometimes it needs more than a face lift: The Dutch jeans label, Garcia, wants to strengthen its profile as a brand, in order to make it more visible to retailers and consumers. textIna Köhler

photoGarcia

a lot is very different this summer at Garcia:

With a new look, new logo and a newly

reworked retail plan, they are currently

working intensively on brand profiling. ''We

want to bring the brand and the product

further into the limelight,'' says robert

theijssen, managing director of the German

Garcia Gmbh. the showrooms and the

headquarters, spanning 800 square metres,

in neuss have already been redesigned. ''the

name is to become better known, we want

to show what potential the brand has,'' says

theijssen. to date, Garcia has stood for value

for money, a solid fashionable product, and

sophisticated logistics, which a good deal

of retailers valued. in Germany alone, they

supply about 900 retail partners – from

P&c to Wöhrl. What's popular is quality at

a reasonable price. Garcia has established

itself successfully in the mid-price segment.

Denim costs between 69 and 89 euros,

jackets between 79 and 149 euros, retail Fresh look, progressive image. Garcia wants to become more visible to retailers and the end customer.

garCia

Behind Garcia is the owner-run JOG Group with headquarters in Alblasserdam, The Netherlands. With a turnover of 120 million euros and 900 staff, it is not only responsible for Garcia, but also for its own retail stores. Garcia produces six collections per year, with twelve delivery deadlines and an NOS programme. In Germany, they supply about 900 customers, including Wöhrl, Breuninger, Dodenhof, Engelhorn and Peek & Cloppenburg. Garcia runs its own store in Neuss. It also has franchise partners in Dresden and Bautzen. The brand is present in 23 countries in Europe, Eastern Europe and Asia, they are also expecting to supply the Scandinavian market from 2013 onwards.

price. as well as jeans, there is a complete

collection that is focused on trousers. the

label feels particularly comfortable in the

company of classic jeans brands and vertical

suppliers like EDc or the bestseller Group.

in the meantime, Garcia has conquered a

market segment, in which it is valued as a

solid partner.

intErnatiOnal CustOMErs Garcia also has an international presence.

25 mono-label stores and more than 60 shop

in shops all over Europe show the brand's

international potential. they want to bring

their experience from their own retail into

the sharper profiling of the brand. in april,

a store was opened in Eindhoven, which

shows the new brand concept: a moderate

industry, vintage look with lots of wood,

metal and rough dry-stone walls, which set

the scene for the products. ''Products with

character'' is the claim in the display window.

the collection for adults and progressive

kids will incorporate fewer styles, to better

portray a 'blue' brand profile – no over-styled

looks, and not too casual. the logo and the

campaign were also reworked – the Swedish

star photographer björn tagemose was

responsible for the images. this is all backed

up by a social media campaign. they want

to use trade events to move closer to retail.

they have set themselves ambitious goals

for the future: Growth should come about

through retail and partnerships, as well

as through their own stores: the number

of franchise partners is also expected to

increase to 100 by 2016. there are already

two of them in Germany and more are

conceivable. ''We have wide appeal and offer

our retail partners a predictable return,'' says

robert theijssen. x

WWW––––––––––

www.garciajeans.com

saLsa –– What's the story

–– 55

be theRe oR be squaRe?The Olympic Ideal - it‘s taking part that counts - doesn‘t do it for Joao Nuno Martins. As Global Sales Director of Salsa he has a clearly defined goal for the international expansion of the label and it is aimed right at the speciality store.textIsabel Faiss

photoSalsa

after being part of the bread & butter trade

Fair for six years, Salsa won‘t be joining

them this July. according to Joao nuno Martins,

the main reason for not going is down to the

principles that Salsa have laid down for them-

selves: to be there just because others are

there too, doesn‘t cut it any more. Measuring

actual success in terms of appearances at the

fairs, it was time for a break to think things over.

it was time to gather the troops, to question

established mechanisms, to find new answers

and to push own goals forward in a focused

manner. One of the most important ones is the

expansion in the German market.

Joao Nuno Martins: Our main goal is to build

and expand Salsa in key European markets. up

to press, 75 per cent of our turnover has been

made in Portugal and Spain. We still need to

catch up with this in Europe and we can see

lots of potential. Germany is an enormously im-

portant, but also very difficult, market for us.

The Portugese jeans specialist Salsa wants to boost its collection‘s position among specialist retailers.

salsa

Salsa was established in Portugal in 1994. Owner and CEO is Filipe Vila Nova. Salsa‘s first exhibition was the Bread & Butter in Barcelona in 2006. Now the label is represented by 2,000 point of sales in more than 35 countries.

What challenges await salsa?not only is Germany a huge market in terms

of numbers, it is also one with the highest

turnover. there is a lot of potential there. So

far, our products have always been well ac-

cepted, but it doesn‘t do to underestimate

the high standards that apply in this market.

Our business model strongly focuses on our

own stores and franchises where provide our

customers with the added value of a growing

jeansweard brand, while at the same time,

allowing them to profit from our well-struc-

tured and experienced retail know-how. after

all, we do 80 per cent with our own stores

and franchises and 20 per cent of our busi-

ness with speciality stores. We want to deliv-

er solutions. Which is why, beside our main

collection which has 800 pieces per season

and five delivery dates, we provide a broad

noS programme which can be reordered

any time online using our new b2b platform

Salsa Pro. customers can see the products in

360-degree view, buy them and have them in

the store five days later.

the first attempt at entering the german market took place in 2008. Where do you stand at the moment?We started collaborating with Otto a good

two years ago. that went very successfully

and showed us that our product is accep-

ted by the market. at the moment we are

building specific teams to acquire targeted

customers from speciality stores. then, the

spring/summer collection 2013 will take off.

retail is our main priority because we want

to get to know the market this way first and

want to strengthen the visibility of the labels.

the second step may well be our own stores.

We are talking about a rather crowded market, particularly in the jeans segment...Our collection displays many aspects that set

us apart from our competitors. Most impor-

tantly, we‘ll relate to women more strongly

than say Levi‘s, replay, G-Star or Diesel, for

example. almost 80 per cent of those collec-

tions are designed for men, we are different.

Salsa is recognized for its innovation drive

and for the quality of its products, particular-

ly the more technical and innovative jeans,

such as Push-up (highlights the buttocks),

Push-in (jeans with a triple-effect jeans: tum-

my tuck, push-in, and light push-up effect),

Sculpture (shapes the female silhouette),

hope – Maternity (“evolutionary” jeans that

can be used before, during and post-preg-

nancy), Shape-up (boosts the silhouette and

naturally enhances the feminine curves),

and recently, Er-GO the new model for men.

besides the innovation products, Salsa offers

more than 20 different fits for men and wo-

men. Our best sales argument is the fit, where

we have the perfect fit for every woman and

man‘s body shape. that is the key to our suc-

cess. and that our products are priced 20

per cent below those of other labels. in pro-

curement, our jeans start at 30 euros. that is

a really good argument, indeed. x

WWW––––––––––

www.salsa.pt

a t the last bread & butter tradeshow in

berlin, the antony Morato team celebrated

its first trade fair appearance. Located in the

Denim base, its booth received 4,700 exclusive

visitors. at times, the booth was so full that the

entrance had to be sealed off. a symbol of the

development of the young brand from naples,

which attaches importance to a high level of

fashion and has successfully positioned itself in

the new menswear sector.

raffaele, giovanni and tania Caldarelli, the three people behind antony Morato, are young, italian and siblings. to which of these three facts can the success of the collection be most notably attributed?Manilo Massa, Managing Director of antony

Morato laughs. he hadn't expected this

question. he's the man who looks after

business, the experienced professional in

the team, not the marketing specialist who

always has flowery descriptions at the tip of

his tongue. and he is completely honest.

'it's hard to say. For me, it's the fact that

the roles are clearly distributed. Giovanni

doesn't get involved with the product or

marketing, Lello is 100 per cent dedicated

to the collection and the products and the

image. the three swap around a lot and make

big decisions together. however, when it

comes to the management of the company,

everyone is responsible for their clearly

defined area. that is the characteristic of

an italian family business. Especially in

Southern italy, families stick together. they

argue a lot but, in the end, blood is thicker

than water. Work is of prime importance

because it takes up twelve hours a day.

instead of buying a penthouse apartment,

they invest in the company. For such young

people, it is pretty unusual that they should

remain so grounded despite their success. i

am very proud to see that we still have young

people with this ambition in italy. '

if he were a person, what would antony Morato be like?a young man, who likes to dress fashionably,

without being a fashion victim, or a billboard

for certain brands. he wants to make his own

decisions, and is very price sensitive because

he doesn't want to pay ridiculous amounts

for clothes.

does the price count more than the brand?the right price makes the brand even more

attractive. that is today's reality. Young

people in Europe are no longer interested

in showing off with expensive brands. the

56 ––

itaLy's newgeneRation While the Italian fashion scene is flagging, there are success stories on the newcomers' front, of all places, like that of Antony Morato. Four million items sold in the past year, 80 million euros turnover, 23 brand stores across Europe - and this five years after setting up the company.These are all intriguing facts.

textIsabel Faiss

photosAntony Morato

01

WWW––––––––––

www.morato.it

antony moRato –– the talk

–– 57

02

''Aged 60, I am the oldest in this company.'' Manlio Massa

question is no longer: Do you know how

much this cost? it's: Guess how little i paid

for this. how informed i am about fashion,

and how intelligently i shop, determines the

degree of quality and value, it determines

value for money.

