MADE FOR LONGEVITY
We are seated at the round table overlooking the garden where most days in Jan Machenhauer’s studio and workroom in Frederiksberg begin.
June 2021
Buy HÅNDVÆRK bookazine no. 9 including blow article about Jan Machenhauer here
I have graciously been allowed to visit, even though the studio is exceptionally busy. Jan is on his way to India on a four-week trip to take part in the exhibition Tradition is Contemporary on Danish textile craft in art and design in relation to India at the National Crafts Museum in New Delhi, and to work in workshops that he has visited several times over the decades.
We are joined by Amalie Bengtson and Emma Wedeman, both graduates of Design School Kolding, who have worked with him for five and four years, respectively.
Amalie is a designer and Jan’s right hand, he explains, while Emma, also a designer, is in charge of communication.
Jan established his shop on Nikolaj Plads in Copenhagen in 1981 together with Erik Tyrrell. The shop sells made-to-measure garments designed by Jan Machenhauer, the wholesale brand Jan Machenhauer, which is produced in India, JAN coats, which are made in Italy, and scarves from Épice Paris.
Jan Machenhauer’s career began in 1976, while he was still a student at the School of Decorative Art. For a study assignment he used textiles sponsored by a Swedish manufacturer. Based on this assignment, he was hired, along with Bess Nielsen, the manufacturer’s sister-in-law, to design collections for the new brand Made In.
‘It was a huge success from day one,’ says Jan, adding, ‘As is often the case when you have agents all over the world, the agents insisted on having a say. Gradually, the decision-making processes for the collections shifted from the design department to the sales department, which paid more attention to what had worked in the past than what might work going forward.’
‘I opened my shop because I wanted to experiment with design without having to answer to anyone, apart from myself and my own finances. I continued working with Made In for another six years, and being the owner of the shop allowed me to refer to successes with real-life customers when I suggested something new to Made In.’
As I understand it, Made In was driven by a focus on growth. Is growth part of the strategy for your own business too?
‘No. My ambition is of an artistic nature. Naturally, we need sales and revenue in order to keep the business afloat, but the development work is not driven by a commercial focus.’
Tell me how you work and how you relate to the concept of fashion.
‘We are in and of our time, and all impressions make an impact, but I don’t care for clothes that are too typical of their time.
Many of the styles we sell in the shop have been around for anywhere from 10 to 30 years.
If clothes are properly designed and have a good fit, they retain their appeal to both me and the customers.
When we make new designs, we often build on existing ones. Here, my young assistants help me out by combing through my archives and finding something interesting that we then use as our point of departure.
This process may be short or long; usually it’s long.
As we work, Amalie or Emma sews the model in calico. We often make two, three or four calicos before we’re satisfied. I tend to persist until we’re at the verge of something that might become a new classic. Next, we send the pattern to an external pattern designer for grading [adapting it to different sizes], and only then can we initiate production.’
Calico is plain unbleached cotton fabric.
Pattern grading can be done manually or digitally; in either case, the designer determines the size steps and fit.
‘The clothes that are sold exclusively from the shop are not released as collections but in a gradual flow and are sewn in-house by our brilliant tailor, Jung Van.’ Jan points to the adjacent room, where a sewing machine is humming. ‘Jung has been sewing for me for more than 30 years. He is a true master and capable of handling my emphasis on technical solutions in my designs.’
In the shop, customers can choose among a variety of fabrics, all exquisite qualities in wool, cotton and linen. The shop does not offer bespoke designs, but the clothes on offer can be adjusted to fit any body type. Most of the garments are designed for women.
‘The wholesale collection, which is sold here and throughout Europe, Asia and the United States, has designs for both women and men. We have an ongoing conversation about what it should include. It is released in connection with fairs and made to order in India by a small team of excellent tailors whom I have personally helped train.’
‘I have long been wanting to focus more on men’s clothing. We have had a few designs in the shop, because I needed clothes for myself, but otherwise it has not been a priority. Now it seems that this market is opening up.’
Emma adds, ‘Much of it is driven by our Japanese agent and by our experience that our slightly androgynous style appeals to the buyers at menswear fairs. The women’s collection also does better in this context. Buyers of menswear brands are more likely to share our focus.’
Whis is?
‘We’re talking about longevity,’ says Emma, adding, ‘Durability is an integral aspect of our design philosophy. It can be difficult to market but is unmistakeable when we see in the shop that Jan’s clothes are handed down from generation to generation and are being maintained because they last. This durability includes both style and quality. Our main materials are cotton, wool and linen.’
Organic cotton? I ask, because I know that conventional cotton production has a high environmental impact.
Amalie explains, ‘Not yet. We are continually searching and testing in order to find a quality that matches the conventional cotton Jan has been using for many, many years, and which we know the customers love for its durability. Of course, we would love to use organic materials, it just isn’t the only sustainability parameter, but we continue searching.’
