Lately I found my self again more or less broke. My poor readers must start feeling bored with me contstantly complaining how little I have left money wise, but I apologise, the first steps as a freelancer in the world of fashion are very creative but , hmm, how can I put it, I'm not really showered by money. So, let's take the creativity than and stop moaning. A true stylist can take just a tie or a belt or a fur collar and, whoops, he transforms your look like you have just jumped off the A/W 2011 catwalk of
Thierry Mugler's men's show, which the first time this season is being overseen by our creative director genius
Nicola Formichetti . A luxurious accessory immediately enhances a more or less mediocre wardrobe immensely . And ties/ bow ties/
handkerchief
should of course be a stable in every men's wardrobe and even the most conservative dresser might add a little colour to his outfit through these now and then . So is it really worth it spending our hard earned pennies on excellent quality and innovative design? There we go and
Edsor Kronen comes along.
Edsor Kronen was founded 1909 in Berlin/ Germany. It is one of the last producers of men's luxury accessories which are still designed and fabricated with Italian silk in their factory in Berlin. Since 2009 the owner and head designer Guenther H. Stelly ( it sounds like Shelley and believe me Stelly is also a true genius in his field ) appointed his god son Jan- Hendrik M. Scheper- Stuke ( this name sounds also in German quirky but very posh!). A good looking ( although the German press has labeled him among others as 'schnoeslig' which means something between a nerd and a toff , but I think this guy has so much style and elegance which is unfortunately hard to find in Germany) dandy with 50 suits and 250 bow ties in his wardrobe and a brilliant sense for style and publicity. A move which can be put just in these words: Jan- Hendrik came to Edsor Kronen and the company never looked back again!
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| Jan- Hendrik Scheper Stuke. CEO and Head of Marketing at Edsor Kronen |
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| A sneak glance into Jan- Hendrik's tie and bow tie drawers. It is amazing- he is the ' Imelda Marcos of Ties '. I am just jealous, honestly, Herr Scheper Stuke. |
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| Guenther H. Stelly designer and creative director of Edsor Kronen |
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| Guenther's closet. I must explain that to owe a closet in a Berlin flat is as unusual than to find one in London. Again what a dream. The closet is as big as my apartment in London. |
Stelly designs, you will not believe it but is true, up to 1600 designs per season which make 3200 designs a year. Additionally he and Jan have access to the companies over 100 000 vintage fabrics, collected over the last thirty years to create their product range of ties, bow ties also called ascots, handkerchiefs, scarves, cummerbunds and dressing gowns. Each product has it's specialties at Edsor Kronen:
- the ties are all hand sewn from finest Italian silk
-the bow tie hooks rather than being fastened awkwardly at the back of the neck is situated practically under the shirt collar.Also the bow ties come with a complementing handkerchief but Edsor Kronen suggests to always take a different coloured handkerchief than the colour of the bow tie.
- cummerbunds come in two different widths: standard and a range of narrower cummerbunds for the fashionable use of the above
- scarves are reversible and the mix of wool and silk wonderful to feel
- and last but not least: the dressing gown is, at Edsor Kronen, the male equivalent of the 'lounging pyjamas' favoured by upper class ladies during the 1930's, it is the pinnacle of luxury. Just the most fluent silks are used to create your own special morning gown which is made-to-measure and will be created just on request. Just imagine how you open the door in the morning to pick up your bottle of milk and feel like Clark Gable. What a wonderful image to start the day like this, isn't it.
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| This is not Edsor Kronen, it is the New York based designer Robert Geller . I used the picture just as an example of how to wear a cummerbund in a more fashionable way. And I will definately get one for SS11!!! |
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Since the arrival of
Jan- Hendrik,
Edsor Krone is starting to expand and and go into directions which are rather brave for a luxury men's accessories company which clients that are mostly more on the conservative site right now. The vintage fabric for example are being sold to up-and- coming Berlin designers like
Kilian Kerner who used the bright
Edsor Kronen 1980's designs for his A/W 2010 collection named ' Was der Himmel sagt' (' What heaven is saying' by the way I will write about Kilian Kerner in another post soon).
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The head quarter and factory is based in Kreuzberg. A very cosmopolitan, trendy borough of Berlin. The reception rooms are furnished with excellent taste. By the way Stelly has one of the biggest private collection of Chinese artifacts in Germany.
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| View of the meeting room at the Edsor Kronen head quarters in Kreuzberg/ Berlin |
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| Finished bow ties, handkerchiefs and ties in emerald green ( just thinking the bow tie would look great on me.....) |
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| Jan- Hendrik Schleper Stuke overviewing the prodcution process in order to keep standards high. |
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| Here you can get a grip of how many different fabrics Guenther Stelly is designing each season. The man is a genius, isn't he? |
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| The boss and his ' tie-girls'. |
The last point is the price- starting from around € 80.00. Is that expensive for a product which is produced with so much craftsmanship and I would even say love towards the finished product. No, I don't think that is expensive. My impression of Edsor Kronen is that it is a company which has been described best as 'exclusive but personal'. Jan- Hendrik is absolutely the right person to bring Edsor Kronen to the top of mens fashion world. His business sense, his eccentricity , his dandyism and most important his willingness to take a risk by working together with new designers and Guenther Stelly's boundless creativity, 30 years of fashion experience and an eye for beauty will bring the brand where it belongs: to be mentioned together with Germany's few top fashion labels like Jil Sander, Wunderkind by Wolfgang Joop and Boss.
I would like to mention that most pictures are taken from the Berlin interview web page
FVF- Freunde von Freunden ( translation: ' Friends of Friends' ) This site actually conducts interviews with the well- known public persons of the creative and business world of Berlin in German and English to give an insight how and why people love living in Germany's unfortunately sometimes a bit neglected capital. On the page you can also find interviews with
Jan- Hendrik M. Scheper- Stuke,
Guenther H. Stelly and more photos of their factory in Kreuzberg. Some of my information is also credited to the Edsor Kronen home page itself.
I hope you enjoyed my post: The Fashion Philosopher.
