In this episode, the guest of Out of the Clouds is Hanna Fiedler (@hanna.fiedler): the creative force behind her eponymous London-based womenswear brand, an up-and-comer in the fashion industry, who is launching her fourth collection this Spring.
Hanna, originally from Bavaria, Germany, started her journey in fashion by learning to sew with her mother, then interning at 16 in the Thalia Theater in Hamburg where she fell in love with the art of tailoring and costume design. This led her to a three-year apprenticeship in tailoring at the Berlin Opera House, before taking her to the London College of Fashion where she honed her craft in pattern cutting.
In this conversation, Hanna shares her love of building timeless pieces with character to enhance the wearer’s visual personality, as well as why she loves to explore hidden volume, sustainable materials and practices, and why wants to see more transparency in the fashion industry in the future.
Her passion for food and the inspiration she gets from sushi chefs were an exquisite surprise, informing the manly Japanese names of pieces in her new collection like Endo Trousers. A joyful, thoughtful and touching conversation with a young entrepreneur with bright vision. Enjoy!
Selected Links from Episode
You can find Hanna on Instagram @hanna.fiedler
https://www.thalia-theater.de/
The Charles James exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum
The Leo Top from Hanna’s collection
The original silk weave technique Hanna learned at the Berlin Opera House (in white here)
Lukas Graham and the song ‘When you love someone’
Christian Dior’s autobiography
Full Episode Transcript
Anne Muhlethaler:
Hi, hello. Bonjour. Guten Tag, this is Out of the Clouds, a podcast at the crossroads between business and mindfulness. And I’m your host Anne Muhlethaler. My guest today is a young and very promising fashion designer who recently launched her eponymous brand, Hanna Fiedler. Currently living in the U.K., Hanna is originally from Germany, though she splits her time between London and Zurich. I was really lucky to be introduced to her by a mutual friend in London. I want to say maybe just a year ago, as I got to know her and her brand, I found that her values really resonated with me.
Anne Muhlethaler:
I really, really appreciate her philosophy and her approach to making clothes, which to me seemed to drive her sense of purpose. And this kept her motivated to continue during these very complicated times. Thank God she did because last year despite all odds, she opened her first physical store in London, a pop-up at Harrods, the legendary luxury department store. She has a rather fascinating journey into making clothes. So I’m really delighted to be bringing you this wide ranging interview with the lovely Hanna Fiedler. Enjoy. So, Hanna, welcome to Out of the Clouds. This is so nice to see you.
Hanna:
Thank you so much for having me.
Anne Muhlethaler:
Happy Friday.
Hanna:
Well, happy Friday indeed. I’m looking very forward to relaxed weekend.
Anne Muhlethaler:
That sounds about right. So maybe to get started, I thought I would invite you to maybe tell your story. I’ll let you start from wherever you want.
Hanna:
So I grew up in Bavaria in the countryside in a tiny little village in the northern part of Bavaria. So it was still the nature and not sort of outdoorsy activities, I would say, in terms of my childhood. My mother introduced me quite early on to sewing and all types of crafts and I think that’s really what led me into pursuing a creative career as well, which is not necessarily something that felt normal for my family.
Hanna:
Most of my family is in academia and quite sober jobs, I would say. And while there’s a lot of creativity, no one ever really made that into a career. So that was quite an exciting set for me and showing something that didn’t feel the easiest in terms of job security and all of that, but they really nurtured my passion for creativity. And so I started by learning how to sew from my mom and then perfecting my skills and in my own time realizing that I was quite frustrated when I wouldn’t be able to perfectly finish a garment or any other project.
Hanna:
And so I got really interested in learning the proper craft of making clothes. And I was lucky enough to have an internship at a theater in Hamburg, the Thalia Theater when I was 16, that really left quite a big mark on me because I was absolutely fascinated with all the costumes that were made there and realizing how much thought and skill goes into costume making and how that area of really traditional craft life.
Hanna:
Because obviously you work a lot on period costumes, but also most of the costumes are fitted specifically to the actors or actresses, and that were a true inspiration for me. And so after that, it was clear that I would love to learn the craft of tailoring, bespoke tailoring at the States. I then finished my school education and did an apprenticeship at the Berlin Opera House for three years. And that was really my way into fashion even though it seemed to go in a bit of a different direction at first focusing on costume making.
Hanna:
But the apprenticeship at the Berlin Opera House is fantastic in the sense that they give you a incredibly broad education from all the traditional bespoke tailoring and couture techniques, then to costume making and working for the ballets and the opera that are currently in production. And that taught me so many amazing skills and techniques that aren’t used in fashion anymore today due to the fact that they’re just too time consuming and therefore expensive.
Hanna:
And I think that truly gave me an education that’s incredibly unique in the fashion world today. And I’ve always been interested in fashion, but due to me growing up in the countryside, it always felt a bit remote. And you see all these glamorous women in the magazines and I wasn’t quite identifying myself with them. And after then trying a couple of different areas that were sort of around fashion like fashion marketing and I interned with a magazine, I just felt it’s not quite the right thing.
Hanna:
I want to do design. I want to be creative, create things with my own hand as much as I love looking at what others are doing. I really wanted to get hands-on. So then I came to London to study at London College of Fashion, and I studied at course that had specific emphasis on cotton cutting. So, again, quite a technical aspect of the class and I absolutely enjoy that. It was quite a creative course, which I didn’t think at first because cotton cutting in Germany’s incredibly strict and in a split painting by numbers.
Hanna:
I want to say it’s very much focused on the technical aspects, whereas in London, they really enhance the creativity within it. I almost didn’t take the course because I felt it’s not what I want to do. I want to do design and the course description just didn’t seem to be what I wanted. However, at that time I was in New York and I visited the Charles James exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum.
