OTTOLINGER

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The vocabulary of Ottolinger is equal parts pioneering and familiar. Led by design duo Christa Bösch and Cosima Gadient, this Berlin-based label blends couture-like craftsmanship with a pyrotechnic sensibility. Which makes sense, given that Ottolinger’s approach is one that’s grounded in the interplay between creativity and destruction. “We constantly try to establish our own language, and often this is by taking risks or trying something new and unexpected,” Bösch and Gadient explain. “We draw connections between different contexts that may at first glance seem opposing, so destruction is very much a part of our creative technique in defining this language.”

What results is a confluence of influences—couture-level tailoring juxtaposed alongside radical deconstruction. “For Fall 2017 we continued to manipulate fabrics and handcrafted a lot of things,” the designers elaborate. “It’s a re-assemblage that represents an unlikely harmony between meticulous construction and the antithetical spirit of punk-tinged rebellion.” The ensuing designs feature a distinct sense of sex appeal then, but Bösch and Gadient insist that this is not necessarily about being ‘pretty.’ Having first met in Switzerland at the Basel School of Design, it’s clear that these two design mavericks have found a uniquely kindred spirit in one another.

What else could account for their singular fascination with burned garments, for instance, and other elements of unexpected fabrication? Looking to their current collection, these pyromaniac tendencies are certainly still present, but so is the tension between deconstruction and reconstruction visible elsewhere in the collection. “We like to work with classic fabrics like denim, cotton, or silk, but then look for interesting ways to process or manipulate them,” the designers explain, which is what led them to include felted wool this season and also to experiment with their own tie-dye techniques. “We were interested in the different textures and colors that these techniques produce and how the combination of them can appear fitting and unfitting at the same time,” they say.

This notion of impropriety is an important one for Ottolinger, whose designers believe that clothing should capture both the imagination and also aspects of the mundane. “Inspired by everyday life” is how they would describe their pieces—each of which is developed in a very hands-on manner, onsite in their Berlin studio. The pair maintains that “clothes should be worn by people in real life. Of course we want to add some imagination [as well], something a little different to that reality, and cloth has the wonderful ability of doing that.” So the use of strikingly sumptuous silks for Spring 2018 makes sense then. And even more so when lent an unexpected visual treatment in the brand’s most recent imagery, which was photographed atop a tourist boat on the River Seine.

Ever influenced by this interaction between the mundane aspects of daily life and the fantasy of couture, it is understandable why Ottolinger’s irreverent approach has been reinvigorating the fashion industry ever since the brand first launched a couple of years ago. Since then, Bösch and Gadient have shown their compelling garments on the runways of both New York and Paris, but still continue to call Berlin their base. “It is a great city for a young label like us, with a lot of young artists and designers around,” they explain.

The relative affordability of this artistically charged city is also a major plus, Bösch and Gadient say, because it allows them to really focus on their work. With that said though, “Paris Fashion Week is still the most important fashion week in terms of showing, presenting yourself, and meeting people,” they reiterate, “which is why we want to continue being present there too.” And in the midst of this traditional fashion capital’s recent spirit of rebellion, it’s hard to think of a more perfect second home for the raw-edged ruggedness of Ottolinger’s impeccable constructions.

For more information, please visit Ottolinger.com.