Was it part of the plan to set prices in such a way that customers don't have to decide between individual pieces, but can buy a look?Yes. We enable customers with normal incomes

to buy complete outfits. in doing so, we are

communicating a coherent overall image at

the same time. Zara and h&M work just like

this too, except they, unlike us, target the mass

market and the collections no longer have a

profile. the most important characteristic of a

brand is its recognition value. it doesn't matter

whether you like the brand or not, you always

recognise it as antony Morato. We want to

continue to push this even more in the future.

how did you come on board?Firstly, i have to tell you that i am 60, and so

i'm the oldest person in the whole company. i

got to know Lello more than a year ago. at the

time, he was at a critical turning point and had

to make important decisions about his young

company. i was still with the Moncler Group

at the time. Lello came over to me and told

me that antony Morato was on the verge of

a critical step forward, and that they needed

help with the further development of their

brand. he was only 30 years old, that simply

bowled me over. his brother looks after all

the administration and the key accounts and

his sister is responsible for marketing and

sales and the children's collection.

What lies ahead in the near future?We want to develop up to 280 new points of

sale in the next five years, which include shop-

in-shop concepts and our own brand stores too.

in which markets do you see the most potential?china and Korea are well on their way but,

in the near future, the German market.

Germany is the only country in the world,

where we have set up our own subsidiary,

in Munich, in order to be able to work more

directly on the market. naturally, our goal

is to develop partnerships with department

stores like Peek & cloppenburg. but first we

have to show everyone that we are not classic

newcomers, not simply a flash in the pan. Our

greatest strength is value for money. We have

a fashionable product that can keep pace

with individual items in the D&G collection

but can cost only a quarter of the price.

is antony Morato not intended for the young fashion sector?no, it is. We just had a market research study

done in Spain and italy, which showed that

the biggest share of those who buy our

products are between 16 and 24 years old.

the next biggest block are the 24-35 year-

olds, from there the percentages fall in

line with rising age. but 33 percent of our

customers are between 16 and 24. What

continues to baffle us is the high percentage

of women, 21 percent, who buy the brand.

are you planning a women's line? the target group may be there.We have found our niche in new menswear.

We have only just introduced a boys' collection

and a children's line, which have started off

well. that is our next challenge. x

FaCts and FigurEs

The Italian menswear label was established by Raffaele, Giovanni and Tania Caldarelli in 2007. The collection appears four times a year and includes shoes and accessories as well as clothes. Antony Morato is represented in over 2,800 stores in 47 countries worldwide and runs 35 flagship stores itself. Antony Morato Deutschland GmbH has its headquarters in Munich.

01-02 Antony Morato is the fastest growing menswear brand in Italy for over 20 years and in 2010 alone, it sold four million pieces worldwide. In Germany, Antony Morato supplies over 80 customers.

58 ––

Last autumn was too warm, all jackets went unworn. Spring came far too soon, the stock wasn't in yet. Just like the random weather, the division of fashion into two seasons is also no longer reliable. St. Peter isn't the only one providing uncertain planning factors, smaller hysterics on the stock markets, silly season statements on pension cuts by image-obsessed politicians and the eternal shadow of the euro crisis are also effecting business. For us, this poses, once again, the question of how predictable fashion actually is and what simply can no longer fit in with our whole fashion cycle and its early supply deadlines?textIsabel Faiss

photosDialogue partner, Gerrit Sievert

OlivEr FEskE, p4 MarkEtingWhat time period are we speaking about?

the weather was never predictable. here,

buyers are in demand. Just because there

was a great winter for jackets, doesn't mean

that i immediately double my jackets order.

i believe fashion lives on trends. it's difficult

to predict and plan this, but it's definitely not

impossible and it actually always depends on

the planning period. approximately how

long did the chino need to really become

marketable? an eternity. can you plan that

Madonna and timberlake will go around

with Ed hardy caps on and that there will

be hype about it? Of course not. but you

can definitely arrange your product ranges

so that they're flexible. and that's what we

do that brought about success for verticals.

that is, rapidly producing and turning over

new stock, virtually on a monthly basis. We

consciously work together with companies

who have top stock availability and work

with four to eight collections per year.

that's how we are flexible. We are constantly

working on the right planning, we are

planning the brand portfolio. always with

the precondition that you have good stock

and the most punctual collections possible.

We were right at least when it came to rVLt

and Eleven Paris. however, that is work that

will be done over several seasons and so it's

not possible to plan it in the short-term.

rikE döpp, agEntur vthe internet created the illusion of constant

availability for consumers, which the industry

The devil is often in the detail: The weather is no excuse for haphazard orders.

do you have a pLan?

Fashion disCouRse –– the talk

–– 59

now has to tackle. now, the consumer

expects the collections almost directly

from the catwalk. here in new York, Moda

Operandi is en vogue, an online trunk show,

straight after which you can order collection

pieces and then receive them long before

the delivery date. in Germany, couture

society is going in the same direction.

Smaller labels are reacting with capsule

collections, high-street retailers are newly

decorating their shops on a weekly basis,

brands such as Diane van Fürstenberg are

showing current collections at the new York

Fashion Week, which is available in the store

and can be bought immediately. We have to

deal with the consumers' expectations that

retailers should have everything within days

– always adapt to the newest trend, weather

variability or the newly hip price class. For

this, there are basically two options: Either

find short-term delivery routes and work

with warehouses. Or give the consumer an

alternative to twirling trend spirals and the

assurance that good style doesn't require a

new wardrobe within a few weeks. as a retailer,

i would abandon the trends of high street

retailers, who can throw trend products onto

the market within two weeks, and concentrate

on a balanced, reasonable wardrobe for

clientèle that remains loyal to my concept.

rOBErt dOstErt, COuntry salEs ManagEr gaps FOr kEds, prO-kEds and spErry tOp spidEr.it actually can't be predicted because, in

contrast to ten years ago, we have a lot more

offers on the market and we always want to

deliver earlier. the weather has not changed

extremely, rather consumer behaviour. We

are used to getting everything at any time.

thanks to the verticals, there is a new trend

in the store every month. in the past, a trend

lasted longer. however, in the case of shoes,

for example, there are no proper trends.

at the moment, you get every type of every

brand for every age group. then, there is

also the fact that everyone wants to already

have stock in January, February, and then

they whinge that it only gets warm in april.

We have to become more flexible, more

nOS, more risk in the industry. We simply

have to have a rethink. Maybe the industry

has to take on more risk and promote nOS

articles, in order to react flexibly to demand.

admittedly, we must also get rid of surpluses

by means of other channels.

Markus Cadruvi, dEECEE stylE in ZüriChFashion is only predictable, when a store

has an appropriate profile. Only with this

do you have the opportunity to react to

the economic situation etc., regardless of

the current changes in the weather. have

a little more patience! Our experience has

shown us that down jackets can also be sold

at regular prices in January, if the warehouse

chains have sold off their stock at rock

bottom prices two months too soon, during

much too warm weather, thus destroying

the market themselves. Wholesalers should

better support specialist retailers and

prevent their products from losing their

speciality. the weather is how it is and we

can't change anything. Early deliveries

from collections show time and again that

stock also flows in inappropriate weather,

when it is special. it helps specialist retailers

when healthy distribution is carried out.

Professional buying determined by articles

is becoming ever more important. Product

ranges should be coordinated exactly

so that overlays can be avoided and still

remain special. therefore, it would also be

reasonable to give warehouses a little more

responsibility and risk, so that they can make

basic stock available at the desired time.

niCOla CinElli, Crust and [C]studiOthe problem actually begins with

purchasing. in buying, customers, of course,

take their cue from pre-sale sales figures.

if they have sold well regularly, they will

almost definitely buy the product again.

here, profit margin plays a big role: the

higher the profit margin, the lower the loss

in a sale. therefore, we always try to fulfil the

price wishes of retailers without forgetting

quality expectations. in the current market

situation, it's very difficult to plan collections

in detail. Most retailers do not only pay a lot

of attention to price, but also quality. the

quality requirements and the proposed

prices of retailers are important to us and so

we must start production earlier and earlier.

in contrast, retailers push buying further and

further. this is where the planning problem

begins. For us, it means the early manufacture

of products, which have still not been

ordered once. at the end of every season,

we analyse sell-out output figures and hold

several feedback discussions with retailers.

this is what we use as the basis for our strategy

for the coming season. the success of the

last sales campaign for the autumn/winter

collection 2012/13 confirms our intuitions of

June 2011 — i would say that we were spot on

with our strategy for the last campaign. x

04

01 ''Economic crises are mostly predictable and you can react a little with buying.'' Markus Cadruvi, Deecee Style Zürich

02 ''In the current market situation it is very difficult to plan collections in detail.'' Nicola Cinelli, Crust and (C)Studio

03 ''It's impossible to predict crises. Nobody can predict if towers will fall somewhere, or if India and Pakistan will keep their cool.'' Oliver Feske, P4 Marketing

04 ''As a retailer, I would offer my customers a product range for a wardrobe that is able to keep up with our changeable European weather.'' Rike Döpp, Agentur V

05 ''Every time you think, now you've done everything right, and it still turns out differently.'' Robert Dostert, Keds

02

01

03

60 ––

sandRine pagnoux –– the talk

y our pictures are very emotional. if the faces in your pictures could speak, what would they say?