Hanna:
And obviously, he was an amazing person capita and the way he constructed was the way he designed. And for some reason, it had never occurred to me that it’s a specific way of designing what I do. And then I actually always have been for agency pass and testing, and the course they offered me with exactly the right one for me. So I’m very happy for that moment and that light bulb situation when I turned that course down, which would have been a big mistake.
Anne Muhlethaler:
Oh, I love how life just puts you in the right direction. Sometimes
Hanna:
Yeah. It’s really interesting because there’s been so many quite input for decisions that maybe at first students feel 100% right. But upon further thinking about it and spending a bit more time on finding out what it’s actually about, it turned out to be exactly the right one for me. So it’s really funny how life serves that to you sometimes.
Anne Muhlethaler:
And so you are now at the helm of your own brand, which you launched how long ago?
Hanna:
December 2018. So it’s just over two years ago now.
Anne Muhlethaler:
How does it feel? What’s it like to have your own brand and your name stitched on labels?
Hanna:
I have to say, I still feel very new to everything. Obviously, still very much learning as I go along. It’s also a dream and I think it took me a while to realize that I’m living what I’ve been dreaming about for a very long time. And it’s actually really funny because it took me over hearing a conversation that my partner had on the phone with someone and that person seemed to have asked him what I do.
Hanna:
And he said, “Oh, she’s a fashion designer. She designs her own brand.” And I don’t know why. And that was quite recent. That moment, it suddenly switched in my mind and I thought, wow, man. I mean, I always saying it myself and you hear yourself say it so many times, but for some reason it hadn’t sunk in. So that was actually quite a fun moment when it took someone else saying it to a stranger for me to have that click moment realizing that I’m actually doing what I’ve always been dreaming about.
Anne Muhlethaler:
That’s amazing. The other day you told me an amazing story about costume. And I wanted to ask you, before we talk a little bit more about what your brand stands for, for you to maybe tell our listeners about what you learned about women or personality through costume design.
Hanna:
So the interesting part of costume for me certainly how much attention to detail is within those costumes and how many aspects are considered also when it comes to the fit in costume making. Because I think many people think costume is superficial, it’s just done as a quick fix. It doesn’t need to last long. It doesn’t need to be a good quality. However, I think the opposite is true. And I really learned how costume designers in Harms create the personality of a character in a visual language through costume making.
Hanna:
For example, character is characterized as someone who doesn’t have the financial means to have a great wardrobe, often costume designers then go for a secondhand pieces and unspecific to choose things that maybe don’t fit that well because it’s something that you maybe don’t pick up, but your subconscious reacts to those little things. And I think now being in the world of fashion, that is still what fascinates me is how you can enhance your own personality and build your visual personality through fashion, and how important that is.
Hanna:
We just saw the inauguration in the U.S. and there’s been so many articles, amazing article written about the language in the fashion choices, especially of the women, but more and more also the men, which I find really interesting. It’s a form of eloquence, I think, the way you dress and often we do recognize if someone dresses the part, as in their visual personality matches their character.
Hanna:
And I think that’s something that’s super fascinating and that’s something I love working with and seeing women in my cards finding a visual part of her personality and recognizing themselves in it. What I told you the other week is I might actually be more interested in making clothes than fashion because that’s where I truly find the magic happens when someone’s not just putting on a trend, but they find something that’s the missing puzzle piece to that visual personality
Anne Muhlethaler:
That brings me back to the parachute dress. Can you tell us about that story?
Hanna:
Yes, of course. This was a dress I saw at the Thalia, Hamburg when I was doing my first internship. And I think it’s stuck in my mind because I found it so fascinating. They were using an old army parachutes to create a women’s dress. And the fascinating part about that was that it was not dissected in itself, but the parachute was taken the way it is and draped around the body and creating an incredibly beautiful feminine piece that then when she was walking in the dress, kind of blew up and created this amazing train in the back of her that was held to her torso with the strains of the parachute.
Hanna:
And I thought the way that something that’s quite sinister as it was an army piece and absolutely not something that’s considered to be specifically beautiful was then created into something new and given a different personality again and giving a different meaning, which I found incredibly fascinating. And it was the storytelling of this piece together with the craftsmanship that truly fascinated with me.
Hanna:
And I think those pieces stay with you and keep inspiring you. And it’s such a reminder of why I love so much what I’m doing because there’s always a deeper story to something. Sometimes you don’t even know to say it, it might take another input from outside to remind you of why it captured your attention. But it’s definitely one of the pieces that stayed with me. And I think always in the back of my mind even if I’m not quite conscious of it and that truly had an impact on me in my work.
Anne Muhlethaler:
It’s interesting because the way you described it, it almost feels like I can see it. One of the questions that I would say most people could ask someone who’s heading their own fashion brand in 2012, is why? Apart from you love it and this is your dream, why do you think that there is a place for fashion or for making clothes in this time?
Hanna:
Honestly, in an ideal world, you find a gap in the market, right? And I do think I found it. However, I would not say that I knew that before I started because it’s truly a passion project and I started also with the region I have now because it just aligned with my personal vision and value. However, I think now looking at the market and having gotten to know it a lot more from also an analytical point of view, there’s so much change happening right now and the change needs to happen so fast especially when it comes to sustainability and consideration for the planet.
Hanna:
The big brands and kind of the older generation of brands will have a hard time following that and being able to quickly adapt to the demand. And further I think what I noticed through my education is that the quality decreased quite a lot over the last couple of years. And even when that happened throughout the high street, as well as tie-in, I would say, that purchasing, for example, pre-lab items that may be a five to 10 years old. The difference in quality is quite dramatic.