‘Apropos of development work,’ says Jan, ‘Jung is currently developing a detachable lining for a fairly new dust coat that is being made in Italy.’
The coat – named JAN – might well become a big hit, matching the success of the iconic Jan Machenhauer coat that all Danish architects and intellectuals have either owned at some point or at least know someone who has.
‘My working days begin with a meeting at this table. If we don’t have fittings, I then go to the Épice Paris studio in Christianshavn, where my highly competent assistant Kerit Ehrhorn works. Épice accounts for about 40% of my working hours. In addition, I try to be in the shop one or two days a week, unless I’m travelling,’ says Jan.
‘Bess and I founded Épice in 1999 in part because we missed travelling in India and working together, and we thought that scarves or, rather, a product with a main focus on textile, which we both love, would be a delightfully simple and practical path. Like me, Bess also has her own independent firm (Khadi and Co).
Épice Paris quickly became an international success.
By now, Bess has passed most of her ownership on to her son, who has long been the CEO of the company, but she continues to follow events from the sidelines.
I am still active and in charge of the creative side of things; in fact, Épice is my main livelihood.
For every season, I prepare an outline consisting of a colour palette and some new patterns. In addition to my assistant, I work with a regular team comprised of textile designer Iben Brøndum and colour designer Nina Hart, who help me create patterns and colourways for prints and weaves. I travel to India myself to oversee the development process in collaboration with the craftspeople.
Lately, I have taken over responsibility for our photo shoots. We were fairly late to launch web shops for the clothes and for Épice, but now that they are up and running, the photos are as important as the products themselves. It’s an enjoyable task,’ says Jan, ‘and it has turned out really well.
When I worked for Made In, I was also in charge of photography and went out on location with the photographers twice a year to shoot catalogue photos. It takes time, but it’s also a source of inspiration.’
You never tire of clothes?
‘No, I don’t think I’ll ever be done,’ says Jan with a smile.
‘I am just super fascinated with clothes as a medium – I constantly feel the urge to develop and to add what’s missing.’
Missing? So you’ll enter a room full of people and imagine how everything might look more beautiful and harmonious if everyone was wearing your shirts, trousers and jackets; perhaps you might even throw in a new design that has yet to see the light of day?
‘That sounds pretty familiar,’ he replies.
So you’re going to keep at it?
‘We were just talking about that recently,’ says Amalie, ‘when you talked about building a studio in the back garden at Épice. I mentioned that you could easily have 20 good years there, and you just gave me this puzzled look.’
Jan replies, ‘Yes, it wasn’t that I thought 20 years was too long; it was more that it sounded as if you only expected me to have another 20 working years left.’
Has your need for assistants changed over the years?
‘I have always had trainees, and they often end up staying on as employees for a decade. No, I don’t think it has changed, now that I think about it.
I have no thoughts of retiring, although I would like to work a little less, and I don’t feel the same urge to be involved in every single aspect …
However, I still reserve the right to have the last say, even if that last say might come out differently than it would, had it not been for the influence of Emma and Amalie.’
My audience is over, Jan clearly signals that it’s time to get back to work. On the way out, I am allowed to take a few photos, and I make an appointment with Amalie to return to take more pictures of materials and working processes once Jan has left for India.
Fra bookazine 8, køb dit eksemplar her
Vi har sat os til rette ved det runde bord med udsigt til haven, hvor de fleste dage på Jan Machenhauers studie og systue på Frederiksberg tager deres begyndelse.
Jeg har fået lov til at komme forbi, selvom der hersker ekstraordinær travlhed. Jan er på vej til Indien og skal være væk i fire uger. Dels skal han medvirke på udstillingen “Tradition is Contemporary – Danish textile craft in art and design in relation to India” på National Crafts Museum i New Delhi, dels skal han arbejde på værksteder, hvor han har haft sin gang i en menneskealder.
Med ved bordet sidder Amalie Bengtson og Emma Wedeman. De er begge uddannet på Designskolen Kolding og har arbejdet for ham i henholdsvis fem og fire år.
Amalie er designer og Jans højre hånd, udtrykker han, Emma er designer og har ansvar for kommunikation.
Jan Machenhauer-butikken, som ligger på Nikolaj Plads i København, etablerede Jan i 1981 sammen med sin partner, Erik Tyrrell. Her sælges målsyet konfektion i Jan Machenhauer-design, engrosbrandet Jan Machenhauer, som produceres i Indien, og JAN coats, som produceres i Italien, foruden tørklæder fra Épice Paris.
Jan Machenhauers karriere tog sin begyndelse i 1976 under studietiden på Skolen for Brugskunst. Til en opgave benyttede han tekstiler, som var sponsoreret af en svensk producent. Med afsæt i opgaven blev han hyret til, sammen med producentens svigerinde, Bess Nielsen, at designe kollektioner til et nyt brand, “Made In”.