Sandrine Pagnoux: they are always very wild

people, but not particularly communicative.

they have no meaningful, intellectual

message for the viewer, they are simply

full of emotion. they are both strong

and vulnerable, torn between hope and

desperation. Sometimes they are also in

love. Like all lovers, they are so inspired

by happiness that they think anything is

possible. So, if they could speak, they might

say something stupid like: ''i am king of the

world!'' but mostly i illustrate lost souls,

people, who are torn between strong poles

like beauty and tragedy and buzz in the

complete chaos of this crazy world. they live

in a world full of magic and love, but also full

of sadness and vulnerability. Perhaps they

would address brief prayers to us, as if we

were their guardian angels, like ''i'm scared,''

''Protect me,'' or ''Love me,'' ''rescue me.''

that sounds quite sad. Which facial expression fascinates you the most?Deep eyes. For me, they are the window

to the soul. Eyes don't lie. You can see the

character of a person in their eyes, whether

it is real or not, it fascinates me. at the same

–– 61

eyes don't LieIn her pictures, the Parisian photographer and illustrator Sandrine Pagnoux mostly illustrates people who live in an intermediate world of sorts, torn between strong emotions and contrasts. She designed the current cover of x-ray.

textIsabel Faiss

illustrationsSandrine Pagnoux

time, it scares me sometimes too. Everything

happens in the eyes, emotions and feelings.

When did you begin painting?i actually draw more. i would like to paint

more at some stage, but, at the moment,

paintings are more of a raw material for

me, which i combine with photographs,

hand drawings, typography and some other

materials. i often use painted canvases as

a background, or for special details. in the

beginning, i concentrated completely on

the alienation of photographs, but since

then i have settled on pure drawing.

you were originally a fashion photographer. What made you decide to swap your camera for a pencil?i have been always interested in photographing

people, ever since i was a child. When i moved

to Paris, i met a fashion photographer. When

she saw my pictures, she asked me if i would

like to work for her. We did this for two years,

an exciting time, but i wasn't really happy

with it. i am impatient in my work and so i

prefer to work alone. as a photographer,

you have to manage a whole team. it's a very

stressful job. i don't like it. You have to do

everything immediately. at the same time,

you have a customer, for whom you must

02

03''Your eyes where nothing is revealed, of bitter or sweet, are two cold jewels where are mingled iron and gold.'' Charles Baudelaire

01 In this illustration, Sandrine Pagnoux edited her own photo.02 The illustrator likes working on photographs by the Parisian photographer Sophie Etchart best, like this expressive portrait.03 The artist's newest style is drawings inspired by fashion.

WWW––––––––––

www.sandrinepagnoux.com

62 ––

especially the works of Schiele, Munch,

Soutine and Kokoschka. and the die

Brücke movement. art nouveau Posters and

typography from the late 19th and early 20th

centuries by artists like toulouse Lautrec,

alfons Mucha or Koloman Moser also greatly

influence my work. i would have loved to live

in that era. at the same time, movements like

the punk movement in the '70s and the whole

rock 'n roll atmosphere around David bowie,

iggy Pop, Joy Division, the Doors, Marianne

Faithfull and Patti Smith fascinate me. My

childhood and youth were highly influenced

by the images and video clips of the late '80s

and early '90s, with productions by herb ritts

or Jean baptiste Mondino.

you live in the fashion metropolis paris. What significance does fashion have in your life?a very high one. i live in an area with

innumerable designer boutiques and spend

a lot of time reading fashion magazines.

Documentation about different designers

interests me a lot, how they prepare for

their shows and collections, how they work

with the models. it is such an unbelievable

amount of work, i am overwhelmed every

time. Fashion surrounds me everywhere. it

influences me a lot in my work, because it

is a reflection of our society. it even speaks

to our subconscious. What effects these

service. i prefer to live and work in my own

bubble. Furthermore, i quickly noticed that

i expected poses from the models that were

impossible to do. it didn't work. it bored

me that their expression in my pictures was

always the same. Maybe i just wasn't talented.

My head is full of ideas, i can't convey them

with photography alone. that frustrated me

a lot. So, i decided at the time, to hang up my

camera and to go to a Photoshop course to

teach myself illustration and painting. now i

can do what i like.

your illustrations often fall back on photographs by sophie Etchart. What is this cooperation about?i love to illustrate her photographs, because

it's unbelievably exciting to work with real

people in a picture, with real eyes. combining

the fake and the real provides the thrill. So,

i have mostly worked with Sophie Etchart

(www.sophieetchart.com) because i am a big

fan of her work and she has also found real

pleasure in what my illustrations do with her

photos. here, i use a mix of hand drawings,

hand written letters, cut-outs and photos. i

combine and manipulate these elements in

my own way with the help of Photoshop.

Which era inspires you the most?

More than anything else, the early

expressionists from about 1900 inspire me,

influences actually have on my pictures, i

can't say. i only know that fashion definitely

influences me.

you have already had a few commissions from fashion companies?My contact with the industry is usually in relation

to photo productions. For example, i recently

illustrated a comprehensive production by

Sophie Etchart for the italian Max. i was involved

in the production for two weeks and also met

the stylists on the set and assisted with the shoot.

it was great to simply observe it and to work on

the images afterwards. i was fascinated by how

the whole system works, how stylists, make-up

artists, hairstylists, photographer and models all

work together. it is all very intense.

i illustrated the background of the Diesel

perfume website. as well as this, i am always in

contact with companies like nikita or undiz,

who use my illustrations in their collections.

My goal is to continue to work with new

brands who use my visuals for their clothing

or for their campaigns. that would be great! x

04 05

04 Sandrine Pagnoux's illustrations decorated the Diesel Fragrance Factory 2011.05 This work from 2008 adorned the cover of the exclusive magazine.

''My career allows me to live in my own little bubble.“ Sandrine Pagnoux

the talk –– sandRine pagnoux

out now!www.ucm-verlag.at/app

iPad_Sip_XR_212.indd 1 20.06.2012 09:46

want it!textIsabel Faiss, Nicolette Scharpenberg, Petrina Engelke

photosLabels

64 ––

01 ativ By vita hEChO a ManO

Tania Muñoz Garcia and Mirko Gardella got to know each other while studying fashion in New York. Their passion for naturally beautiful things not only made them a team in their private lives. In 2009, they decided to set up their own accessories and bag brand, Ativ by Vita, with a tree as its logo, claims to make high-quality products from natural materials without chemical dyes. All handmade in Spain. The collection contains bags for men and women, scarves, purses and ties. The bags are all made from 100 per cent organic cotton, some of the materials are one of a kind. Fasteners, laces and handles are made from high-quality leather and are individually adjustable. At the moment, the collection contains eight different models in four different colours and materials. The bags cost between 80 and 150, purchase price, and are already available at 150 retailers in Europe.

COntaCt:Gardella & Garcia S.L. (Ativ by Vita), 08033 Barcelona/Spain, T 0034.93.1881875, www.ativbyvita.com

03 nativE uniOn talk On thE phOnE likE yOu usEd tO

Do you miss the good old ''holding the phone under your chin manoeuvre''? Pop Phones by the US label Native Union owned by David Turpin, Michael Young and Fabien Nauroy brings you the ''Back in the days'' feeling. The bright plastic earpiece can simply be stuck onto an iPhone and calls can be answered with the click of a button, or not. The first series consisted exclusively of bright phones in candy colours. New versions include camouflage and the golden plastic version, which also conjures up a little James Bond style at your ear. Maximum attention guarantee. The Pop Phones cost between eight and 18 euros, purchase price. The utility brand is already represented at Urban Outfitters, Amazon and Snipes.

COntaCt:Supreme Agency, Bardia Beigui, 50858 Cologne/Germany, T 0049.2234.2779501, www.supremeagency.de, www.nativeunion.com

02 a quEstiOn OF WEar sOMEthing gOOd

In 2007, the Copenhagen trio Thomas Dam, Kasper Andersen and Mads Ulrik Greenfort launched the label A Question Of . The aim of the creative collective is to offer organic and fairly-produced fashion. It all began with printed T-shirts for NGOs, until in 2010 a collection in itself, with attractive graphics on T-shirts and sweatshirts, had developed. Since then, A Question of has come to be represented in image stores like Harvey Nichols, Bloomingdales and Asos.com. Clients such as Wood Wood, Colette or Soto are still on the wish list. There are four collections per year, each of which has 50 pieces. The collection's retail prices range from 40 to 80 euros. A Question Of works with sales partners in England, Italy, Japan and Singapore and is currently seeking partners in Germany and the Netherlands.

COntaCt:A Question Of, Mads Ulrik Greenfort, 2100 Copenhagen/Denmark, T 0045.31322322, www.aquestionof.net

want it! –– Fashion

–– 65

06 hEx nErdy BusinEss

Technological apparel and merchandising products are the ultimate nerdy business. Despite this, the Californian brand HEX has set itself the goal of adding in style confidence. HEX is a private label from August Accessories that produces accessories for skate brands like KR3W, Spitfire, Antihero or Real among others. The founder of the brand, Carl Steindler, who already has 20 years experience in the fashion industry, set up HEX in 2010. “HEX represents high-quality transport of technological devices of all types with street credibility,“ says Steinler. The collection contains backpacks, messenger bags, iPhone and iPad sleeves and watches for iPod nanos. Bags cost 24 euros, purchase price, iPod sleeves are nine euros and the iPod nano watchbands cost 7.60 euros, purchase price. HEX is available at Zebraclub in Berlin, Oneoff in Stockholm and online at Karmaloop.