Hanna:
And I do think it’s due to the fast pace of the fashion industry, and the calendar, and the constant cross to create newness, but also the price pressure and needing to provide the same level of design at a lower price point, that hasn’t done the industry such a big favor. And having grown up in terms of fashion in a row where quality was the most important thing. When I was at the opera house, my teacher would make me undo and redo things even if it was 100 times.
Hanna:
If it wasn’t perfect and it wasn’t right, she would not allow me to proceed to continue making the garment. And so this appreciation for the fabric. So I wouldn’t be allowed to start from scratch, but I had to undo it every single time, make sure that while I’m picking the seams am not damaging anything and then redo it, and redo it, and redo it until it was right. And this dedication is impossible in the pace of the industry. But I think it gave me the opportunity to see true luxury and true craftsmanship before entering the industry.
Hanna:
And then having an understanding of that and being able to produce like that, that is quite unique. And I think that’s where I can really offer the industry something different also in terms of the line of setting that I’ve chosen to go into focusing, a little bit on a more mature audience in the sense that they have matured in their style. It’s not necessarily I think about age, but it’s about knowing what you want on your garment and how you like to dress and how you like to visually present yourself.
Hanna:
And I don’t think that necessarily so many brands speak to those people that don’t want to follow the next big trend, but rather are looking for great pieces to live in for the next couple of years and are looking for great pieces to add to their wardrobe. And I think that’s what’s important to consider now in the market, as I mentioned, together with the aspect of sustainability that is definitely need for that. And I think that’s where I found my niche and growing it now.
Anne Muhlethaler:
That’s so cool. Now I’ve talked about sustainability with a couple of other people. I’ve spent a lot of time recently researching and reading on the developments of sustainability as well, trying to better understand it because there are so many layers to it that I think it confuses people. Would you be so kind as to explain what are the steps that you as Hanna Fiedler, the brand, are taking into sustainability, just for people who are curious about what optional entryways for brands, for companies.
Hanna:
Sure. So I think first and foremost, it’s super important to define what it means and what it personally means to you. Well, sustainability is a bit critters, it’s sometimes difficult to grasp what it actually means. For me the three steps that are incredibly important are that conceiving of the products, so the design process, the thought that goes into what you’re creating. The second is how you create it. So that’s production, raw materials and what you’re actually putting into the physical product.
Hanna:
And then the third step is the consideration for the afterlife. I think a lot of people have probably heard the sentence, the most sustainable garment is already in your wardrobe because it means whatever it’s already dash should be used. And I think that’s also a really interesting bracket that the fashion industry hasn’t really explored yet, that we’re now seeing with Frenchel and a lot of resale platforms coming out. That’s super interesting. But I think these three categories are really important to take into consideration when building a sustainable business.
Hanna:
And the way I approach this for our brand specifically is through timeless designs, so really making sure that what we are creating has validity in terms of the right size, but also where it might be going. So I love to actually look 10, 20 back for inspiration because I do think that if something still feels relevant even though it’s 10 to 20 or 30 years old. The chance that it will have relevancy in 10 years from now is quite high. And that’s something I would love to see with my own designs is that they make sense in the broader context of my work.
Hanna:
And then when it comes to the production, the way we choose fabrics, it’s really important to me. I made the choice to only use natural fibers due to the fact that it’s the best for the product I create, but also due to the fact it’s biodegradable and that’s something where we can have quite a strong impact on the planet, but then also that we produce entirely locally. So we’re lucky that at this stage, we’re still able to produce 100% in London, which means we can keep our carbon footprint really low and have as little transport as possible.
Hanna:
Take the cues to the manufacturers that we’re working with, which is really lovely also in order to build a personal relationship with them and see where everything’s made. And that’s been also true for the fabrics we work with. So we try to source locally to, again, keep the carbon footprint low. And then the aftercare, I think, is another interesting part that we’re still building upon.
Hanna:
But what we already do is that we use the leftover we have from our production to create new garments and new pieces that we launched recently, two products, two accessories, sleep mask, and a little pochette. And they are made entirely from fabric leftovers from our garment production. So I think it’s that thinking about what’s left after we’ve created our garments and how can we make sure we reduce the waste? And it’s quite exciting to see dominant backfield with scrap and waste products to then be made into useful luxury products again and given another lifespan.
Hanna:
That’s pretty exciting for me. I am a fabric snob. I love high quality fabric. I love everything that feels good. I don’t want to put anything in my collection that doesn’t feel good on your skin then isn’t the best choice out there. It always pains me to see if we have to then throw anything of that away and the reduction that we can do because we make these accessories now is incredible and that’s absolutely exciting, and that will be something we’ll continue doing. And we will definitely go the range.
Anne Muhlethaler:
I remember you telling me very eloquently about how important it was that your suppliers, the manufacturers, needed to be partners in order to support you as well in sustainable endeavors. This is a point that I would love for you to elaborate on a little bit.
Hanna:
So we work with two manufacturers at the moment. One of them in Stratford that was recommended to me by a lady that had spent, I think, almost 50 years in the industry already. And I was asking her where I could start with my production because I don’t have the minimums to go to a lot of the biggest factories that are well-known here in London. And I needed them on who would be able to work with me and who would be willing to work with me at this early stage and who could really help me develop the product.
Hanna:
And she recommended the studio to me. And I think just walking in the first time was already amazing because having studied at the opera house, I was used to pristine working conditions, everything being super clean especially when we were working on whites, everything needed to be wiped down. So there’s no dust anywhere that could stain the white garments. And then walking into the studio in East London, I was mind blown because I hadn’t seen that level of precision in years. And so everything was perfectly white.
Hanna:
Everything was perfectly clean. Light flooded. So was literally clear that I would have been more than happy to walk in. The partnership we have with them is amazing because they were okay with us doing one or two garments at a time in the beginning. So we started off with late order and that’s something that often isn’t done because obviously it takes a lot more effort and time for manufacturers to start over, just make one garment instead of 10. And then you make another one.