“Det blev fra begyndelsen en kæmpe succes”, fortæller Jan og fortsætter: “Som det ofte går, når man får agenter i hele verden, insisterede agenterne på at have indflydelse. Umærkeligt flyttede beslutningsprocessen omkring kollektionerne fra designafdelingen til salgsafdelingen, som vel at mærke så mere på, hvad der fungerede retrospektivt end fremadrettet.”
“Min butik åbnede jeg, fordi jeg ønskede at eksperimentere med design uden at skulle stå til ansvar over for andre end mig selv og min egen økonomi. Jeg arbejdede med Made In i yderligere seks år og kunne, med butikken i ryggen, argumentere ud fra succesoplevelser med ægte kunder, når jeg ville introducere Made In for noget nyt.”
“Made In” var drevet af et ønske om vækst, som jeg forstår dig. Er vækst en del af strategien for din egen virksomhed?
“Nej, min ambition er af kunstnerisk karakter. Vi skal naturligvis sælge for at holde virksomheden i gang, men udviklingsarbejdet er ikke styret af ønsket om salg.”
Fortæl mig, hvordan i arbejder, og hvordan du forholder dig til begrebet mode?
“Vi er i tiden, og alle indtryk bliver brugt, men jeg bryder mig ikke om tøj, som er for tidstypisk.
Mange af de styles, vi sælger i butikken, har været med i mellem 10 og 30 år.
Hvis tøjet er ordentligt formgivet og har en god pasform, bliver både jeg og kunderne ved med at synes om det.
Når vi designer nyt, er det ofte sådan, at vi digter videre på noget eksisterende. Her hjælper de unge mig, de går i mine arkiver, finder noget, som er interessant, og så arbejder vi videre derfra.
En sådan proces kan være kort eller lang, oftest lang.
Undervejs syr Amalie eller Emma modellen op i stout. Vi fremstiller ofte to, tre eller fire stouter, inden vi er tilfredse. Jeg har tendens til at blive ved, indtil vi er på kanten af noget, der kunne ligne en ny klassiker. Derefter sendes mønstret til størrelsesgraduering hos en ekstern konstruktør, og først herefter kan produktionen påbegyndes.”
Stout er en ubleget bomuldsmetervare.
Graduering af mønstre kan foregå manuelt eller digitalt; under alle omstændigheder har designeren taget stilling til sine størrelsesspring og sin pasform.
“Det tøj, som udelukkende sælges i butikken, udkommer ikke i kollektioner, men slippes i en glidende bevægelse og sys her på stedet af vores geniale skrædder Jung Van. Jan peger ind i rummet ved siden af, hvor en symaskine spinner. Jung har syet for mig i mere end 30 år. Han er en sand mester og er i stand til at imødekomme, at jeg læger stor vægt på særlige tekniske løsninger i mit design.”
I butikken har kunderne mulighed for at vælge mellem forskellige stofalternativer: udsøgte kvaliteter i uld, bomuld og hør, og der er mulighed for at tilpasse, så alle kropstyper kan få tøj, som sidder godt. Derimod sys ikke efter kundens ønske, der er hovedsagelig tale om kvindetøj.
“Engroskollektionen, som sælges både hos os selv, i resten af Europa, Asien og i USA, er både til kvinder og mænd. Vi har en løbende samtale om, hvad den skal indeholde. Den udkommer i forbindelse med messerne og ordreproduceres i Indien hos et lille team af dygtige skræddere, som jeg selv har været med til at oplære.”
“Jeg har længe ønsket at arbejde mere med tøj til mænd. Vi har haft lidt i forretningen, fordi jeg selv skulle have tøj, men ellers ikke prioriteret det. Nu er det, som om det marked åbner sig.”
Emma fortsætter, “det er meget drevet af vores japanske agent, og af at vi har erfaret, at vores lidt androgyne stil appellerer til dem, som køber ind på herremesserne. Kvindekollektionen er også bedre tjent med at blive solgt i den sammenhæng. De folk, som ser på herrebrands, har i højere grad fokus på det samme som os.”
Og det er?
“Vi taler om ‘longevity’ (design skabt til lang levetid)”, svarer Emma og fortsætter, “det langtidsholdbare er en fast forankret del af den designfilosofi, vi tror på. Den er vanskeligt at skilte med, men taler sit tydelige sprog, når vi i butikken erfarer, at Jans tøj går i arv fra generation til generation og vedligeholdes, fordi det holder både stilmæssige og kvalitetsmæssigt. Bomuld, uld og hør er de bærende materialer.”
Økologisk bomuld?, spørger jeg, fordi jeg ved, at produktionen af konventionel bomuld er særdeles miljøbelastende.