COntaCt: HEX, 92672 San Clemente/USA, T 001.949.3061626, www.shophex.com

05 Bag ’n’ nOun Japan supErlativE

The Japanese bag label Bag ’n’ Noun was founded by Takeshi Ozawa in 2009. All bags are produced with care in a small tailor shop in Osaka. Only smooth and robust Japanese canvas is used. To ensure the quality of the material, the weavers produce a maximum of about 50 metres per day. The collection includes shopping bags, rucksacks, canvas bags, toilet bags and spindle bags. The rucksacks cost between 46 and 100 euros, purchase price, the bags between 52 and 75 euros. The items are already available at The Gloss in Zürich, Wunderschön in Lausanne und Purple Pink in Hamburg.

COntaCt:Japan Proxy, 8004 Zürich/Switzerland, T 0041.432.433363, www.japanproxy.ch, www.bagnnoun.com

04 triWa Just prOvOkE!

The four people behind the Swedish accessories label set up in 2007 seem to have taken up the cause of provocation as a major goal. The young brand's watches and sunglasses are completely unpretentious and bring a certain kick-ass attitude to the table. Here, colour is always a top priority Cool earthy tones can sometimes even clash with a loud pink. The completely attractive, radical attitude continues on a material level: Steel watch casings meet straps made from acetate, soft leather or NATO nylon straps. For the cream of the crop, they have special editions by street artists like SupaKitch or Koralie. The watches and glasses cost between 40 and 86 euros, purchasing price, with a margin of 2.5. The brand is represented in over 25 countries, including in stores such as Selfridges London, Sten och Ströms in Oslo or Illum in Copenhagen.

COntaCt:Looft Modevertrieb GmbH, 20457 Hamburg/Germany, T 0049.40.481020, www.triwa.com

66 ––

08 rEasOn ClOthing FOr COllECtOrs' hEarts

Phil Bassis and Jonathan Totaro collect hundreds of reference pieces before they start a new collection. When designing pieces for their men's fashion line Reason, they let themselves be inspired by a seam here, a collar there – and make the best possible thing from them. The label was founded in New York in 2004 and its products are real collector's items: From hoodies to premium denim, from caps to hip flasks, everything appears in limited editions, some are limited to 50 pieces, each numbered by hand and with a hand-painted label. Reissues? Wrong. Because Reason is always back searching for the next perfect piece.

COntaCt:Reason, 10023 New York/USA, www.reasonclothing.com

10 r.t.CO quality’s nExt

Tobias Bergmann began skateboarding in the '80s, launched his own brand of T-shirts in 2006, and has been producing his own premium sunglasses since 2010. Under the name R.T.C.O., he produces high-quality frames made from cellulose acetate. The frames are made by small manufacturers in Austria and Italy, the lenses are quality lenses by Essilor from France. ''Supreme quality & design,'' is the self-declared maxim of the skateboarder and graphic designer from Berlin'. Glasses cost about 60 euros, purchase price. The brand is already available at Voo in Berlin, in Yeahboy Department in Hamburg and Pop Cph in Copenhagen.

COntaCt:R.T.CO, 12047 Berlin/Germany, www.r-t-co.com

09 tantuM lOs angElEs guErila strEEtWEar

In the case of the US brand Tantum Los Angeles, business is systematically operated through others. If you click on their website's logo, which was still ''under construction'' up until now, you will be redirected immediately to the Union Store in Los Angeles. When it comes to describing brands, a very popular subject is one of their favourite customers by the name of T_Z. He is the person behind the brand TantumLos Angeles whose pocket T-shirts and hats have been spread around using the street wide web since April 2011 and has, in many cases, been used as a template for other brands. The corporate identity of the brand is the colour-contrast breast pockets with camouflage, Navajo, tiger, leopard, Hawaiian flowers, paisley, chambray or stars. T-shirts are between 15 and 19 euros, hats for 30 euros and sweatshirts for 35 euros, purchase price. As well as Union L.A., the brand is also available, among others, at Graduate in Bordeaux, Hanon from Aberdeen and online at Open Lifestyle To date, it's only possible to make direct contact over their Tumblr blog. Try it!

COntaCt:Tantum L.A., 90036 Los Angeles/USA, www.tantumla.com, www.tantumla.tumblr.com, www.tantumlosangeles.blogspot.com07 drink BEEr savE WatEr

drinks On us

The name Drink Beer Save Water sounds like the name of a silly or funny DIY brand, whose purveyors you would expect to drunkenly come across at underground fairs. The brand from Seoul's story does actually begin with beer drinking, but then it gets better: The launch took place with the 2011 summer collection, last January the men's T-shirt collection was displayed for the first time at Bread & Butter. The graphic tees that are purely in black and white are characterised by original prints. The shirts cost between 55 and 150 euros, with a markup of 2.5. Drink Beer Save Water is already on the market in Europe, the US and Japan and in Germany, it's represented in Kult in Düsseldorf as well as other stores.

COntaCt:Drink Beer Save Water, 299-38 Seoul/Korea, T 0082.2.5150614, www.drinkbeersavewater.com, www.youneedbeer.com

want it! –– Fashion

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12 Manastash Earth, FirE, WatEr, air

Manatash, the brand from Seattle founded in 1994, is an absolute pioneer in the specialist area of ''looking good in eco-friendly products'' and is currently being raved about by all hype blogs. The US brand's main products are jackets, vests, T-Shirts and accessories for skiing, trekking, mountain biking, rafting or kayaking. Also, when it comes to production, nature serves as a guide for colours and materials. The outer shell of the jackets is made of breathable Pertex and hemp, the lining of PrimaLoft, with breathable insulation for higher performance and comfort. A highlight is the Manatash Mammoth jacket, developed in 2010. The outdoor styles cost between 84 euros for vests and 107 euros for jackets, purchase price. The brand is already available at Hickoree’s in New York.

01 Manastash Earth, FirE, WatEr, air

COntaCt:Blender Agency, 0273 Oslo/Norway, T 0047.22.606950, www.blendeagency.com, www.manastash.com

11 vanishing ElEphant stylish ClashEs OF stylE

In 2008, Felix Chan, Huw Bennett and Arran Russell emerged into the market with their menswear label Vanishing Elephant. Their performance curve has grown steeply since then. Now the brand is already sold in the US, New Zealand, Australia, Asia, Canada and the UK and in 2010, it was selected as the menswear brand of the year by the Australian GQ. The Australian brand's aspiration is the combination of quality, originality and expedience and a new interpretation of the classic aesthetic of men's and boy's outerwear. The first collection was created in 2009, a small collection of jackets, shirts, T-shirts, jeans, Bermudas, knitted jumpers and classic men's shoes. The hallmark of their look is clashing styles. So, you'll find small pieces of embroidery like roses on classic chinos or jackets, Navajo patterns on linen shirts or paisley patterns on Bermuda shorts. The styles cost between 30 euros for shirts, 39 euros for chinos, 84 euros for jackets and 66 euros for shoes, purchase price. In Germany, the brand is already represented in Yeahboy Department in Hamburg.

COntaCt:Vanishing Elephant, Huw Bennett, 2010 Sydney NZ/Australia, T 00612.9698.1688, www.vanishingelephant.com

13 luv aJ Bad ass Bling

To pimp the whole world with her jewellery – that's Amanda Thomas' goal. The 23 year old designer from Los Angeles set up her own jewellery and accessory label Luv Aj in 2005. She learned from the greats like Corey Madley of Madley Knitwear and Jewellery, designer Rachel Pally, or celebrity-stylist Cristina Ehrlich, or the ladies from the online magazine Who What Wear. Her fans today already include such celebrities as Kim Kardashian, Vanessa Hudgens, Whitney Port and Nicole Richie. Her collection contains headbands with spikes, chunky necklaces, knuckledusters, bracelets and earrings. Necklaces cost between 50 and 60 euros, purchase price, rings between 20 and 34 euros, bracelets between 50 and 116 euros. The brand is, to date, only available in the US, or online at Karmaloop, Asos, Urban Outfitters or Revolve Clothing.

COntaCt:Hoopla PR-London, Jamie Hutchinson, W1D 7AZ London/UK, T 0044.207.2877066, www.luvaj.com

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14 tO thE BlaCk WhErE light is...

...there's also shadow. This is more or less the motto of the brand To The Black from Cardiff, Wales, which was founded in 2009. Behind the brand, is a duo of graphic designers, who, as service providers for graphics, decided at some stage to enter the business themselves and to bring a collection onto the market that consisted of T-shirts, sweatshirts, leather jackets and accessories for women and men. Successfully, because only three years later the collection, which is limited to the basic colours black, white and grey, and only provides colour through prints, is being sold in smaller boutiques all over Europe. As well as this, talks are on-going with a big chain in England. Retail prices are between 20 and 50 euros, where there are also individual pieces that cost more. At the moment the US, Canadian, Australian and Japanese markets are on their to-do list.

COntaCt:To The Black, Naeem Khan, Amjad Iqbal, CF23 OGG Cardiff/UK, T 0044.29.20195013, www.totheblack.co.uk

16 BlEu dE panaME sailOr rOManCE

The French streetwear and menswear label Bleu de Paname, founded by Thomas Giorgetti and Christophe Lepine in 2008, already has a considerable client list to show for itself. The menswear label has already cast a spell over retailers like Colette in Paris, Hunting & Collecting in Brussels, Dover Street Market in London or the Civilist store in Berlin. Sailor romance is communicated through a mix of dark denim, big pockets, exterior stitching and vintage buttons. The look: Work and uniform with a street-twist. The collection contains jackets, chinos, shirts and jeans. They have already cooperated with the shoe brands PF Flyers and Pointer and with the high-fashion Japanese brand Comme des Garçons. The jackets cost 60 to 117 euros, shirts between 37 and 45 euros, chinos 45 euros and denims 52 euros, purchase price.

