Styleserver Interview

After a long, long layoff we've started interviewing designers and shop owners again! First up is an interview with Florian Köhler, one of the founders of Styleserver, a German (mostly) online clothing shop featuring the best and brightest of Berlin fashion talent. We asked Ms. Köhler to give us the skinny on the German fashion scene.

Interview after the jump.

Who was involved in Styleserver's creation?

Mainly me (Florian Köhler) and my partner (Jan Eismann), but we definitely tried involving our friends and their ideas into the creation process, so we also got a lot of input from various different people. For example our friend Jenni McFarlane (who writes the Styleserver blog).

What were the motivations behind starting the site?

Well, we'd been in Berlin for several years and the whole fashion design thing suddenly took off. First there were hardly any small fashion labels worth taking seriously and then there comes C.neeon, Kaviar Gauche, Miroike, etc. Plus the whole face of the city is changing, from a fashion wasteland to three internationally renown fashion fairs and flagship stores from labels like Acne Jeans, A.P.C. and Comme des Garçons opening up one after another. The city is evolving into what it should have been all along. Plus job-wise we come from a more planning, strategic kind of background, since both of us worked in a multimedia company before, where the basic idea "Styleserver" was also developed. So it was a great challenge to finally be able to be more in charge of the creative side of things.

We understand you'll be opening a shop for international customers soon. Do you know when that is going to be opening?

As soon as possible, since we seem to be getting more and more hits from interested people from around the world.

American audiences are fairly familiar with European fashion as it comes from England, France, Italy, Scandinavia and Belgium, but not so much with German fashion. How would you describe German fashion? How would you say German fashion is different from European fashion as we know it?

Americans must be at least a little familiar with German fashion designers, because I do think that Jil Sander and even Strenesse are more than well-known brands. And even though Karl Lagerfeld isn't designing for his own label anymore, he is definitely famous practically all over the world. As for the next generation of designers like Bernhard Willhelm, Kostas Murkudis, Stephan Schneider, etc. they are definitely known by the fashion conscious hipster anywhere. I think German fashion was never so much about leisure as American fashion, more black, more simple and puristic. Something worn by architects and product designers. Jil Sander especially is known for that. But today in the century of mass market brands and fashion, with the takeover of jeans and sneakers, I don't think there is a big difference anymore.

We notice you're based in Berlin. Has Berlin changed much in the last 10 years or so with respect to the fashion industry? Are there lots independent designers setting up shop? Are there lots of new high-fashion stores opening?

As I mentioned earlier a lot has changed in Berlin and that rather quickly after a seemingly endless period of nothing. I guess some people like to compare it with New York's Lower East Side from a couple of years ago. A lot of entrepeneurs, let it be fashion, let it be clubs, bars and restaurants are trying to realize their dreams at the moment. But i still think it's going to be a while until we see a Viktor & Rolf store open up here.

Can you tell us about some of your favorite German designers?

Several studied under Vivienne Westwood at the most prestigious fashion school in Berlin, which would be the Berliner University of the Arts like Von Wedel & Tiedeken, Miroike and Antaeos. Then there are also the graduates from the Esmod, like Sarah Heartbo, Talking means Trouble etc. From a more artistic background come C.Neeon, they are from the Kunsthochschule Weissensee, which is pretty artsy. Others like Correll & Correll or Kleincorpse studied at Rietveld. They all come from different angles and pretty much all have their own unique distinctive style, which we really appreciate.

Are there any up-and-coming German designers/labels that you think are destined for international acclaim?

Kaviar Gauche is definitely trying really, really hard to get more international recognition, but everything is getting more and more professional these days, so it's understandable.

So what's going on in the German fashion scene right now? What's hot? What's not?

What's hot...let me think, still Swedish jeans and a trend towards '90s acid house revival chic. But as weird as it seems, Berlin still can't let go of the '80s style either. So a lot of mix and match and a lot of (and I emphazise that) vintage clothing. Berlin is big on secondhand.

Where do you see the German fashion scene going in the next few years?

Again just getting more and more professional. Which at the same time is sad, because it's kind of robbing the whole thing of it's innocence.