ZWEI FAMILIENALBUM (TWO FAMILY ALBUM) is the name of the second collection of howitzweissbach. a collection that is dedicated wholeheartedly to memory. childhood vacations at the Baltic sea. usedom, hiddensee, fischland darß. looking for sea shells, paddling on the Baltic in a folder boat, zeesen boat regattas, fishing in the small side arms of the bodden. blazing heat, beach balls, beach walks, using father as an open sea diving board, sand, reed-thatched cottages behind dunes, riding a bike through lopsided pine forests, faded memories of grandparents dragging big beach bags filled with the sundries of summer across the sand-covered concrete walkways towards the water. the sun slipping into the sea and the subsequent midge bites of dusk.
these lines conjure images which are beautiful, but also dangerously kitsch. we, howitzweissbach, have decided to face this danger. always in pursuit of these images, but also of their disruption. we are looking for moods and do not want to simply adapt one-dimensional set pieces. howitzweissbach at the beach. that's something else. it's about creating a mood without using quote after quote. how do we experience the sea as children. how can memories be transmitted into clothing. how can we create this particular feeling of a summer at the German Baltic sea, despite working in abstraction. can this mood be conjured in the observer without resorting to bluntness.
Howitzweissbach create one-of-a-kind items. our cuts are distinctive. we are concerned with the graphic form of cut. we fold forms, establish ground rules and move, for the most part, in a very clear canon of shapes. the dress stripe, for example, consists simply of six parallel block stripes. these go through a process of folding to become the dress. the jacket baukasten was created by a random combination of five basic geometric shapes. our interest in cuts is spelled reduction. the less parts the more thrilling the process.
ZWEI FAMILIENALBUM consists, on the material level, of matt silk, a wonderfully light quality of Italian cotton, a more firm, even powdery, cotton fabric, reminiscent of sailcloth and magnificently soft, dyed lamb nappa leather.
to make the collection pieces absolutely unique, we have painted. like children who dab, brush and dye themselves a world of their own. every piece is hand-coloured. every piece has become a very individual member of the howitzweissbach family. every piece bears its own name and a personal stripe. largely applied when still in single parts but with some pieces even, with a lot of courage, after they had been assembled. thus even shoes and socks become little individual personalities.
Ahoi
Eva and Frieder
It is freezing. Snow everywhere. The woods are right outside the door of the hut.
Hot chai drunk from a metal cup. The mountain awaits. We start the march. The sledge behind us. Food in our backpacks. The sky clears. Our feet in thick socks. Snow crystals in our coats. Pine forests deep in snow. A small beaten track for walking. Freshly hewn wood. The scent of resin and the mountains before us. Like a painting. Large, looming, mighty, beckoning. The ascent begins. First easy then more and more steeply. We are slowly rising. Ski runs cross our track. Follow the yellow markers then follow the red. Down in the valley snow, children, sledges, smoking chimneys. White is everywhere. A short rest in the robbers den. Each has a Krakauer and a chunk of caraway bread. Then onward. Snow turns to ice. Panting. The tree line. Ravens circle above us. It has grown late. The sun is red and ominously low. The ridge. Racing clouds. At last the summit. The wind blows through the beards. A view without limit. Vastness. Dusk. Homely lights in the valley. Let's get back there. Crossing the mainline, following the yellow markers. Towards the warm fireplace. Euphoric exhaustion. A pipe on the wooden bench. Tomorrows summit already in view.
drag the pieces to assemble your own design. rotate with the space bar. esc to reset the game.
The newest howitzweissbach collection is called SECHS ICONS. Our sixth line is a distinct tribute – a melange – but also represents a feeling for the present. Everything can be mixed up these days. No rules are there regarding what to wear – neither of a special time nor a certain place. Modern people live noiseless eclecticism. Such freedom is connected to an open-minded feeling for fashion and the own identity. And it is connected to the ability of seeing the roots of the present in the culture of the past. With collection SECHS ICONS we bow to that interesting and crowded past. Bringing the style references from the past century together in one extraordinarily contemporary collection was one of the greatest joys in howitzweissbach’s latest work. Lady Di meets Twiggy meets Marlene Dietrich. In the design process we started to feel and to imagine visions like the one of Emilie Flöge meeting up with Greta Garbo at a Fast Food Restaurant to talk about new ideas and inventions. Every piece is a 21st century tribute to a decade long ago. Pure silk is the foundation and creates an exciting variation of transparency and translucency while providing a solid structure in the designs. The pieces play with space between the materials, the dresses include playful transparent details – like universes seen in a snow globe. SECHS ICONS assembles the connection of former fashion universes but also creates small secret worlds.
Arrive late! Go early, because rarity heightens appreciation!
Speak little or incoherently, as it suggests depth of thought.
Scintillate without letting the effort show (no one needs to know you work nights in a bar)!
A slight stiffness of neck can be very advantageous for your posture!
There is no such thing as heels that are too high. Stop your drama! Go on! Keep training!
At the first international Congress of Con Men (1999) in Berlin a con man was defined as follows:
He is:
(1) a revolutionary, who exposes prevalent character masks by affirmation,
(2) a reactionary, who is over-versed in rules and norms and
(3)a trail blazer of that particular mainstream of society, that enshrines the dominance of semblance over substance – and thus currently a trend setter.