COntaCt:Bleu de Paname, Christophe Lepine, 75011 Paris/France, T 0033.175513392, www.bleudepaname.com

15 EntEr arrivEd!

Founded on a love for vintage clothing, the Swedish bag and accessories label Enter was set up in 2011. The Swedes get their inspiration from music of the golden ages, from fashion and sport. Divided into three collections: Lifestyle, heritage and staples including iPhone and iPad cases, laptop and travel bags, rucksacks, duffle bags, briefcases and purses made of fine leather or high-quality wool with herringbone pattern, check or leopard print. All parts are manufactured in an old factory in Sweden. The accessories cost between 13 and 117 euros purchase price, with a margin of 2.3. In August 2001, the brand was displayed for the first time at the Boutique Fräsh in Stockholm and is already represented at Sivletto, Skank and Sportamore in Stockholm and at Supermarket Sarah in London.

COntaCt:Supreme Agency, Bardia Beigui, 50858 Cologne/Germany, T 0049.2234.2779501, www.supremeagency.de, www.enteraccessories.com

17 unit pOrtaBlEs WEar sOMEthing niCE

People without a laptop, iPhone, Mp3 player and Co.? A rare species. Thanks to the multitude of different gadgets, the possibilities for protecting them have also grown. Sometimes they are elegant, but sometimes they're not. And this is exactly where the Swedish label Unit Portables, founded in 2011, comes in. Their bags, cases and covers not only safely transport the gadgets from A to B, they also provide style with their minimalist design. The collection contains computer bags, iPhone and iPad cases, shoulder bags and messenger bags made of polyester. The bags cost between twelve and 32 euros, purchase price. The brand is already available at Human Empire in Hamburg, theflashgib in Stuttgart and STAB in Berlin.

COntaCt:Haptiques trading co., Felix Engelmann, T 0049.171.5656559, www.haptiques.com, en.unitportables.com

want it! –– Fashion

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19 stanCE anklE artistry

The Californian sock brand, set up in 2010, has its roots in boardsport. Those of you who are thinking of the standard black and white, stripy socks are very far off the mark. Stance uses the sock as a canvas and works regularly with skateboarders and artists like e.g. Kid Creature, Don Pendelton, Jason Jesse or Chris Cole for limited editions. A highlight for the skateboard gang was the screaming hand design by Santa Cruz or the Lakai Manchester shoe design. There are now over 140 models and six collections. Casual for every day use, performance for more durability, reserve, elegant above – functional underneath, the artistic art series, a children's collection and recently a snowboard collection too. Most models are available in three different lengths, they cost between three and four euros, purchase price. Stance is already represented in Germany at Mantis in Hamburg, Planet Sports and Snipes.

COntaCt:Trade.Art Distribution, 70199 Stuttgart/Germany, T 0049.711.51872888, www.stance.com

18 OslOh BiCyClE JEans unCOMpriMising – stOp

What makes a pair of trousers both suitable for use in the office and for cycling? 1. Five pocket cut. 2. Unwashed indigo denim with two per cent stretch. 3. Antibacterial and odour-resistant layer. 4. Three layers at the crotch. 5. A low-cut at the front of the waistband, high at the back. 6. Quick snap adjustable waistband at the back. 7. Double button fastener with extended straps on the front waistband. 8. Slanted belt loops at the front. 9. U lock bike-lock holder above the back left pocket and a tapered pocket on the top right for a mobile phone or Mp3 player. 10. Reinforcement/stitching on the inner-right bottom of the trouser leg and the right trouser leg can also be narrowed using straps with buttons. Osloh Bicycle Jeans was set up by Shawn Drayton from New York in 2008. Prices: 40 to 64 euros, purchase price. From 2013, also available for women and children. Stop.

COntaCt:Trendwizzard, 81827 Munich/Germany, T 0049.89.43707300, www.trendwizzard.de, www.osloh.com

21 rOBEru uniquE COWhidE

The Japanese leather brand Roberu was set up in 2008. Its boots and iPhone cases are manufactured in a small factory in Yokohama and they are exclusively made of high-quality cowhide. The items, which can have scratches or bumps, get their unique structure, from a special tanning process using natural dyes that stick irregularly to the coarse leather. However, this is exactly what makes the accessories, boots and camera holders so desirable for stores like Colette in Paris, Union in Los Angeles or Graduate in Bordeaux. The iPhone cases cost 22 euros, purchase price, the boots 145 euros, and the camera bags 49 euros.

COntaCt:Japan Proxy, 8004 Zürich/Switzerland, T 020.1.059.1134, www.japanproxy.ch, www.roberu.com

20 phOnZ says BlaCk italian BlaZEr MaFia

Their passion is vintage motorbikes and rock 'n roll music. Their logo is a black panther in a triangle. The aggressive elegance of this noble predator is utilised by Daniele Bianucci and Fontani Alessandro, founders of the Italian label Phonz says Black. Their aim: Style dominance by means of outrageous jackets. Since 2010, their focus has been on blazers with sharp cuts for men and women. These are revolutionised by prints all over or on the back: Motifs such as mountainous landscapes, desert or steppes like in Marlboro country, guitars, ivory tusks and nails as accessories, comics, snakes or leopard prints. The blazers cost between 100 and 110 euros, purchase price. The brand is already represented by Peek & Cloppenburg Fashionation in Berlin, Stuttgart and Vienna.

COntaCt: JAT, 20142 Milan/Italy, T 0039.02.89124020, www.phonzsaysblack.com

70 ––

boys aRe baCk in townThe city, the summer, a long balmy evening. Two boys and their motorbike. What's going on?

photosJulian Robinet

assistanceMarkus Sende

postproduction/picture editingMartin Wickenhäuser

hair & make-upTina Schmoll, www.ninaklein.com

modelsSebastian and Carlo, www.sowow.de

productionAgi Habryka, Friederike von Bock, www.sowow.deSpecial Thanks: Carlotta von Bock and Martin Uecker

shirt –– SalsaBow-tie –– American Appareldenim jacket –– Levi'sdenim shorts –– Adidas via Frontlineshopsocks –– Happy Socks via Frontlineshopshoes –– Lacoste via Frontlineshop

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boys aRe baCk in town –– Fashion

72 ––

Cap –– New Era, henley –– J.C. Rags, Braces –– American Apparel, Jacket –– Red Seal by Replay, Jeans –– Mavi, shoes –– Converse Allstar via Frontlineshop

(Left): Beanie –– März, shirt –– A Fish Named Fred, Jeans –– K.O.I.(Right): Beanie –– Cleptomanicx, denim shirt –– We Are Replay, Jeans –– Antony Morato, shoes –– Santos

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boys aRe baCk in town –– Fashion

74 ––

(Left): shirt –– Drykorn, Bow-tie –– American Apparel, Waistcoat –– März, Jeans –– Fuga, socks –– American Apparel, shoes –– Diesel(Right): hat –– G-Star Raw, henley –– American Apparel, Jacket –– Diesel, Chino –– Mustang, shoes –– Angel

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boys aRe baCk in town –– Fashion

76 ––

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Left-hand side:(Left): denim shirt –– Lee, tie –– G-Star, trousers –– ADenim, socks –– Happy Socks via Frontlineshop, shoes –– Fly(Right): Cap –– Brixton, shirt –– We Are Replay, Braces –– Diesel, Jeans –– Silver Jeans, socks –– Falke, shoes –– Frank Wright

Right-hand side:(Top): glasses –– Vintageshirt –– Märztie –– American ApparelJacket –– Ben Sherman via FrontlineshopJeans –– Freeman T. Portersocks –– Falkeshoes –– Keds via Frontlineshop(Below): hat –– New Erat-shirt –– Ben Shermanleather jacket –– Garciatrouser –– Energieshoes –– Tommy Hilfiger

boys aRe baCk in town –– Fashion

helmet –– Diesel, shirt –– Diesel, shirt –– Tommy Hilfiger, Waistcoat –– Drykorn, Jeans –– Diesel, shoes –– G-Star Raw

78 ––

–– 79

boys aRe baCk in town –– Fashion

80 ––

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heavy patteRns –– Fashion

heavy patteRnsPatterns are the leitmotif for this coming season. As mimicry, postcard kitsch or completely geometric - preferably all-over and in colour.

photosAndy Kassier, www.andykassier.com

modelsTanoe and Sonja, www.sowow.de

productionAgi Habryka, Friederike von Bock, www.sowow.de

Left-hand side: trousers –– Nikita, Boots –– Energie Right-hand side: heels –– Jeffrey Campbell

82 ––

Left-hand side:trousers –– DrykornBelt –– Drykornshirt –– Lacostetrench coat –– Dieseltie –– Vitoshoes –– Diesel

Right-hand side:shirt –– Tommy HilfigerJacket –– Rochambeautie –– Tommy Hilfiger

Top: shorts, hoody –– Chiemsee Below: Boxer shorts –– Cleptomanicx

Right-hand side: Outfit –– Gsus, heels –– Sandro

Coat –– Patrick Mohr, Booties –– Samsøe o SamsøeI

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heavy patteRns –– Fashion

84 ––

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heavy patteRns –– Fashion

scarf –– Patrick Mohr

Top: Blouse –– Drykorn, tights –– Falke, heels –– DieselLeft-hand side: Outfit –– Baum und Pferdgarten, Booties –– Samsøe o SamsøeI

86 ––

Top: shirt –– Cleptomanicx, tights –– Falke, heels –– Diesel Right-hand side: skirt–– Garcia

Top: Outfit –– Diesel, heels –– Franko SartoBelow: top–– Fuga

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heavy patteRns –– Fashion

88 ––

03 antOny MOratO it’s a Man’s WOrld

At the beginning of May, the Italian menswear label Antony Morato opened its 33rd brand store in a concept store design at one of Milan's most prestigious addresses, the Corso Buenos Aires. The store has a clean black and white look and is crammed with beautiful things specifically designed to meet the needs of the label's young male target group. As well as fashion, there are international magazines, such as Hype-Blatt Monocle, pocket photography books, or cameras and technological gadgets. "The store underlines our vision of fashion and our claim as a young label is always to create new trends", explains Raffaele Caldarelli, Company Founder and President. The opening in Milan kicked off store openings in Madrid, London and Paris which are planned for June and July. They want to keep up this pace, a total of 280 additional points of sale are in the pipeline for the next five years.

