Dorothee Schumacher

Dorothee center A/W 2009

Dorothee Schumacher doesn’t believe in advertising...yet somehow her looks have popped up in everything from VOGUE to INSTYLE.

When most designers these days are scrambling to place their names on anything from fragrances to home décor, Dorothee spends her time developing personal relationships with her clientele. She personally invites her clients to all of her parties and events, and the invitations are passed by word of mouth. This seemingly slow method of promotion may seem to be a risky business move, but her strategy seems to have worked.

As a result, Schumacher’s clients are extremely loyal and the brand has been regarded as “one of the best kept secrets among fashion editors.” They opened the Berlin Fashion Week A/W 2010 with a “rebel-themed” collection, featuring classic items such as the tweed jacket given modern twists such as metallic finishes and voluminous collars.

Our visit to the Schumacher showroom was the highlight of our trip to Berlin Fashion Week A/W 2010. Although we were thirty minutes late to our interview due to the ridiculous traffic, Dorothee and her assistant Shola greeted us immediately with huge bear hugs and insisted that we drink hot tea after feeling our frozen fingers. We munched on tasty pastries while we toured their fabulous A/W collection the day after their runway show. The collection showed an incredible amount of attention to detail. Even their sporty tank tops were given unexpected twists, with their fur-trimmed shoulders. Delicate fabrics such as lace and silk were paired together with leather. The clothes, beautiful and designed for the open-minded and modern women, were comfortable, classy, and exciting a la fois. We sat down with Dorothee to hear the story behind the label and image that is Schumacher.

La société de mode: Schumacher just recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. How does it feel to be one of the front-runners of Berlin Fashion Week today, and did you ever imagine yourself in this position?
Dorothee Schumacher: Today Schumacher is much bigger than I thought [it would ever be] 20 years ago. However I always knew we wanted to do wearable fashion, which makes women feel good and makes them smile.

LSDM: Did you receive a formal college education, or did you have more of a hands-on experience?
DS: I never had formal training. I knew already when I was young that I wanted to work in fashion. I went to Italy to learn the language. I knew I had to learn Italian because fashion came out of Italy. My parents told me I could go to Italy they said they’d support me if I did training in a luxury house which I did, and I’m so happy I did this because I could SEE the idea behind retail. I learned organization and learned about women and what kind of women who buy fashion. The feedback today is wonderful. Wearable came back from this type of education that she had.

LSDM: It seems like the Italian ateliers have influenced your design aesthetic a lot. However your company is still based in Germany. Do you still feel attached to your native land?
DS: Germany is still home for me. Berlin is a big city, but the workspace is so private, its cozy and we need that. However our company is not sold here, it’s just a meeting place. Our headquarters are in Mannheim.

LDSM: Do you have any muses for your designs, are there any women that you consider to embody the ideals of Schumacher?
DS: Carla was so elegant [before serving as France’s first lady] and at the same time humorous. She was naturally easy and professional, friendly and simply wonderful.”

LSDM: Obviously not advertising your brand may be seen as a risky business move to some. How did you not give into the pressure to place advertisements in magazines and billboards?
DS: The word of mouth is so much stronger than advertising. We do something so much stronger. If one woman tells her best friend…that’s something. One paper cannot express it. We are personal, first and foremost.

LSDM: Well spoken. It seems like you develop such a close relationship with each of your clients. Are there any last words you’d like to share with them?
DS: Trust yourself and play with your feminine side. I would like to tell women that. We are so focused and we are so successful and now we have to learn not to hide the feminine side. It’s out weapon. It’s our prize.

Darn right it's our prize: a prize easily enhanced by Tiffany's jewelry and designer dresses! To see more fabulous Dorothee-isms check out the Schumacher website at http://www.schumacher.de/

Until Wednesday,

Rebecca&Maddy

Attention Society Members!

Sorry we've been so absent lately; traveling has made our lives insane.
Now that we're done with running around from metro to metro for a while, we'll be back in action starting tommorrow with a fab interview.


Thanks for sticking with us!


Stay Fabulous,
Rebecca&Maddy

SYA Style: Claire Stanton

Claire, a fellow student at our School Year Abroad program is always wearing something incredible. Her western, yet girly flair shows itself in each of her original ensembles. Normally we refrain from bringing our paparazzi act into school, but when Claire wore this corset style track jacket mixed with aquamarine accented cowboy boots, we just had to snap a photo.

Time Out with Ulrika Sandstrom

"Trends are specific in Stockholm; people are sensitive to trends and not very individual."

Judging from the glamorous shots we've seen on every Stockholm street style blog out there, that came as quite a shock. To be honest, we didn’t know nearly as much about the world of Swedish fashion as we thought we did. That is, we didn’t know much until we had an interview with the lovely Sweedish designer Ulrika Sandstrom. This Stockholm Fashion Week regular, voted one of Who's Next's top ten designers, opened our eyes to how much fashion can differ from country to country and from city to city and how shoppers don't always understand the effort that goes into a design.

her anglo-mania inspired a/w 2010 collection

Forget the Barbies, I Want the Clothes: "I've always been very interested in fashion for as long as I can remember. It's always been something I've wanted to pursue."

Ulrika is one of those despicable people who grew up to be exactly what they always dreamed of. She’s been sketching and sewing since her childhood and her dream is slowly being revealed...sounds like a Disney movie in the making.

Asher Roth's not the only one who Loves College:"I studied fashion theory at Beckmans College of Design in Sweden and it was an unforgetaable experience. It's truly a wonderful school. I'm suprised it isn't better known because some very talented people come out of their programs. College gives you a nice intro into the world of fashion because the students generally aren't cocky enough to be cruel, but will try to talk themselves up as much as possible. The fashion world, once you leave college, can be hard, but it's worth it to do what you love."

Made for you with love by Ulkria: " I make each and every prototype by hand from start to finish. I've been at it for 6 years and that's what works for me. Unfortuantly, people dont always understand how much work it takes to make a garment. It's not just the construction, but picking out the trims and buttons and fabric and alterations and....well, it's just alot. People want high quality for cheap, like what H&M does. They just don't understand that individualism is worth the price."

Ulrika encorporates the Union Jake in a refreshing way with this dress from her A/w 2010 collection

(we expected to see thousand dollar garments after this statement, but every thing was under 200 euros! we were pretty darn tempted to buy everything we saw after that.)

Fancy Some Fish and Chips?: "Our latest collection is inspired by England and the Union Jack. We tried to tie it into garments without being overly obvious. Subtlety is definitely key. We really love the regality of cherry reds and wallpaper patterns and I think this might be my favorite collection yet."

Ulrika's A/W 2010 collection makes us twitchy with anticipation for London Fashion Week coming up in just a few weeks. Though honestly, we think this Swede may do a better job repping the Union Jack than some of her fellow English designers. Check out some of her collections scattered above or strut on over to her website to figure out which one suits your fancy.

Bis,
Your editors,
Maddy&Rebecca