Hanna:
So switching between the garments and the process of assembling is time consuming and at all it doesn’t make sense for many businesses to work like that. But then on the other hand though, the experience is so vast so that if I came and said, listen, I want to do this, but I’m not 100% happy with the way I finished it. I’m not sure if it’s the best way, they would always love to share their opinion and the value of their experience with me. And that’s what really then helped me to make an even better product than I was planning on, which is I think is so important.
Hanna:
And that kind of conversation probably wouldn’t have happened if we were just emailing back and forth, it would probably never have happened if it were really big factory somewhere in any part of the world, creating on a large scale. However, they were happy to grow with us now, which is so incredible because the partners you need, especially in the beginning to get stuff fixed, maybe have a partnership where hopefully we both can grow and benefit from. And I think that’s what often isn’t considered that much, is the time to grow together.
Hanna:
I think a lot of brands have stopped producing in London because they outgrew the capacities. But I heard that this will be something where we can grow together and actually take each other into account in it. It might take a little bit longer than to grow because then infrastructure needs to be built around it. But I think it’s possible. And we see so much reassuring happening now with people trying to go back to local production. So I think that’s the way to go forward and more than happy to have found such amazing partners to be working with that are incredibly supportive of our business model.
Anne Muhlethaler:
Want to switch gears a tiny little bit and talk about what was it like for you to launch your second collection, if I’m correct, in the middle of a pandemic last year. And I know that we’ve talked a little bit about creativity, I’m super impressed about how you decided to present the collection to buyers and to selected press. So would you maybe talk to us about the Hanna Fiedler box for Chapter 1 and Chapter 1.
Hanna:
Sure. I actually worked remotely for quite a big chunk of the last year due to that pandemic and travel being incredibly difficult. I’m in a long distance relationship and so in order to not be on my own and isolated from the ones I love, I chose to work remotely and that came with its own challenges. So the majority of my collection at that point was still in London, although it was mostly done, but I didn’t know how to do the shooting, how to capture images of the collection, how to show it as a whole.
Hanna:
And so I was incredibly lucky to first have an amazing friend that was kind enough to say I’m going to create a look book for you. And the way she did it is by self-portraits. So my friends Julia Shashkina got the entire collection sent to Estonia where she lived and together with her partner and sisters, she went out into nature and captured herself wearing those garments. And I was just so impressed with her work and I’ve been friends with her for a long time and I knew how amazing she is, but I think she just took it to another level in the image that she created.
Hanna:
And she’s not a model and being in front of camera was not easy for her. And I was just mesmerized by the outcome and incredibly grateful and happy to have such an amazing friend. However, then we knew, we can do something digital. We can show the look book obviously online and we’ll email it around. I think what’s so special about fashion is the haptic part of it. It’s such a big part of the way I design, how everything feels like. I don’t want anything, as I mentioned in the collection, that doesn’t feel good on your skin.
Hanna:
And how do you translate that digitally? It’s completely impossible. And I think that’s where I really suffered during the digital market. And so we took a concept that we had for us come to be physical and London in our showroom, which was a small exhibition, showing the journey of some of our key designs from ancient images that inspired the peace period to the different development stages that the pattern cutting and the construction to then the final garment, and we put it in a box. So we had a mini-mannequin that is made from recycled cardboard that we put in that box together.
Anne Muhlethaler:
Can I just interrupt you and ask what size is the mini-mannequin? Because it looks really mini.
Hanna:
I would say it’s about 10 centimeters high, funnily enough it’s a quarter scale. So if you scale it down from a full size mannequin at the quarter scale, which is incredible thinking how tiny it is. But we created them twelves to fit that mini-mannequins. So three of our most important designs in that collection were then jumping down to quarter scale that the recreated, a dress, a top, and a coat, I believe.
Hanna:
So we toned down some of the key designs to fit that mannequin and together then with sketches, some descriptions about what makes that piece special, what is interesting in the way it’s constructed and also the inspiration joining off some of those pieces especially for a coat in that collection really rich. We put everything in a box and then sent it out to some of our key clients, some of the wholesale buyers, and as you mentioned, selected press, and it was wonderful then be on Zoom and see a buyer in New York opening that box.
Hanna:
And you could see quite a child-like approach to it, I think. By taking that miniature mannequin, dressing it, and then seeing the physical version of the design they see on the screen right in the hands and just play a little bit with it, be able to touch the fabric that we are using and talking about. And I think it was such a lovely way to bring a physical component and quite an emotional component to our digital presentation, which was really wonderful to see.
Hanna:
And that all happen in May, June. And for me, an amazing moment was when I saw the presentations of Dior and Loewe, where Dior obviously did miniature couture garment and Loewe also send out a box with stories about the inspiration behind the designs. And it made me so happy to see that same sentiment and the same love for the creation was cherished by amazing brands like that. It made me feel like we’re an amazing company. ,
Anne Muhlethaler:
Yeah. That’s so true. I know over the years when I was working in fashion, there are a number of amazing invitations or… There’s a few things that are on the shelves behind me of bits and pieces that I kept because they weren’t quite magical. And you’re right. Actually, I think it is the link to the child-like mind. I kept a piece of joy from when I discovered each of these.
Anne Muhlethaler:
That’s awesome. So I want to talk about creativity now because one of the conversations that you and I had when we first met, it was very fittingly in a quite a nice Italian restaurant in Geneva called Gigi over a plate of some very good foods. You told me about your mild to severe obsession with very good food. Can you tell me about how you are inspired by chefs and cooking?