COntaCt:Antony Morato,Corso Buenos Aires 16, 20124 Milan/Italy, www.morato.it

01 Fast FOrWard ExpansiOn

Schahied Herbawi, the Berlin retail business, is planning further expansion for this year: A total of three branches are to be added, two of these in Leipzig where a further Adidas Originals Store is in the pipeline. Plans are also underway for remodelling of the store in the Alexa-Center in Berlin. From August, the Fast Forward Black concept store is also planned for the Alexa-Center - a more upmarket store which will display somewhat more adult fashion by labels such as G-Star, Closed, Diesel or Parajumpers. They will be offered a suitable platform with specialities and special jeans over 220 square metres and which can also happily show a superior price bracket. The Fast Forward company founded by Schahied Herbawi in 1997 has branches in cities such as Hamburg, Berlin, Potsdam, Leipzig and Dresden with different-sized floor space. The range focuses on fashionable denim labels and shoes including such labels as Pepe, Energie, G-Star, Diesel, Replay, Scotch & Soda and Adidas.

COntaCt:Herbawi GmbH, Gottlieb-Dunkel-Strasse 20/21, 12099 Berlin/Germany, www.fast-forward-berlin.de

02 supErdry a grand EntranCE

It's a clear message: Five floors, 2,500 square metres surface area in total, and all of it at the prestigious London address, Regent Street. With its biggest flagship store in the world housed on Regent Street, a shopping street steeped in history, Superdry has received quite a legacy because 100 years earlier the Austin Reed department store was housed on these premises. The four lower floors are to serve as a retail space, the fifth floor will house a showroom, a VIP area and a press lounge. The brand's whole range, which includes the women's and men's collections, footwear, accessories and beauty, is displayed separately on the individual floors. In addition, there are to be exclusive collections only available in this store. They are also going all-out for the new brand-empire presentation. Original British navy fleet spotlights from the Suez Canal illuminate the XXL Superdry logo in the entrance hall, a monstrous grand staircase leads from here to the upper floors.

COntaCt:Superdry International, 103/113 Regent Street, London W1B 4HL/UK, www.superdry.com

open:textIsabel Faiss, Ina Köhler

photosLabels

RetaiL news –– in store

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04 lEvi’s Oh ChaMps-ÉlysÉEs

Looking at the entrance area to Levi's new flagship store in Paris, located in the historic rooms of building number 76 at the corner of the gallery arcade, you would think that the magnificent Champs-Élysées had grown inside the premises. Unsuspecting visitors will be surprised to find there are no products on the ground floor. The three-storey store with 650 square metres of floor space and a striking design done in the vintage and industrial style was specially designed like this by the French architectural office REV Architecture. The purpose is so that customers enter the store through an inviting, wide and open space and then a majestic large staircase leads them down to the basement. A massive pillar in the centre of the store adds to the impressive height of the room. Here, the label's best-known key products are displayed along with the Made & Crafted line and footwear while Levi's Vintage Clothing collection and a Tailor Shop are to be found on the upper floor. This Tailor Shop is only one of four worldwide. The other three are located in the flagship stores in New York's Meatpacking District, at Union Square in San Francisco and on London's Regent Street.

COntaCt:Levi’s Store Paris, 76 Avenue des Champs-Élysées, 75008 Paris/France, www.levi.com

05 gsus industriEs OnE plus tWO MakEs thrEE

The success of both of Gsus Industries' first concept stores in the Hague and Utrecht led to the opening of a third store in Amsterdam last April. And further stores are planned for The Netherlands, Germany also looks as though it will feature in medium-term plans in this regard. After things for Gsus Industries became suspiciously quiet on the German market, this new start involving own stores was critically observed by retailers. The brand followed their motto ''made by instinct'' when designing the stores. Raw materials such as natural wood, metal and cement characterise the interior. One highlight is a copper pipe spiralling through the store, breaking through all the furnishings and including the façade.

COntaCt:Gsus Industries, Koningsplein 8, 1017 BB Amsterdam/Holland, www.g-sus.com

06 Flip-FlOp taking COlOgnE By stOrM

The Flip-Flop shoe label opened up stores in Amsterdam and Berlin and in May followed this with a further branch on Cologne's Ehrenstrasse. The label has a complete shoe line covering the 100 square metre retail space as well as a suitable clothing collection. Each of the Flip-Flop stores will be individually designed by Managing Director Anne-Katrin Hummel so that each location will show small differences. "For me, creating a comfortable shopping atmosphere is most important." White walls and white ceramic tiles with Flip-Flop flowered patterns as well as a specially designed shelf system that shows the colourful collection off to its best advantage provide a suitable framework for the shoe label headquartered in Pirmasens.

COntaCt:Flip-Flop, Ehrenstrasse 46, 50672 Cologne/Germany,www.flip-flop.de

07 huMMEl BErlin OFFshOOt

Hummel, the Danish label, opened up its own store in May 2012 in Berlin-Mitte at the Montbijouplatz right next to the Hackeschen Höfen. Besides active team sport clothing, lifestyle and shoe collections for men, women and kids can be found over nearly 100 square metres. The Hummel sport and lifestyle label was originally founded in Hamburg in 1923. After a turbulent history, a Danish owner took over the company during the '80s. The retro-lifestyle collection made a name for the label in the '90s and featured the long history of the label.

COntaCt:Hummel, Montbijouplatz 4, 10178 Berlin/Germany, www.hummel-store-berlin.de

90 ––

01

03

02

04

Reason outpost, new yoRk –– in store

eveRything must go!The owners of Reason Outpost have remained children at heart, they say. However, it's not seven-year-olds but fashion nerds who press their noses against the shop window and gaze at the oblique collections.textPetrina Engelke

photosReason Outpost

d esigners gather inspiration. they then

later say that the new collections

owe something to the elegance in this

French film, the collars from that historical

traditional costume or the scales of a giant

goanna. Phil bassis and Jonathon totaro too,

gather inspiration for their label reason.

however, it doesn't roam basement archives,

rather their store– and goes from there into

the hands of their customers.

''When we decide on a certain style, we

then spend a month collecting reference

pieces,'' says bassis. they have found the

rarest examples of their kind, for series of

chambray shirts and college jackets. and

they sell all of these rare vintage pieces in

their store reason Outpost – for up to a year

before the collection they inspired is ready.

''it gives our customers a preview,'' says bassis.

both of them hang about at flea markets,

you can see them at auctions and household

clearances. in the store, piling up beside

vintage clothing, you will find records,

antique collector's items, bizarre household

goods, stuffed animals. ''You should see

what our homes look like!'' laughs bassis. a

crocodile's head, a poster of the anatomy and

a '20s shotgun are simply decorative. You can

buy everything at reason Outpost, even if it is

nailed down: the owners will even part with

the rugs, clothes rails or the reason sign they

made themselves, if a customer asks for it.

dJ CulturE MEEts a lOvE FOr vintagEat the same time, they have their finger on

the pulse– literally. co-founder Jonathan

totaro is better known as DJ Price. he travels

around the world, plays at hip parties and

makes mix tapes, which are available in the

store or on the website. ''Lots of customers

discover reason through the DJ Price mix

tapes and his own music.'' both new Yorkers

have been living the nomadic lifestyle of

a DJ with their shop for a long while. there

have already been about a dozen reason pop

up shops, all over the uS. ''it was always our

dream to set up a permanent store,'' says bassis.

this was already being worked upon when

some of the old pop up shops still existed.

now reason Outpost offers its customers

something that they get nowhere else:

individually-made varsity jackets (college

jackets). ''the production plant with which

we are working can do great embroidery and

patches,'' says bassis. customers can choose

the type, size and colour of the font, decide

where it's placed and, of course, what it says.

all individual pieces. in other respects too,

bassis and totaro set strict limits: their lines

and other selected pieces are available online

exclusively through their own website. they

don't want to rely on other online stores – they

could be less than perfect. x

rEasOn OutpOst

436 East 9th Street10009 New York/USA,www.reasonclothing.comOpening: November 2011Owners: Phil Bassis, Jon Totarostaff: 10 retail space: 56 sqm labels: Reason, GG$ Guns Germs $teal, Vane x Sebago Boots, George Guest Backpacks (and a lot of vintage)

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''When we decide on a certain style, we then spend months collecting hundreds of reference pieces.'' Phil Bassis

01 When Joel and Ethan Coen „Llewyn Davis“ turned onto the street, all of the shops were elaborately styled in an old-fashioned way. Only Reason wasn't.02-04 Interior included: Everything you see in this shop, you can buy.

