Backissues
Issue 1/2014
Cool Cities Florence
Interviews Andy Rogers (Fred Perry) and Henrik Vibskov
Editorial
There is one thing that people who work in the fashion industry have in common: constant change is our daily bread. But that isn’t necessarily always to our taste. After all, some things we have only just grown to love are already passé before we have time to enjoy them (the fact that some brands stock their classics regardless of season is something we really appreciate in this respect). But there is also the other side of the coin – and that seems to be the dominant factor amongst us fashionistas: we love the new, anticipating the coming season with excitement, for the new colours and collections, always looking for the new look of the season! Boredom? That emotion died out last millennium and since the domination of the smartphone at the very latest, it has been banished from all aspects of life.
The hot topic of the next few days will no doubt be the expected onslaught of visitors to Berlin’s Bread & Butter and Panorama tradeshows, which are opening their doors to the general public for the first time this coming summer. But right on time for Berlin Fashion Week the J’N’C team will be serving up a good portion of news from the fashion cosmos – from London, where our Britain correspondent Oliver Horton met up with the new brand director of Fred Perry, Andy Rogers, to ask him about the label’s profile, their long-term partnership with Raf Simons and their balancing act between sports and subculture. We also took a look at the new headquarters of the multitalented Henrik Vibskov in Copenhagen, and used the opportunity for an interview. The untiring creative head of the eponymous Danish label is in the process of opening a public café in his company’s new premises in the harbour, and we were lucky enough to take a seat as the first guests in the freshly painted space. Christopher Ræburn also has some interesting things to say: since last year he has not only created numerous capsule collections, but as artistic director he is also responsible for Victorinox’ entire clothing line. J’N’C author Fredericke Winkler talked to the Brit about his first Swiss army knife, the ‘Rescue’ collection and recycling as a sales argument. And last but not least, the good news from Germany: Marc O’Polo have launched ‘Pure’, an impressive new line that was enthusiastically presented by COO Andreas Baumgärtner and his team in Stephanskirchen.
And how does the new fit in with the old? (As we said, we do love a classic.) Very well actually, and we knew that long before we started mixing vintage with avant-garde fashion and the latest street styles. One example of how they can be combined to best effect is the fashion scene in Florence. Centuries of tradition, especially when it comes to leatherwork and textiles, are the foundation of a flourishing fashion scene, which remains vibrant thanks to the biannual Pitti Uomo. And next to top-dogs like Ferragamo, Gucci, Luisaviaroma and Gerard there are still plenty of less conventional shop concepts to be discovered, as proven by our 'Cool Cities' special Florence.
And we also took the time to listen to diverse voices from Florence's fashion spectrum. We spoke to Daniele Davitti, the youngest professor in Italy, as well as Filippo Fanini, who has just launched a high-end fashion label and Linda Loppa, renowned for her innovative influence on the education system and who, after teaching in Antwerp, is now bringing her fresh artistic input to the Polimoda in Florence.
An abundance of inspiration, which, once again, we hope will arouse your curiosity!
Ilona Marx, Editor in Chief
Photographers
John Brömstrup, Heiko Laschitzki, Muriel Liebmann, Sorin Morar, Bernd Wichmann, Andi Zimmermann
Illustrator
Matthias Suess
Authors
Gerlind Hector, Oliver Horton, Cheryll Mühlen, Fredericke Winkler