Hanna:
Sure. Food is life. I love cooking. I love discovering recipes. Traveling is for a big part food for me. I love visiting restaurants when I’m traveling and my partner shares that obsession yet puts it through an even different level. There have been times when we went to New York for a week and the moment we touched down, lunch, dinner and breakfast reservation had been made for each of those days.
Hanna:
And one of those visits in New York actually inspired the vision I had for the brand quite heavily, which was the restaurant Normal Focal Call. And it was one of my first experiences with the kind of chef’s table dining and a very modern approach to high cuisine, which is that you sit on a bar stool at the counter in front of the chef and you are able to watch everything that happens and the food is prepared right in front of you.
Hanna:
And then often you are able to chat with the chef and find out about the ingredients, find out about where they’re coming from, why they’ve chosen this particular wine to soak the duck in and all these little details that go into that amazing plate in front of you that you would have never known if it was just a normal restaurant where the plate is brought out of the kitchen, you don’t see anything that’s going on in the kitchen and you enjoy it, which is still amazing.
Hanna:
But I think it just added that extra layer to me that I was mesmerized by. And since I was lucky to have had many occasions when something like this happened, and I think luckily it’s something that’s quite popular now, and many restaurants adopted this way of dining and I love it. It creates a complete different experience. You get to see how the chef prepares the food and then he gets to see how you enjoy it. And I think there’s something so intimate in that relationship.
Hanna:
And in restaurants, I haven’t spoken a word to the chef, but I felt so connected to him because I could see him enjoying the fact that I was enjoying my food. And I was enjoying the fact that he clearly enjoyed doing what he’s doing. And so it’s both joy to put it into Marie Kondo’s words. And I think then looking at the fashion industry that is known for creating amazingly beautiful imagery and also events. I mean, we’ve all seen the amazing show that they call Pallet that Chanel is putting on in this fairy tale world they’re creating.
Hanna:
But I just felt there’s a lot of information going on rather than showing the behind the scenes, which I find to be equally beautiful. And so I made the choice to don’t put in that kitchen role in that or the appear role and actually allow people to see the behind the scenes and show where we’re getting our ingredients from, show where we are sourcing our fabrics and why we chose to do that.
Hanna:
Tell them about the inspiration. There’s so much references and inspiration going on in fashion, but yet everyone’s a little bit scared to tell you because it might seem like it’s not your idea in some way, and that you copied it. Yet I find there’s so much beauty in that. We have a coat that is inspired by a design concept by Cristobal Balenciaga, which is the coat I spoke earlier about that was part of the box itself. And I saw that design concept at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Hanna:
And it’s the coat that’s created just from one rectangle of fabric. So it’s a zero waste construction. And I felt it was so relevant in the time today, yet it was created in 1961. And that coat then became our Cristobal coat, which is a homage to Cristobal Balenciaga. And I love referencing like that, and I think people should see it. People should understand. And I think by taking them onto the journey of the idea creation and the entire process of how we came up without designs and why we chose to make it the way we did, I think there’s so much beauty in that. So that’s kind of the story how that idea came to be and how it was inspired. And that was by a restaurant visit.
Anne Muhlethaler:
That’s gorgeous. Now, I want to make sure people understand that your level of love for chefs has gone to next level because for your next collection, I believe that all of the items in the collection are after famous sushi chefs. Am I correct?
Hanna:
Yeah. So it’s not all of them, but it’s especially the ones that have a Japanese reference. And so I chose Japanese chefs, especially sushi chefs as patrons of the name. Then I think there’s, for example, one piece called Jiro, which was my first introduction to high-end sushi, which was through a documentary called Jiro Dreams of Sushi, of this wonderful man in Tokyo who has dedicated his life to learning how to create the most simplistic, yet perfect sushi. There’s a piece in the collection named after him.
Hanna:
And then a more recent level of mine is a chef called Endo here in London who has an amazing restaurant. And I love that he has actually dedicated so much time and energy into finding local ingredients. So rather than getting the best ingredients from Japan, like many, many chefs do, he actually started to meet with farmers in Cornwall and finding people who could create a similar quality of produce for him locally.
Hanna:
And this dedication that’s not really seen, and all the processes, again, that go into making his food that is then amazingly presented at his restaurants from his hand to yours, which unfortunately obviously is not possible right now due to COVID. I hope we could get there again, where that’s possible. But that was so inspiring to me. And he now named a piece in the collection, which is the Endo jumpsuit.
Hanna:
And the inspiration specifically for the Endo came from the Hakama, which is a trouser-like garment in Japanese martial arts culture that goes back all the way to samurai culture. It’s the beautiful plea to trouser like garment that’s still worn today in Aikido. And I was gifted one by my uncle who had visited Japan 20 years ago maybe. And he gave it to me being like, “Go for it. I don’t know what it is. Find out.” And then I Googled and found out that there’s actually such a specific way of folding and storing that garment that was beyond fascinating to me.
Hanna:
There’s a specific way on how you fold the pleas and then also fold the four waistbands that are weighted on that Hakama has. And there’s a specific knot that you use in order to secure the waistband and make sure it stays put until you use it again. And that knot then made its way onto the Endo jumpsuit. And what made the connection for me is that dedication that goes into something that’s not usually seen because obviously, how you store your Hakama is seen by basically no one, but yourself. Same goes for Endo’s art. The way he creates and the dedication he puts into details is probably not seen by anyone by himself, yet it’s there. And I think that’s so beautiful.
Anne Muhlethaler:
I can’t wait for him to see the jumpsuit.
Hanna:
I’m yet to tell him that he actually inspired it.
Anne Muhlethaler:
Yeah. That’s really special. So I think that most people would understand quite readily what Hannah Fielder stands for as a brand, right? But could you tell me, what is the dream? Where do you go from here? How do you imagine not just the growth of your brand, but when you project in the future, what do you imagine for the fashion industry?
