Portrait El Naturalista 28–30 June 2016 Berlin Postbahnhof

28–30 June 2016
Berlin Postbahnhof
TRUST ME
Do clothes and fashion have anything to do with trust? Well, you need to trust your instincts
when it comes to going with the latest trend: As a man, to show off your bare feet in this
season’s hottest sandals (a pedicure can work wonders!), or as a woman, baring your midriff in a crop top. But fashion and trust are about more than just superficial vanity. Trend
researcher Lidewij Edelkoort believes we want to see more “trusted fibres”, or fabrics that
we trust – and she’s right. After all, when our clothes fit well and reflect our personal style,
we feel good, but it’s even better to know that they were produced in ethical conditions.
We would like to invite you to our trade fairs, the Ethical Fashion Show Berlin and Green
Showroom, to discover designers who make both aspects a reality. You can also read about
what trust means to the Hamburg-based female design team at JAN’NJUNE and discover
the collections from El Naturalista, Studio Elsien Gringhuis and Beaumont Organic.
Interview JAN’NJUNE
Portrait El Naturalista
They say that girls keep lots of secrets.
Anna Boronowski and Juliana Holtz­
heimer, however, are loud and clear
about their pieces because their straightforward fashion style doesn’t need to
keep anything quiet.
The Spanish footwear brand calls their
shoes a home from home, using tradi­
tional craftsmanship to make them and
drawing on nature as the inspiration for
their designs.
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Ethical Fashion Show Berlin / Greenshowroom
CLEAR RELATIONSHIPS
For Juliana Holtzheimer and Anna Bornowski, trust is transparency.
Under their JAN’NJUNE label, they create fashionable pieces whose
secret is their lack of secrets.
The Coco ribbed top in blue
From left: Juliana Holtzheimer and Anna Bornowski
© Lars Borges/TrenntMagazin
What takes top priority when it comes to your work?
Anna Bornowski Whether it’s using GOTS-certified cotton from
Africa or our production facilities in Poland, we need to be able
to rely on trusted, honest partners. Trust is absolutely vital to our
concept of a transparent value chain.
Juliana H oltz hei m e r We found a family in Wrocław who now
manufacture our entire collection. Thanks to its close proximity,
we can visit the production team often and have made a deal
that no work will be outsourced to third parties.
In your view, do clothes and trust belong together?
Anna B o r nows k i But every purchasing decision I make, I
automatically take responsibility for – whether I want to or not. I
would prefer to support companies that I trust.
Juliana H oltz hei m e r And we want our customers to rely on us.
For each of our products, they know exactly how it was made,
and what it is made from.
“Our customers always know
how each product is made,
and what it is made from.”
In the current collection, for example, there is a light-blue top
with a slit in the back ...
J uli ana Holtz hei m er That’s our Coco ribbed top in ocean blue.
It is made from ribbed organic cotton jersey from Turkey,
which we get from Lebensbekleidung, a company that sells
sustainable fabrics. You can find out about all this and more
on our website or by scanning the QR code on the label.
In her current manifesto, “The Emancipation of Everything”,
trend researcher Lidewij Edelkoort anticipates that we
consumers want to see more “trusted fibres”, or fabrics that
we can trust. What do you think about that?
J uli ana Holtz hei m er I can see why that would be the case.
After all, we spend a lot of time in our clothes and our body’s
largest organ – our skin – is in direct contact with them. We
already ask questions related to trust with regard to foodstuffs, wanting to know where they have come from and how
they were produced. It stands to reason that we might also
want to see this development apply to our clothes.
Interview: Alex Bohn
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Ethical Fashion Show Berlin / Greenshowroom
Elsien Gringhuis
Does everything always have to be new and different?
The Dutchwoman doesn’t believe in this fashion industry trope.
The major fashion houses produce more than ten collections a year.
According to a study by Greenpeace, in Germany, 40 % of clothes in
a wardrobe are never worn and perfectly good clothing ends up being
thrown away. This has become commonplace, but Elsien Gringhuis
thinks it’s far from normal. Instead of constantly coming up with new
designs, she develops a small number of styles that feature her signature
look: casual, minimalist, feminine and made from certified materials
such as silk, cotton, hemp, bamboo and biodegradable leather. Pieces
such as her cream-coloured bomber jacket made from 3-D textured
organic cotton with concealed zips have got what it takes to become
true classics, which won’t even get as far as hanging in the wardrobe
because they’ll be worn all the time!