Amalie forklarer: “Ikke endnu, vi leder og tester løbende for at finde en kvalitet, som kan komme på højde med den konventionelle bomuld, som Jan har benyttet i mange, mange år, og som vi ved, at kunderne elsker for dens langtidsholdbarhed. Vi vil naturligvis gerne bruge økologiske materialer, blot er økologi ikke eneste parameter i forhold til bæredygtig produktion, men vi er på sporet.”
“Apropos udviklingsarbejde”, fortsætter Jan, “Jung er netop nu i gang med at udvikle et løst for til en relativt ny støvfrakke, som produceres i Italien.”
Frakken, som går under navnet JAN, kunne meget vel blive en succes på linje med den ikoniske Jan Machenhauer-frakke, som alle danske arkitekter og intellektuelle på et eller andet tidspunkt enten har haft eller i hvert fad kendt nogen, som har haft.
“Min arbejdsdag begynder med et møde her ved bordet. Hvis vi ikke har prøvning, tager jeg videre til Épice Paris-studiet på Christianshavn, hvor min dygtige assistent Kerit Ehrhorn arbejder. Épice udgør ca. 40% af min arbejdstid, desuden forsøger jeg at være i butikken en dag eller to om ugen, når jeg ikke er på rejser”, fortæller Jan.
“Bess og jeg etablerede i Épice i 1999, fordi vi savnede at rejse i Indien sammen og at arbejde sammen, vi tænkte, at tørklæder eller rettere et produkt med hovedfokus på tekstilet, som vi begge elsker, ville være en legende enkel og farbar vej at gå. Bess har ligesom jeg firma ved siden af (Khadi & Co).
Épice Paris blev ret hurtigt en international succes.
Bess har efterhånden overdraget det meste af sit ejerskab til sin søn, som længe har været direktør i virksomheden, men hun følger med på sidelinjen.
Jeg er uændret aktiv og er den, som står for det kreative, Épice er egentlig det, jeg lever af.
Jeg udarbejder til hver sæson et oplæg bestående af en farvepalet og nye mønstre til den pågældende sæson. Jeg har, foruden min assistent, et fast team bestående af tekstildesigner Iben Brøndum og farvesætter Nina Hart, som hjælper mig med at kreere mønstre og farver til tryk og væv. Jeg rejser selv til Indien for at udvikle med håndværkerne.
På det seneste har jeg overtaget ansvaret for vores photoshoots. Vi har været sene med webshops både på tøjet og på Épice, men nu, hvor de er blevet etableret, er billederne lige så vigtige som produktet selv. Det er sjovt at arbejde med”, siger Jan, “og det er blevet virkelig flot.
Da jeg arbejdede for Made In, stod jeg også for fotos og rejste ud med fotografer to gange om året for at lave kataloger. Det tager tid, men det kaster også inspiration tilbage.”
Du bliver aldrig træt af tøj?
“Nej, jeg tror aldrig, at jeg bliver færdig”, smiler Jan.
“Jeg er helt enkelt superfascineret af tøj som medie – jeg har hele tiden lyst til at udvikle og at tilføje det, som mangler.”
Mangler? Du går ind i en forsamling og forestiller dig, hvordan det hele kunne være smukkere og mere harmonisk, hvis alle fik dine skjorter, bukser og jakker på; du kunne måske endda forestille dig at involvere et nyt design, som endnu ikke har set dagens lys?
“Det lyder meget genkendeligt”, svarer han.
Så du bliver ved?
“Vi talte for nylig om det”, indskyder Amalie, “det var i forbindelse med, at du luftede tanken om at bygge et atelier i baghaven til Épice. Jeg udtrykte, at der kunne du have 20 gode arbejdsår, og du så undrende på mig.”
Jan svarer hende: “Ja, det var ikke, fordi 20 år forekom som for længe, mere fordi jeg undrede mig over, at du mente, at jeg kun havde 20 år mere at arbejde i.”
Har dit behov for medarbejdere ændret sig gennem årene?
“Jeg har hele tiden haft praktikanter, og de er ofte endt med efterfølgende at blive i 10 år som ansatte. Nej, det har faktisk ikke forandret sig, når jeg tænker over det.
Jeg har ingen tanker om at stoppe, jeg ville derimod gerne arbejde lidt mindre, og jeg har mindre og mindre lyst til at være involveret i alt…
Men jeg forbeholder mig stadig retten til at have det sidste ord, selvom det sidste ord godt kan være et andet, end det havde været, hvis ikke jeg var under indflydelse af Emma og Amalie.”
Min audiens er slut, Jan signalerer tydeligt, at nu skal der arbejdes. På vejen ud får jeg lov til at tage et par billeder og en aftale i hus med Amalie om at vende tilbage for at fotografere materialer og arbejdsgange, når Jan er rejst.
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