Hanna:
So I think one thing that I would love to see is more transparency in fashion. And I think that doesn’t just need to be about the production process. Obviously, that’s incredibly important. But I think, as I mentioned early, I think there’s such a beauty in that. The fashion industry is filled with people that absolutely love what they’re doing. I think it’s rare to meet someone in the fashion industry that doesn’t like what they’re doing. It’s not a very well-paying jobs.
Hanna:
So you don’t get those people that just want to make money to go home and go on a holiday. You easily get people that are incredibly passionate about what they do. And I think why not show them, why not allow them to be seen, and why not share that passion with our clients and the rest of the world. I’m hoping for a little bit more transparency in the sense that we can all share the joy of those people. And it’s such a people-heavy industry. It relies so much on human creativity, human skills, the human touch.
Hanna:
It’s impossible to do fashion without. So it’s amazing humans. So I think that would be wonderful to see. What I can bring to the industry and what I’m certainly housing for my brand is to allow people to see their clothes a little bit more personally, maybe. I don’t know if that’s the right word, but I meet so many people that say to me, when I tell them I’m a fashion designer, “Oh, I know nothing about fashion,” yet they are incredibly curious about it.
Hanna:
And then I usually start the conversation saying, “So why do you think you don’t know anything about fashion? How many days a year do you go out naked?” And obviously the answer is zero, right? We might not be specifically educated about the industry per se, yet we all have an incredibly personal connection to the clothes we wear every single day. It’s what we wear on our skin nonstop. It impacts the way we feel throughout the day. We’ve all had that moment when we wore an itchy sweater or uncomfortable pair of trousers with the digging waistband and it ruined our day.
Hanna:
And so I think it would be wonderful if we acknowledged that connection that we have with our governments a little bit more and also just give it the room in our life it deserves. And that doesn’t mean that we all need to spend lots of amount of money on our clothes, but I would tell people to choose more consciously what they’re wearing. Choose things that truly add joy in them, and things that they allow to truly become part of their life rather than just an object that we own and consume for it to mean something.
Hanna:
And that can also just mean that it’s the perfect sports here for that moment, and it allows you to be successful when running and feeling like you can take on the world or it can mean it’s that great, beautiful evening dress that you wear for a special occasion. I think it doesn’t have to necessarily be fashiony in order to mean something in your life. And I heard that we could maybe acknowledge that a little bit more. And that’s certainly what I’m trying to convey with what I do.
Anne Muhlethaler:
That’s a lovely thought. I got to tell you, I don’t think I say this often enough, but I think one of the reasons why I worked in fashion and I still am closely working with a number of fashion brands is because I was so impressed by the dedication and the love when I discovered it as a 24-year old in London.
Anne Muhlethaler:
And I met young designers that were just working like… I can’t quite relate it to any other kind of working I’ve seen apart from, well, maybe it would see some entrepreneurs or startup founders, because it’s non-stop. And you’re also expected to know everything from all of the design, the marketing, the communication, the finance, the business models. I mean, I think most people don’t understand the type of varied skillset that are shoved onto young designers. How does that fit on your shoulders? Because that’s a lot of weight, right?
Hanna:
I finally was listening to one of your episodes this week, and you mentioned something that I haven’t heard with anyone else, but I referenced it a lot. It’s the lobster, the growth pain off the lobster. I feel that a lot. Starting a business, and I think that’s true for any business, it always means you need to wear lots of hats, you need to develop so many skills. And I think I was certainly someone that was hiding rather from things they weren’t good at before.
Hanna:
And I was just like, let someone else do that. I’m not good at that. And that is not possible anymore. I need to face my weaknesses, I need to learn constantly, and I need to improve, and I need to be okay sometimes with not knowing everything, but I can’t be okay with keeping to go like that. So I need to change that. I might not know it now, but that doesn’t mean I can be okay with not knowing it tomorrow.
Hanna:
I certainly feel that lobster pain and that sense that it’s uncomfortable to be in your own skin. Somehow, that is needed for you to progress. And like the lobster, he needs to shed his old skin in order to be able to grow an new one, and in order for him to shed his skin, he needs to feel a certain level of pain. So that’s certainly that a lot of time. But I don’t think I would have learned what I know today if it wasn’t for that. So it’s a steep learning curve, and no matter what will happen with the brand and where it is in 20 years, I think I would have learned so much.
Anne Muhlethaler:
One of the things that I wanted to come back to is I wanted to link the storytelling aspect. I think a lot of what you’re referencing from the costume, from the making clothes for women, and for your hopes for the fashion industry also has to do about how you tell the story of the people. I’d like you to tell a couple of stories, because I know a little bit about them. So could you tell me about how you learned the weaving technique that makes your beautiful top, which is one of the key items of your collection called the Leo Top?
Hanna:
So I first got introduced to that technique when working on costumes for the Romeo and Juliet valet at the Berlin Opera House. It was one of the occasions where they brought in all of the apprentices because they needed to make a lot of it, and it was so time consuming. So it needed to have all hands on deck. And it’s the technique of you tearing, folding, and then hand weaving silk strips.
Hanna:
And we use the silk satin, and you basically weave the satin then in a chess board like texture. The way it captured the light was just so mesmerizing, especially when… I didn’t see the actual piece on stage as part of a performance, but I did see it in the dress rehearsals. And it was just so beautiful. It was so simplistic yet you could spend the time and dedication that went into it and it stayed with me.
Hanna:
And I then knew that I wanted to use that technique, but it took it as a bit of a while to know what I wanted to do with it. And so it then ended up being the first thing I started experimenting with after having finished my apprenticeship and having finished my education there and my creativity year for myself almost eight years ago now. I still very much love it.
Anne Muhlethaler:
There is something that I find mesmerizing about what you’re describing, the way that the silk strips capture the light. I wonder what shape was the garment that you made for the dancer? Was it worn by Romeo?
