Concern Rather Than Pose – Patrick Mohr
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Newcomer, fashion design’s new hope or enfant terrible? At the Berlin Fashion Week 2009, Patrick Mohr, a young designer from Munich, propagated the end of all gender boundaries: he sent oversized-look designs onto the catwalk – some of them presented by homeless people. Mohr feels that the fashion industry should pay more attention to the issue of poverty: “Whether rich or poor, we are all the same,” says the 29-year old designer. He envisions his future in Paris and New York. Mohr, who grew up in Aschau in the Upper Bavarian county of Rosenheim, has long been considered an outsider on account of his in-your-face clothes. But this did not stop him from working as a mannequin in Milan for four years. In 2007 he was awarded the “Prix Createur” as first in his graduating class at the ESMOD fashion academy (Munich). He assisted the Danish designer Henrik Vibskov and is viewed as a very promising up-and-coming new talent. The Süddeutsche Zeitung (a leading German daily newspaper) pronounced him a “freaked-out rag picker” and “patron saint of the rootless.” An impressive number of other newspapers testify to increasing media interest. Between avant-garde and streetwear
An on-site appointment in the Baader Strasse, where the designer’s improvised-look studio is located. The rooms seem almost student-ish, nothing seems contrived, prettified or cleaned-up. Not Munich, somehow. One thing can surely be said about this gaunt, creative man: he is the opposite of Munich’s “Nice & Neat Chic.” Mohr is wearing black Turkish trousers, a dark blouson and a knitted cap – with the Joop logo, anyway – carelessly squashed and pulled over his head. The way he is sitting there – he himself is his own best showcase for his collection. “I don’t design what I don’t wear,” as he puts it logically, and: “whom do I have in mind when I am designing? Me – I am my own muse. Louis Vuitton women are not my target group,” he adds. Fashion between avant-garde and streetwear is the way he describes his style. Typical of him are: basic geometric forms that repeat themselves in his collection, whether in cut or in detail.
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Thus, a small, transparent triangle hangs on a slender chain; the same decorates a pair of horn-rimmed glasses as an inset. More an artist than a fashion designer, Mohr enjoys drawing inspiration from architecture. He promptly presents a wearable cloth triangle, spread out by wands, a model for the next show at the Berlin Fashion Week 2010. Why did he choose textiles instead of art or photography? “Fashion is my element, my roots lie in art on the body – but the latter only holds for the show.” What he loves about geometry is three-dimensionality – forms with depth. To go deep – this also holds true for his philosophy: the appearance of homeless people at the Berlin Fashion Week was not intended as a gag, as some surmised, but an expression of concern rather than a pose: “This action had an absolutely authentic background. My identification with homeless people is based on my own past, I had a blow of fate that caused me to start thinking differently.” Under the heading of extremes and opposites
He approaches his new collection with a similar depth. Currently, he is searching for very special kinds of models: female body builders, whose deformed bodies manifest masculinity and femininity at the same time. There it is again, the question as to typical “role models.” “I show unwearable fashion on body builders – that no longer has much to do with women as such,“ he explains. In this connexion, true, genetic hermaphrodites are his inspiration. And he wants to find some for his next show, which is to take place under the heading of extremes and opposites. Pure provocation? Not really. “I am an outsider, I always was different. Following my own vision makes me happy, no matter what happens.”
Art aside, commerce is by no means being neglected: Statements such as: “My jeans line Quadrangle is our cash cow – commercial basics that will always be worn,“ reveal shrewd marketing strategy, to which Mohr’s father, a full-time management consultant, might well have contributed. “His know-how and his personal commitment have a 90% share in my growth – he is my role model,” says the son without any hesitation. |
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I designed the jeans, refined them, they bear my signature. In the beginning, I was totally inexperienced with jeans, it took a year before I got it right.” A small, white, die-shaped rivet decorates each pair of pants on the side trouser seam – Mohr’s identifying feature, just like his graphically clearly drawn lines. Logically, the jeans (affordable, by the way) are available in unisex sizes, in the basic types of „chives“ or „carrots.“
Unit assembly system
Beginning in May 2008, a special unit assembly system has been running through the label and Mohr’s collections. Next to the “NOS” (“never out of stock”) T-shirts, a geometric symbol stands for one of the product groups that can be added to, season for season, until one can dress oneself entirely in Patrick Mohr. The logo already shows these basic geometric forms in black-and-white. In addition to the basics and the 20 pieces in jersey and linen, collaborations also play a part in the new collection: Mohr is currently developing a shoe that will be produced by a streetwear label, and parallel to this, the horn-rimmed glasses with the triangle mentioned above will appear on the market – priced at 1.200 euros.
His days as a model seem long ago and far away, right? “That was an important phase, but it doesn’t interest me any more, after all, it was ten years years ago. I want to make fashion myself, not present it!” Concrete, definite plans exist for the near to medium-term future: “In 2010 we are going to move and expand. By February 2010, 20 stores internationally will be selling my models. We are currently planning through 2012, with a business plan; a new collection will be added every six months.” The existing team, consisting of the designer, his father and two trainees, will be expanded by the addition of a homeless person, whom the young company head intends to include in the team and give a job. And at some point, his sister will join up, as well. She is presently studying at the Berlin ESMOD. It all sounds very reasonable. But in spite of this, it is all happening pretty fast for this shooting star in Munich’s fashion heavens. “Luck plays an important role, of course, but my personality is what is decisive - a lot of people believe in what I am doing. You can’t force people to hype you, but it doesn’t hurt if people are talking about you.” His next goal is a show in Paris in summer – “Things are looking good.” |
Franziska Horn
is a design graduate and journalist who writes about her specialist focuses of Design and Modern Life.
Translation: Ani Jinpa Lhamo
Copyright: Goethe-Institut e. V., Online-Redaktion
January 2010
Any questions about this article?
Please write to us!
online-redaktion@goethe.de
is a design graduate and journalist who writes about her specialist focuses of Design and Modern Life.
Translation: Ani Jinpa Lhamo
Copyright: Goethe-Institut e. V., Online-Redaktion
January 2010
Any questions about this article?
Please write to us!
online-redaktion@goethe.de
