Merz. b. Schwanen: The Antithesis of Today’s Throwaway Fashion
The fashion apparel industry has drastically changed over the last twentyor so years. By consequence, today’s ‘fast fashion’ industry, with the retailconglomerates in the frontline, has become hugely standardised. This hasled to immeasurable bulks of ‘anonymous’ and often poorly made clothes.Rapidly produced fashions without any history or noteworthy source ofreference, readily available to be thrown away. As a result, the disdain forthese disposable fashions is growing.
By contrast, German men’s wear label Merz b. Schwanen, shrewdlyunderstands how in today’s fashion realm, craftsmanship and expressingauthenticity and quality has become imperative in establishing a sense offashion rigueur.
The Berlin based fashion label, founded by Peter Plotnicki, offers a range inbeautifully basic army shirts, singlets, pants and sweaters, all of which areinspired by vintage workmen’s undergarments from the 1920s, 1930s and1940s.
Each piece of clothing is made with care and generated by authenticmanufacturing processes, whereby original, historic circular knittingmachines are being put into use again. Accordingly, in line with traditionalproduction facilities that were customary in various parts of Germany fromthe 1920s up to the 1950s, an old way of crafting is revived.
The effect of this bygone technique is an irregular weaving pattern, whichleave the clothes without a side seam, giving each item a refined, singularand authentic look. In result, the knitted ‘vintage feel’ garments made byMerz b. Schwanen hold a surplus value that industrially developed fashionsare a-priori deficient in.
Labels as Merz b. Schwanen can be considered a welcoming counterpoise totoday’s throwaway McFashions, a term once brilliantly coined bysustainable fashion designer and author, Kate Fletcher. Moreover, theturning away from mass produced, standardized apparel matches a largercultural trend that is comprised in a returned interest in the decorative andhandmade (of which the documentary series Made by Hand is an active proof: http://thisismadebyhand.com/).
Additionally, in our increasingly fast paced 24/7-stress society, time hasbecome a true luxury ‘good’. As such, time equals quality (simply put). Inview of this, these kinds of labour intensive, carefully crafted ‘slow fashion’clothes, permeated with historicity, will almost certainly hold a radiantlybright future.
The fashion apparel industry has drastically changed over the last twentyor so years. By consequence, today’s ‘fast fashion’ industry, with the retailconglomerates in the frontline, has become hugely standardised. This hasled to immeasurable bulks of ‘anonymous’ and often poorly made clothes.Rapidly produced fashions without any history or noteworthy source ofreference, readily available to be thrown away. As a result, the disdain forthese disposable fashions is growing.
By contrast, German men’s wear label Merz b. Schwanen, shrewdlyunderstands how in today’s fashion realm, craftsmanship and expressingauthenticity and quality has become imperative in establishing a sense offashion rigueur.
The Berlin based fashion label, founded by Peter Plotnicki, offers a range inbeautifully basic army shirts, singlets, pants and sweaters, all of which areinspired by vintage workmen’s undergarments from the 1920s, 1930s and1940s.
Each piece of clothing is made with care and generated by authenticmanufacturing processes, whereby original, historic circular knittingmachines are being put into use again. Accordingly, in line with traditionalproduction facilities that were customary in various parts of Germany fromthe 1920s up to the 1950s, an old way of crafting is revived.
The effect of this bygone technique is an irregular weaving pattern, whichleave the clothes without a side seam, giving each item a refined, singularand authentic look. In result, the knitted ‘vintage feel’ garments made byMerz b. Schwanen hold a surplus value that industrially developed fashionsare a-priori deficient in.
Labels as Merz b. Schwanen can be considered a welcoming counterpoise totoday’s throwaway McFashions, a term once brilliantly coined bysustainable fashion designer and author, Kate Fletcher. Moreover, theturning away from mass produced, standardized apparel matches a largercultural trend that is comprised in a returned interest in the decorative andhandmade (of which the documentary series Made by Hand is an active proof: http://thisismadebyhand.com/).
Additionally, in our increasingly fast paced 24/7-stress society, time hasbecome a true luxury ‘good’. As such, time equals quality (simply put). Inview of this, these kinds of labour intensive, carefully crafted ‘slow fashion’clothes, permeated with historicity, will almost certainly hold a radiantlybright future.