The 01 bomber jacket by Elsien Gringhuis
El Naturalista
This small brand has been thinking big, right from the start:
They want to make the world a better place with their footwear.
Big ideas, big promises – that’s what the Spanish label has stood for since
it was founded 15 years ago. The production of their footwear aims to
protect the environment, their sale supports social projects, their design is
inspired by nature and the shoes themselves are as comfortable as a
second skin. And they’re pretty successful at it: Whether you choose sandals, boots or loafers, mineral-tanned leather or soles made from recycled
polyurethane – not a single one of their shoes is uncomfortable. They
also keep their word when it comes to other aspects, too, offering shoes
in such a wide variety that it’s easy to almost lose track. The highlight of
their current collection is the gladiator sandals with cork footbed.
Waraji sandals by El Naturalista
Beaumont Organic
From classic tees to striking XL dresses: This fashion house
made a name for itself in Japan and is now conquering the
rest of the world.
Manchester can hardly be described as the epicentre of fashion. But
despite this, Hannah Beaumont-Laurencia succeeded in developing
a small, successful company in just six years that has its most loyal fans
in fashion-crazy Japan. She won Japanese hearts with her very first
collection – eight T-shirts made from pure white organic cotton. Maybe
it’s the combination of her sustainable business practices – using offcuts, avoiding travel and keeping her energy consumption low – and
casual designs. She now appeals to customers all over the world with
British designs such as checked woollen skirts and button-down shirts,
as well as dresses in eye-catching colours with an XL silhouette.
The Opal dress by Beaumont Organic
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Ethical Fashion Show Berlin / Greenshowroom
Press spokesperson
Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH
Stefan Jakob
T+49 69 75 75 58 22
stefan.jakob@messefrankfurt.com
Kern Kommunikation
Rebecca Espenschied
T+49 69 65 00 57 32
presse@kernkommunikation.de
Masthead
Concept and production:
Alex Bohn – fairaporter.com
Greenshowroom and
Ethical Fashion Show Berlin
Eco fashion in the spotlight: The Green Showroom and Ethical Fashion
Show Berlin are Europe’s largest B2B platform for green, fair-trade
fashion, taking place at the Berlin Fashion Week. Over 160 international
labels showcase their fashions at the Postbahnhof in Berlin’s Ostbahnhof. The Green Showroom features high-end fashion and suitable accessories, while the Ethical Fashion Show Berlin displays street and casual­
wear. A diverse range of fringe events, such as shows, networking,
parties, press conferences, talks and podium discussions, rounds off the
three-day fair. The organiser of both events is Messe Frankfurt, which,
hosting around 50 textile fairs in Europe, Asia and America, is the global
market leader for textile industry trade fairs.
Background information
Messe Frankfurt
Messe Frankfurt is one of the world’s leading trade fair organisers, gene­
rating around €645 million in sales and employing 2,297 people. The
Messe Frankfurt Group has a global network of 29 subsidiaries and 57
international Sales Partners, allowing it to serve its customers on location in more than 160 countries. Messe Frankfurt events take place at
more than 40 locations around the globe. In 2015, Messe Frankfurt organised a total of 132* trade fairs, of which more than half took place
outside Germany.
Comprising an area of 592,127 square metres, Messe Frankfurt’s exhibi­
tion grounds are home to ten exhibition halls. The company also operates
two congress centres. The historic Festhalle, one of the most popular
venues in Germany, plays host to events of all kinds. Messe Frankfurt is
publicly owned, with the City of Frankfurt holding 60 per cent and the State
of Hesse 40 per cent.
For more information, please visit our website at: www.messefrankfurt.com
*Provisional figures for 2015
Design: Cskw – cskw.de
Photography: Jennifer Endom –
jenniferendom.de
Photography assistant: Gabriela Pintado
Models: Franzi/ Iconic Models,
Charlotte und Felipe/ Megamodels
Styling: Alex Bohn, Assistant: Tanita Hecking
Text and images
for download
www.greenshowroom.com/presse
www.ethicalfashionshowberlin.com/presse