92 ––

l e Fix in copenhagen actually began as

a type of get-together. Valdemar Kludt,

benny bee, thomas urth and Michael

andersen have known each other for over

twelve years. their passion for graffiti brought

them together and laid the cornerstone for

their business today. Le Fix in copenhagen

is thE place for street issues. if you ask them

what Le Fix actually is, they counter with

''Something between art and fashion.''

BaCk in thE days it all began with classic screen prints on

t-shirts. their logo was the national symbol,

the small mermaid, which was also originally

their crew logo for graffiti. after a very short

period, they had already won beams news,

one of the first concept stores from Japan,

as clients. ''the Japanese were crazy about

our wooden cases, which we supplied as

packaging,'' says benny bee, designer of the

brand. back then there was no collection,

let alone a professional production – only

t-Shirts. they opened their first store in

1999 in nørrebro, what was still quite an

underground part of the city. at the time

they had no plans to set up a fashion store.

''We simply wanted to do creative things

together, we were offered the shop space

and suddenly it became a store,'' says

rasmus, Le Fix's graphic designer.

strEEt univErsELe Fix developed quickly into a universe of

fashion, toys, books, and aerosols, with its

own tattoo studio and wood workshop. their

product range is just as rich in contrasts as

their concept: Stone island jackets next to

„We don't have anything of designed significance. We are delighted by every customer and treat them all as friends of the company.'' Valdemar Kludt, Le Fix

''without gRaFFiti, we wouLd have nothing today''Tracksuits, sneakers, graffiti and rap – this is what they grew up with. Four homies, who followed their passion, and who today are opinion leaders in the Copenhagen street biz.textNicolette Scharpenberg

photos Jasper Carlberg

01 The four men of action at Le Fix describe their concept as ''Something between art and fashion.'' Head designer Benni Bee has been there from the beginning.

01

Le Fix, Copenhagen –– in store

–– 93

Montana cans, Filson hats beside designer

toys, or barbour styles beside street art books.

''the brands need to fit in with our spirit.

however, our highest priority is always quality,

regardless of whether for a jacket or a can,'' says

Kludt. they manufacturer most of the interior

decoration in their workshop. ''Jesper is our

wood nerd, he builds cases for the shirts, logos

and lettering or jewellery from wood and also

gives wood workshops,'' says Kludt.

a second branch in the city centre soon

followed. together with their neighbour,

the skateshop Streetmachine, they give

the otherwise mainstream shopping area a

somewhat underground feeling. ''Of course

in the city centre we get a lot of tourists who

just happen to call in, and we are happy to

give them tips about the copenhagen day and

night scene,'' says Kludt. ''because we don't

have anything of designed significance, as is

unfortunately often the case in the sector. We

are delighted by every customer and treat

them all as friends of the company.“

For Fashion Week, along with their neighbours,

they covered the whole street in grass and

transformed it into a street park. For anyone

who missed the show, they have their

infamous yard parties every month in the

courtyard in front of their store. buddies,

beats and beer - yes please. x

lE Fix shOps

Kronprinsensgade 9B,1114 Copenhagen/Denmark,Guldbergsgade 16,2200 Copenhagen/Denmark,www.le-fix.comOpening: April 1999Owners: Valdemar Kludt, Benny Bee, Thomas Urth and Michael Andersenstaff: 4retail space: 65 sqmMenswear: AiAiAi, Asics, Baracuta, Barbour, Ben Sherman, Clarks Originals, Ellesse, Fila, Filson, Fred Perry, Helly Hansen, Henri Lloyd, Lacoste, Le Fix, Montana Colors, ONETrueSaxon, Patagonia, Pointer, Reebok, S.N.S., Saconey, Stone Island, Timberland, Universal Works, Vans, Wood Wood

02, 03, 05 Their passion brings them together. It began with their own line of T-shirts. Today, Le Fix is a street universe of art, fashion, tattoos and wood art.04 Andreas Fog is a shop assistant. You can see him in both branches, it seems, at the same time.

02 04

05

03

94 ––

''Nowadays, you can't just sell clothes. The customer simply expects more.'' Bruno Boguszewski, Graduate

01 Graduate gave Rue du Pas Saint Georges in Bordeaux a fashionable upgrade.02-04 A clear division of product ranges between two levels: On the first floor you will find the finest menswear, the basement reveals itself to be a streetwear paradise.

01

02

03

gRaduate, boRdeaux –– in store

–– 95

s ome also call it ''the Dandy Shop''. in the

past, you would only see this sort of store

concept in metropolises like Paris, London,

tokyo or new York. Graduate, the concept

store from bordeaux, which was opened in

October 2010 can now compete with the big

guns. the declared goal of the three owners,

Johan Kinder, clément hervouet and bruno

boguszewski, is to use their store to upgrade

the shopping scene, which still has room

for improvement, with a completely new

category of fashion. ''We always travelled

around a lot and only noticed then how

much bordeaux could do with a good store.

We wanted to give bordeaux a new standing

in the fashion sector,'' says Kinder. Graduate

mixes streetwear and menswear to make a

style cocktail. the friends know each other

from their studies, three truffle pigs who

always had a feel for the right brands. after

university, they made a career of their

hobby. it was a milestone in their lives, they

grew up, but still harboured the same passion

for brands with street style souls. ''the name

is inspired by the famous benjamin braddock

a.k.a. Dustin hoffman in 'the Graduate'. it

wasn't just that we loved this film, it was simply

relevant to our situation in life at the time. the

end of our studies, a milestone,'' says hervouet.

strEEt dnathe store, which spans 90 square metres is

split into two levels and is on rue du Pas Saint

Georges beside the carhartt boutique and

Le rayon Frais. On the ground floor, you will

find the finest brands in urban menswear,

such as commune des Paris, aPc, amour

Lux, tantum Los angeles or Gitman Vintage.

the basement presents big players from

streetwear, such as Stüssy, undefeated, Vault

by Vans, Wemoto, huF or alife. the interior,

furnished with vintage pieces, elegantly

complements the store's two levels.

''Quality, and the story behind the brand, are

particularly important to us when selecting

brands,'' says boguszewski. ''they are all

brands with street Dna. We were big fans of

many of them back in our youth and we know

their stories by heart.'' Of course, they also

pass this knowledge on to their customers.

''nowadays, you can't just sell clothes. the

customer simply expects more, is greedy for

information and also open to new things. We

offer them a universe of fashion, accessories

and utility gadgets always paired with the

story of the product.'' as well as a fixed store,

Graduate also has an online store. there

too, customers can get information about

brands, products and events through the

blog. Graduation exams passed. x

the gRaduateA certain peace reigns in Bordeaux. The winters are mild, the summers are long and warm, the nearby Atlantic attracts the surfers. However, regarding fashion it left a lot to be desired. Graduate wants to give the city in the south-west of France a new standing in the streetwear and menswear sector.textNicolette Scharpenberg

photosGraduate

graduatE.

63 Rue du Pas Saint Georges,33000 Bordeaux/Frankreich,www.graduatestore.frOpening: 30 October 2010Owners: Johan Kinder, Clément Hervouet, Bruno Boguszewskiretail space: 90 sqmMenswear: Abington, Alife, AMI, APC, Armor Lux, Common Projects, Commune de Paris, DS Dundee, Dunderdon, Folk, Gitman Vintage, Homecore, HUF, Knowledge Cotton Apparel, La Panopile, Oliver Spencer, Pendleton, Red Wing Shoes, Sanders, Saturdays, Sperry Top Sider, Stüssy, Suit, Tantum Los Angeles, The Generic Man, Undefeated, Vault by Vans, Velour, Wemoto, YMC.accessories: Areaware, Bleu de Chauffe, Euskal8, Gestalten, Han Kjobenhavn, La Compagnie du Kraft, Penhaligon’s, Rizzoli, Roberu, Sandqvist, Uniform Wares

04

in store –– Loup design shop, saaRbRüCken

96 ––

Like a muLti-CoLouRed dogSaarbrücken, the capital of the small Saarland, even has French neighbours, but can be pretty bland. Munir Gassim wanted to change this and opened the Loup Design Shop in October 2011. A colourful mix of streetwear, design books and vinyl toys.textNicolette Scharpenberg

photosLoup Design

lOup stOrE

Kaltenbachstraße 15,66111 Saarbrücken/Germany, www.loup-store.deOwners: Munir Gassimretail space: 65 sqmBrands: 667, Addict, Dekline, Derbe Hamburg, Dizzizit, Dr. Martens, Drunknmunky, Frisur Clothing, Hummel, Imaginary Foundation, Kangaroos, Lacoste L!VE, Makia, Neff, Schwerelosigkite, Supremebeing, Turbokolor, Yackfouaccessories: Books, Toys

" W e ourselves, could simply no longer

find anything exciting in the city,''

says Munir Gassim, owner of the Loup Design

Shop in Saarbrücken. So, he decided there

and then to bring a bit more colour to the

store scene. the concept store in the heart

of Saarbrücken at St. Johanner Mark brings

together streetwear, sneakers, design books,

vinyl toys, accessories and jewellery on 65

square metres. ''Le Loup means the wolf,

and we translate it as 'a multi-coloured dog',''

says Gassim, referring to the German idiom,

''to be as well-known as a multi-coloured

dog''. therefore, the logo is also colourful:

the outline of a howling wolf, split into

gaudy squares gives a small foretaste of the

concept. ''With our product range, we are

directly targeting fans of the street sector

and we now have a big fan base,'' according

to Gassim. When making selections, he has

a preference for German brands, ''because

every collection comes up with new ideas

– regarding both design as well as cut,''

explains the Saarbrücken native.

