yesterday was a small one day adventure for me. i left switzerland very early for a short trip to düsseldorf to see german designer michael michalsky's latest work – the result of the third collaboration with detergent manufacturer ariel.
before we checked in at sign-deck, at the top of one of the skyscrapers, we had a few minutes left to get to know the neighbourhood 'medien-hafen' which definitely was the perfect place to hold the presentation, since it only seemed to consist of showrooms, stylish restaurants, and fancy hotels.
all the bloggers and journalists fitted in perfectly of course. after being welcomed so nicely we got to go on to the important part of the day: the presentation. as the title indicated, the collection's theme was urban wear. As someone who is always travelling to different cities in many countries around the world, michalsky got inspired by a few of his favourites – paris, london, moscow, berlin and shanghai. rather than taking on latest street style trends of those cities, he chose typical pieces to create five wearable outfits for everyday life. a trenchcoat for rainy london weather, a quilted jacket for cold moscow... simple cuts, easy washable materials like cotton and nylon and diffident colours. as a high point, lily becker presented the london dress with shanghai coat. it was proof, that every piece is easy to combine and at the same time the finale of the show.
my personal high point of course was my short interview with the designer:
beautiful collection mr michalsky. every outfit stands for one of your chosen cities – did you get your inspiration from the local street styles?
there's the typical parisienne look, I'm often in shanghai and see how the people dress there...
then the london style which is defined by the weather, so there is a trenchcoat.
which is your favourite outfit?
all of them! i already limited myself to those cities. all pieces are favourites of mine.
more and more men wash their clothes themselves. is a men's collection planned for the future?
no, not at the moment but for the future, i can picture everything. why not..
what is the difference between the ariel/michalsky and the michalsky client.
since i use different materials for the ariel collection than for my own, the price range is different and there are a lot more clients for the ariel collection. but since the motto of my label is real clothes for real people that's exactly my target. it's for many people not for an elitist group of buyers.
did you have to restrict yourself in terms of material choices?
i didn't have to restrict myself, I used the most beautiful ones which are in this appropriate price range. cotton twill, gabardine, nylon.. everything that I use for michalsky, too.
all pieces are available at: http://ariel.michalsky.com
it happened...up there!
view from the sign-deck
lilly becker and michael michalsky surrounded by models
me and mr michalsky
berlin – fashionsounds
shanghai – stylish surprise
paris – emotional rescue
london – brit explorer
moscow – temptation
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