OTTOLINGER DNA
The project explores the Ottolinger brand, turning its identity into the basis for the creation of a capsule collection. One of the inspirations for the brand’s designers is the rave culture of Berlin, which prompted me to come up with the concept for the project: a girl leaving the rave wearing an upside down shirt.
OTTOLINGER/ BACKGROUND
Swiss girls Christa Bösch and Cosima Gadient became friends while studying at the Basel School of Design. «Basel gave me the freedom to adapt, find out more about fashion and art, and it gave me time to develop and learn» — Christa Bösch. After graduating in 2015, they immediately decided to launch their own brand — why not? It may be a crazy idea, but it was exciting and fun. Following the example of many of their friends, the girls decided to settle in Berlin:
«Berlin is a world of its own. So many different nationalities and so many different characters. There is a place for everyone»
They started by trial and error: neither Christa nor Cosima had any experience in managing a company or organizing production. On the other hand, it was the lack of memorized rules that helped them act intuitively, unconventionally, simply at the behest of their souls and common sense. «For me, being a designer was always more connected to a dream than to reality. I grew up on a farm in the mountains, in a village with 400 people where no one is an artist or involved in fashion», says Christa. «My strong point was imagination: I liked to create worlds, and fashion became a bridge that connected fantasy with reality» — Cosima.
What’s the story of the brand name? «Ottolinger was the family name of the neighbor of our first studio. The studio was incredibly small and half connected to a house. We didn’t have a mailbox and all our mail came to Mr. Ottolinger. We still hadn’t decided on a name back then and we thought a lot about brand names in general — it will stay with you forever and we wanted to have something disconnected to time or any specific subject. One morning one of us said more in a jokey way: „Ottolinger would be the perfect name“. And we kept it».
OTTOLINGER/ PHILOSOPHY
Over time, the design duo managed to create a brand that aims to make women feel more energetic and look better. «We believe that loving yourself is very important for our everyday life, and we would like to spread self-confidence, make people feel strong, feel protected and beautiful — that’s what Ottolinger strives for,» Christa Bösch and Cosima Gadient told Nowfashion.
«We think we can be the fun and cool older sister that is protecting you and will lend you her clothes» - Cosima Gadient
«Intuition is our motor»
The Ottolinger aesthetic was fully formed from the start: avant-garde deconstruction, tearing, shredding and burning, but always in the service of the clothes, not just deconstruction for its own sake, undermining the stiffness of luxury fashion.
«Intuition is our motor. Finding all the shapes and forms is very intuitive—there’s a fine line between deconstruction and stillness in balance. Only our intuition can tell us where this line is».
«Looking back is dying»
Christa Bösch and Cosima Gadient hope to capture a sense of forward movement in their collections, which are defined by sensually charged, deconstructed silhouettes and often feature cut-out or altered elements, intricate strap closures or skin-baring cutouts.
OTTOLINGER/ INSPIRATION
«Ottolinger is a super romantic version of The Fifth Element, ideal for a post-apocalyptic rave»
The brand’s aesthetic harks back to the golden age of punk, but the founders are equally inspired by what they’re watching, reading and listening to right now, like the sci-fi stories of Ken Liu. And despite the brand’s rebellious image, the rather conservative culture of their native Switzerland is very important to its creators: «We’re fascinated by traditional Swiss clothing, details, craft techniques, and we find it very interesting to translate this into our own language».
However, the designers do not limit themselves to each other’s company and often collaborate with friends on various creative projects. For example, Christa and Cosima worked with the multidisciplinary artist Lukas Hofmann on his performance Dry Me a River: «We create clothes for an active life and movement, and it seemed natural for us that they became part of a theatrical performance.» Beyoncé, who wore Ottolinger pieces during her world tour On the Run II, would agree with this statement.
OTTOLINGER WOMEN
«She’s a very curious and adventurous person, and it’s more of a feeling about life and how she approaches it. The person we would all like to hang out with and be friends with» — Ottolinger designers
OTTOLINGER/ FORMULA
Ottolinger themselves describe the brand as «a unique combination of couture craftsmanship, deconstruction, sporty essentials and traditional masculine silhouettes with a feminine touch».
Ottolinger = reconstruction + handmade couture + clubwear + science fiction + bright color accents + «porcelain» accessories
OTTOLINGER/ CONCEPT
Girl leaving the rave wearing an upside down shirt
OTTOLINGER/ SKETCHES
OTTOLINGER/ WORK IN PROGRESS
OTTOLINGER/ RESEARCH