Hanna:
No, I don’t think it was worn by Romeo. I remember that piece being for a male dancer, yet I was actually doing a little bit of research on it and I found Juliette’s mom wearing it, or Romeo’s mom wearing it as part of her dress. There is a certain stiffness that you get because of the layers.
Hanna:
So it was quite a straight garment and that’s what I then adapted itself for the Leo’s Top because it’s one panel that kind of wrapped around the body just stitched at the shoulder. So it’s completely continued around the body to not disturb the weave in any way today. It’s a certain structure that you have in that garment and you need, I would say, a certain base to allow the weave to truly do its magic.
Anne Muhlethaler:
Talking about magic, you know how to make something that makes most little girls sometimes also grown up women swoon a bit. Can you please tell me what it was like to learn how to make a tutu from scratch? Because that does sound a skillset that’s going to come in handy at some point in your life.
Hanna:
I hope so. I do truly hope so that at some point I will be able to go back to that knowledge and technique. I remember just being buried in tulle. I think that’s the visual memory I have of that me sitting at the sewing machine with just mountains of tulle around me, me just struggling to just keep it all down and somehow squeeze it through the sewing machine. Again, something I did not notice that at least at that time, the majority of the tutus for the first ballerinas were done bespoke.
Hanna:
So we would start by making a pair of knickers . That’s perfectly fitted to the measurements of the ballerina it’s made from a really soft tool. And then you start attaching layers to it and it’s different weights and stiffnesses of tulle that is being used for the different areas that you need it. And those strips that are caught and then gathered or folded to go from one centimeter wide for the leg area, to the width of the tutu in the end basically.
Hanna:
And you either gather or fold all of those layers and then everything’s attached to those knickers that you started making it, which at this point it just becomes a massive life of its own, really, but it is really a tulle cloud. And then after having attached all of those layers, you go back in and you secure the layers with each other by hand. And that’s what’s been kind of taking out all of that volume and compressing the tutu, and then we get that lovely shape that tutu is known for.
Hanna:
And that’s how you’ve got this beautiful volume. So I think what we really see is that top layer of the kind of longish standout fabric, but there’s so much fabric in that little bit of skirt and it put all of this layers and the volume, it gets this cool movement. I can’t quite describe how that looks when the ballerina moves, and if she puts up her leg.
Hanna:
And there’s such a specific quality to the way the fabric moves, and talking about this now, I recognize it’s actually something I love to use in my work now, although at a very much different scale of volume, but this hidden volume, I think it’s key to a certain depth and cheekiness of the garments. And I’m known to use a lot of fabric in my pieces and it’s often fabric that’s not necessarily visible.
Hanna:
We have a bias cut dress that has six meters of silk in total that put into it, yet it seems quite a simple, straight cut dress. But that hidden volume truly adds another layer of lusciousness and beauty to it that you don’t necessarily see just looking at it, but it just changes the way it moves and changes the quality of the dress in a way that’s truly amazing.
Anne Muhlethaler:
That’s interesting. But I kept on looking back at the pictures of the dress from your look book and it’s funny because it just looks so rich. And now I understand that somehow, even though it’s hidden, there’s a part of me that was perceiving it as well. There’s a thickness to it. There’s something to the way that it drapes that you understand part of what’s below, even though I can’t quite see it.
Hanna:
I think there’s something instinctive about it, and I think I’m still processing and getting to the bottom of what it is exactly, but this is something we innately recognize, even though we might not understand it. I think if we would’ve been shown two pictures and there’s a suit, for example, one is well-fitted the other one is ill-fitting, we would always choose the fitted one, even though we would maybe not know why.
Hanna:
And then the same goes obviously for dresses, where there is something instinctively in us that appreciates the quality, and the lusciousness, and the volume, and the generousness of fabric that’s being used. I think it does go back to fabric being expensive and rare. And this feeling of having a lot of it just puts us in a mood that feels so rich and luscious.
Hanna:
And I think that’s still with us today, even though we might not always understand why, but there is just something amazing having a address where you just feel like you got so much fabric around you. And when you walk, it just will shift with your legs. And there’s so many things in that, that just speak to us on such a intimate level.
Anne Muhlethaler:
Yeah. I think that there’s something so tactile. When we think tactile, often we think about our hands, but you’re right. I think when I imagine the Hakama trousers or that particular dress, exactly as you say, I imagine the feeling against my legs, how that feels when you move. And that sounds really quite delicious. Is like when you think of food.
Hanna:
[crosstalk 00:52:46], right? Yeah.
Anne Muhlethaler:
So that’s a different kind of sensual creative link that I’m suddenly piecing together.
Hanna:
It’s interesting how you find those connections that you might’ve not actually considered before, but somehow it just all make sense as a whole.
Anne Muhlethaler:
Thank you so much for the time that you’ve spent with me today. What I’m going to do now, if that’s okay, is I’m going to ask you a few questions that I tend to ask most of my guests. Obviously, I work at the crossroads between business and mindfulness. And I was wondering, especially in a year that’s been as complex or let’s say the 11 months that we’ve had that I’ve been rocking our world. What has worked for you? What are the tactics or the practices that help you feel, if you can, feel grounded?
Hanna:
I was actually thinking about this earlier today because nature has always been something that’s been kind of my form of meditation. I haven’t quite found my way of sitting meditation or active in a way meditation that’s consciously done because I was so used to just being surrounded by nature. And I love to just sit still in a calm place somewhere. It can be a park bench, but it can also be at top of a mountain, to sit still and take it all in. I sometimes say I’m one of those old cameras that need long-term exposure to really get the picture right.