BEautiFul isn't EnOugh FOr usin general, Gassim follows the motto:

''beautiful isn't enough for us, the products

must be wonderful and unique.'' this applies

to streetwear as well as to sneakers, design

books and vinyl toys, for which Gassim

has a particular weakness. ''i was always a

fanatic toy collector. in the store, we offer

a small, but fine selection of designer

toys from Japan, ranging from mini to life-

size,'' he says. he pursues his passion for

toys through events too. recently a design

contest was announced, in which 200 white

Medicom mice were distributed to selected

Saarland artists, designers, photographers,

advertising agencies, art courses, shops and

clubs to encourage creative design. the toys

were also displayed in the shop window.

as well as design contests, regular art

exhibitions by newcomers and rookies from

the surrounding area take place in the store.

''recently, we had a series of photographs

by carsten Pech from Saarbrücken. the

pictures showed toy cars that were subjected

to an endurance test involving big stones,

firecrackers and other objects. right up our

street!'' Gassim describes his store's concept

as playful yet grown up. ''You should never

forget the child in you. We take everything

with ease and humour and that's what our

customers love about us. now people don't

only come to shop, they like to visit us for an

evening beer with a currywurst and packet of

chips.'' laughs Gassim. cheers! x

„Beautiful isn't enough for us, our products must be wonderful and unique.“ Munir Gassim, Loup Design Shop

01-03 More colour for Saarbrücken: The Loup Design Shop provides the city centre with more colour with its streetwear, books and designer toys. Owner Munir Gassim directly targets German brands in his brand selection, brands like Yackfou or Frisur Clothing.

03

01 02

t he store's Facebook page summarises

the concept in a short and succint way:

''We change our product range every four

to six weeks, which means we can cater

more quickly to our customers' needs and

to trends that develop at an ever-increasing

pace. We guarantee top quality at the best

prices. Furthermore, we can order all

unavailable sizes for you within just two

days, so you always get everything you need

at our store. We look forward to your visit.

More information to come. Stay tuned

be kisskissed. a series of events entitled

KissKissbangbang is also planned, a mix of

fashion events and top acts at the hottest

locations in the city. Starting in spring, the

first cool pieces in the Kkbb collection will

be revealed. Kisskiss. ''the small boutique

has been in the seventh district in Vienna

since last summer. nestled among the many

individual fashion stores on neubaugasse,

the owners Sasa ridel, Dorothea Goraus and

Karl tatscher like so many others, benefit

from the fact that the area around Mariahilfer

Strasse continues to develop into a trendy

neighbourhood, which, most notably, sets

the tone for fashion in Vienna.

gO, gO

the team behind KissKissbangbang is made

up of pretty interesting people. Sasa ridel,

for example, has had a long career in the

fashion business, including as a fashion

editor at OrF, a manager at helmut Lang

Vienna and a columnist for the magazine

Penthouse. Fast-moving trends were always

his business, he says being up to date is his

main objective: ''We don't order months

in advance. We cater spontaneously to the

newest trends and customers' wishes, as we

have just a three week turnaround underway

in Milan, amsterdam and Paris, we can buy

in small quantities.'' as an experienced

marketing and e-commerce specialist,

who worked for Krone and telekom austra,

among others, in the past, Karl tatscher,

deals with the issues that matter. Dorothea

Goraus is responsible for buying, which has

expanded, with the opening of a second

boutique for accessories, to brands like

tom Ford, Dsquared, airstep or imperial.

as well as having a service which provides

lots of new things for the fairest possible

prices, KissKissbangbang also wants to shine

in its direct customer contact, and so offers

shopping by appointment, whereby customers

with appointments can be personally advised

and can shop in peace. a privilege, which the

store's trio deliberately forgoes. x

kisskissbangbang, vienna –– in store

–– 97

Fast Food shoppingThe store project KissKissBangBang from Vienna helped itself to a very good film title for its name and set itself an almost overly ambitious goal: The team presents new stock every four to six weeks, and, in doing so, wants to challenge fashion chains like H&M in terms of being up to date. textIsabel Faiss

photoKissKissBangBang

kisskissBangBang

Lerchenfelder Straße 441080 Vienna/AustriaFashion and shoes for men and womenNeubaugasse 551070 Vienna/AustriaAccessories for men and womenwww.kkbb.atOpening: September 2011Owners: Sasa Ridel, Dorothea Goraus, Karl Tatscherretail space: two brancheslabels: Airstep, Alchimia, California Vintage, Cowboysbag, DSQUARED2, Giogio, Hüftgold, Hunter, Imperial, Justor, LEA-GU, Mangano, Marshall, Monsieur Steve, Ovyé, Plomo O Plata, Tom Ford, Urbanears

Along with a second shop in the seventh district especially for shoes, bags and accessories, KissKiss BangBang -the alternative to fashion chains - now also offers private shopping.

iMprint

Owner, publisher,Editing & advertisementUCM-PublishingB2B Media GmbH & Co KGSalzweg 17, 5081 Salzburg-AnifAustriaT 0043.6246.89 79 99F 0043.6246.89 79 89office@ucm-verlag.atwww.ucm-verlag.at

CEOStephan Huber, Nicolaus Zott

EditorStephan Huber stephan.huber@ucm-verlag.at

Editor in ChiefIna Köhlerina@ucm-verlag.atIsabel Faiss isabel.faiss@ucm-verlag.at

duty EditorAlexandra Hawelalexandra.hawel@ucm-verlag.at

art direction/assistantStephanie Hoffmannsteffi@ucm-verlag.atMichaela Aschauermichaela.aschauer@ucm-verlag.at

authorsPetrina Engelke, Nicoletta Schaper, Nicolette Scharpenberg

photographs & illustrationsAndreas Klammt, Sandrine Pagnoux, Julian Robinet, Andy Kassier, Andre Sanchez, Frieder Schneider

stylingAgi Habryka, Friederike von Bock

picture EditingAnouk Schönemannanouk.schoenemann@ucm-verlag.at

advertising ManagementStephan Huberstephan.huber@ucm-verlag.at

publishing assistantSigrid Staber sigrid.staber@ucm-verlag.atChristina Hörbigerchristina.hoerbiger@ucm-verlag.at

proofreadingJohannes Seymann

translationtransmit-Deutschland

printingLaber Druck, Oberndorf

printing CoordinationManfred Reitenbach

Bank detailsVolksbank Salzburg 105 627, Sort Code: 45010

one last thing

98 ––

" a trade fair is always a reflection of the market,'' declares Karl-

heinz Müller in an interview with x-ray. here, he's correct in

general, but with regard to bread & butter he's wrong about one

significant detail.

For years, bread & butter has managed to be more of a pacemaker,

rather than a reflection, in that it motivates and inspires the

market, sometimes to be ''better' than the market as it were. it was

a great achievement but, through no fault of its own, it's also a little

dangerous. because it distracts from problems and weaknesses and

has tempted some companies into fair appearances that are not

appropriate for the market, or the status of the brand.

the visible and tangible reorganisation of the Denim base this

season, not the centrepiece of bread & butter for no reason, which

historically always also saw itself not least as a platform for the denim

industry and not least its big players. now, after a certain time lag, this

reorganisation reflects a revolution within the denim industry, and

within the fashion industry as a whole, which is still a long way from

completion and can definitely be described as drastic.

i would like to mention three significant factors of this revolution, for

the most part unweighted:

1. thE vErtiCalisatiOn OF spECialist Brandshere, i'm not referring to classic verticals like h&M or Zara, rather

the fact that, at the moment, the big players in the denim business

are opening one brand store after another. and not only in markets,

that can apparently, or actually, only be tapped that way, but also in

(central) Europe. it's clear that the number of denim multi-brand

stores is falling at the same time and so too are the number of

potential specialist customers and trade fair visitors.

2. thE JEans and digital rEvOlutiOna very clever and successful man, one of the last who managed to

really turn a denim brand into a global brand, declared in my first

interview with him in the early '90s that the jeans business is mostly

about logistics. i wasn't at all happy to hear that because it seemed

so clinical. but he was right. in 2012, this means that jeans, which

are seen by most customers as an almost integral part of life and

therefore as a basic in the true sense of the word, are just right for

the online trade. it also has a particularly great effect on mass trading.

3. dEniM in an idEntity CrisisOver decades, jeans were a socio-political statement. they were

a symbol of youth and counter culture, they were rock 'n roll, anti-

establishment, when i was young you could even provoke teachers

and parents by wearing them. that is over. actually, it has been for a

long time. and the denim industry has still neither found a new story

nor image. Other industries would flood the world with press releases

if they achieved equal success in the area of resource conservation.

but, it's just difficult to communicate. Sultry and/or sexy young

people gazing at or past the camera, that's much easier. O.K. – but

that was one assessment.

Of course, all of that has a huge influence on bread & butter. however,

this ultimately just means that they reproduce this reorganisation.

also when it comes to their exhibitors structure. Panta rhei! and i

don't doubt for a second that bread & butter will manage to use this

flow cleverly. x

Yours, Stephan huber

miRRoR, miRRoR...textStephan Huber, Editor of style in progress and x-ray

13.08.12––––––––––

Date of PublicationNext Issue

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