STATEMENT COATS
Contemporary luxury is handmade, unique,
top quality and made to last.
So was old-fashioned luxury.
September 2022
In between, we tried to convince ourselves and each other that luxury is more about branding than about design, craftsmanship and quality materials.
I have begun working on HÅNDVÆRK bookazine no. 8, which comes out in spring 2023.
In this issue, I revisit my former profession, the fashion business. This means I am particularly interested in professional exchanges related to fashion.
The week’s most elegant fashion meeting took place in the shop/gallery universe Nuvole in St. Regnegade in Copenhagen, where Berlin-based Aleksandra Jagdfeld presented her exclusive coats (and cushions).
Her label, ALEKSANDRAVIKTOR, has been around since 2019.
The coats are only available from a few select shops. ‘Shops are difficult,’ she explains. ‘It takes a certain communication effort to sell an expensive coat from a small, unknown luxury label.’ Online and event-based sales, on the other hand, have proven successful, and the label has received lots of media attention.
She is in Copenhagen now because she was invited here to meet Nuvole’s clients, and she does not rule out the idea of a partnership with a Copenhagen shop if a retailer is interested.
Her mission is to change the basic terms of high-end luxury fashion.
Through her husband’s family, she has a years-long association with the flagship of the in-between time, the now defunct department store Quartier 206 in Berlin, so she is quite familiar with the existing terms.
Alexandra’s concept of luxury revolves around craftsmanship and materials but also coolness and the quality of wearability. ‘No one wants clothes that are difficult to wear,’ she says.
‘It’s important to ensure a connection between traditional crafts and modernity, otherwise, craft becomes folkloristic,’ she argues. Her ikat textiles are hand-woven in Uzbekistan, and her communication is based on deep respect and thorough research. She makes it clear that the coats are expensive for a reason, which is that the process of tie-dying, weaving and sowing is time-consuming. Every stage of the process is handled with care and competence, and the quality is superb in every regard.
The patterns of the fabric are based on traditional ikat patterns but have been revitalized, in part through a simplification and enlargement of the motifs and in part through the use of bolder and more powerful colours.
Den nye tids luksus er håndlavet, unik, af høj kvalitet, og skabt til at leve længe.
Sådan var gammeldags luksus også.
I den mellemliggende periode, forsøgte vi at bilde os selv og hinanden ind, at luksus mere handler om branding end om design, håndværk og materialekvalitet.
Jeg har kastet mig over arbejdet med HÅNDVÆRK bookazine no. 8, som udkommer i foråret 2023.
I det nummer genbesøger jeg min gamle branche, modebranchen. Jeg er derfor særlig glad for professionelle møder som relaterer til mode.
Forgangne uges mest elegante modemøde stod butiks-/galleriuniverset Nuvole i St. Regnegade i København for.
Berlinbaserede Aleksandra Jagdfeld var på gæstevisit for til at vise sine eksklusive kåber (og puder).
Hendes varemærke hedder ALEKSANDRA VIKTOR og har eksisteret siden 2019.
Kåberne sælges i få udvalgte butikker, ”butikker er vanskelige”, forklarer hun, ”der hører en formidling med hvis man skal sælge en dyr kåbe fra et lille ukendt luksusvaremærke”. Derimod har hun succes med at sælge eventbaseret og online, og det har ikke skortet på presseopmærksomhed.
Anledningen til at hun er i København, er netop et event hvor hun er inviteret til at træffe Nuvoles kunder. Skulle det vise sig at en københavnerbutik er interesseret i at samarbejde fremover, er hun dog absolut ikke uinteresseret.
Hendes mission er at ændre præmissen i luksusvarebrancen, vel at mærke den eksklusive del af branchen.
Den hidtidige præmis kender hun, idet hun årevis gennem sin svigerfamilie har været tæt knyttet til mellemperiodens flagskibet, den nu lukkede Departmentstore Quartier 206 i Berlin.
Alexandras forståelse af luksus knytter sig til håndværk og materiale, men også til coolnes, og ”easy to wear”.”Ingen vil have besværligt tøj”, siger hun.
”Det er vigtigt at der sker en koblingen mellem de traditionelle håndværk og modernitet, ellers bliver håndværket folkloristisk”, argumenterer hun. Hendes Ikattekstiler håndvæves i Uzbekistan, og hendes formidling bærer præg af dyb respekt og grundig research og man forstår at kåberne er kostbare af en anledning, nemlig at det tager meget lang tid først at farve, væve og sy. Alle processer er velgemmeførte og der er ikke en finger at sætte på kvaliteten.
Kåbernes mønstre tager afsæt i de traditionelle Ikatmønstre, men er revitaliserede, både gennem at forenkle og forstørre mønsterelementerne, og gennem at farvesætte kraftfuldt og dristigt.
Smukt!
Related stories
PROCESS
LALINA CAFÉ