Hanna:
And that’s, in a way, how I feel. I need the time to take it all in and have a quiet moment. And I think that’s always been how I meditated in some shape or form, but now living in a city, that’s not always that easy. So I try to consciously create those moments on the walkway. I had to sit down and have a moment to myself. But especially over the last year now, I think food has been, again, one of the things that really kept me grounded.
Hanna:
I’ve been cooking so much and with everyday seeming and it’s a bit the same, and the structure being the same, and us not really leaving the house, dinner was always the highlight of the day. And me and my partner often made conscious choices of cooking something really exciting to give us something to look forward to throughout the day.
Hanna:
And the second thing I do, and that definitely helped me so much getting through this year, is sleep. I love sleeping. I love just being in bed and having that, today’s done and I can just switch off. There’s something so beautiful about that. I’m quite an avid dreamer. So I really do think sleep is how I just process whatever’s happening and obviously, there’s lots of process right now. So that’s why I’ve been sleeping a lot.
Anne Muhlethaler:
I think you’re lucky in many ways. I’m like you, I’m a big sleeper and a big dreamer. And regarding food, I get you. I mean, respect. Let me go back to some of the questions that I like to ask. So Hannah, tell me, please, what is your favorite word?
Hanna:
I don’t know. The first that comes to mind is hilarious because I think hilarious in itself is hilarious in the way it sounds. And for some reason, whenever I make this word, just there’s joy in me and I think hilarious is just hilarious. So I think it’s probably my favorite word in the English language.
Anne Muhlethaler:
I like it. Actually, I relate to that. What song best represents you?
Hanna:
It’s a bit of a difficult question. I think, again, what comes to mind for us is probably the right answer. And I love a Danish band called Lucas Graham. And one of the more recent songs is called when you Love Someone, and it’s this beautiful lyrics and together with beautiful melody, of course, about how when you love someone, you just open up and that opens up to fear and pain, and it’s so beautiful, yet so scary at the same time.
Hanna:
And I do think it does represent me quite a lot in the love I have for people, but also the love I have for what I do because if you’re so in it with all your heart, it opens you up to pain. And as much as I’m so lucky and grateful to be able to do what I do, it means that there’s moments when I just don’t know how to handle it anymore because I have such high expectations on myself and I want to get it right so badly that it’s sometimes painful.
Anne Muhlethaler:
I don’t know the song and I can’t wait to listen to it. It sounds absolutely beautiful. What did you want to be when you were a kid?
Hanna:
I wanted to be an archeologist and go to Egypt and be in the Valley of Kings and find mummies and graves. I had an absolute obsession with anything relating to ancient Egypt when I was a child.
Anne Muhlethaler:
Awesome. Have you been to Egypt?
Hanna:
No. I don’t know why, but I’ve never been. I think maybe it’s a little bit that fear of missing your heroes because it might not be as magical as I imagine it in my own head, but I did have, as a child, the opportunity to shadow an archeologist friend of my parents and go with him on a local dig.
Hanna:
And I just loved it so much. I have a passion for history and discovering how people lived back then, and how everything was made down to all the little details, and how they were cooking, how they were sewing, or what were their tools? And so that was a deep passion of mine. And I still love a museum.
Anne Muhlethaler:
Mine was the Machu Picchu. And no, I haven’t been to Peru yet, but I was obsessed.
Hanna:
You need to go. Machu Picchu is one of the most magical places I’ve ever been to. There’s just something about it that I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it felt absolutely magical. It’s so beautiful and so fascinating how they created it, and why, and everything around it.
Anne Muhlethaler:
Oh, dreams. What is your favorite curse word? It could be in various languages.
Hanna:
Yeah. I’m going for the obvious one in English, a lot the F word. But I think in German, it’s schleichen. So I guess it’s quite standard, but that’s the one that also comes out whenever I’m working out and it gets really hard. So I think that must be then the favorite one
Anne Muhlethaler:
Yeah, for sure. Now, what would you say to your younger self if you could send yourself a message?
Hanna:
It’s the same? I would say to myself, as always trust your gut feeling. Everything will be okay. And take it easy. Because that’s so hard sometimes and just trusting in the fact that it will be okay and no reason to stress out that much. I’m still working on that.
Anne Muhlethaler:
What book is next to your bed? Or what book is on your desk?
Hanna:
I’m a very slow reader, so those books are usually there for a long time, but at the moment it’s Christian Dior’s biography.
Anne Muhlethaler:
Is it good? I’ve not read it yet.
Hanna:
So far I really it. It’s one I kept for a long time and didn’t start reading it because obviously he is such a big character in the fashion world. And somehow I didn’t feel ready to touch upon it yet. But what I love about him is learning about his personality and that he was actually quite a shy person, and then felt he created this persona of Christian Dior, the couturier around him.
Hanna:
And I think that’s something I can relate to because for the longest time, I just thought I’m way too shy in order to be a fashion designer. But it’s nice to hear that someone who was so successful had a similar path to that and a similar feeling.
Anne Muhlethaler:
Absolutely. What person do you think we should all know about, someone that you really look up to? Whether it’s a politician, a writer, a musician, an artist, someone you’re a bit obsessed with.
Hanna:
I wouldn’t say I’m obsessed with her, but I love the comedian Hannah Gadsby. I think what she did with the Netflix special, Nanette, was so incredible that she put a topic that’s so tough and not easy to digest to a comedy show and somehow managed that stretch of starting out funny, taking it into a real traumatic moment, and then yet still finishing on a high, that was so incredible. And I love the sequence she did about art history. And I think that’s the real skill. So I think everyone should watch that show and also her a new one, Douglas, was amazing. So that’s someone I’d love to meet. I really admire her work.
Anne Muhlethaler:
I love Nanette, but I haven’t seen Douglas. So I need to check that out. And my last question for you would be the one I ask everyone, what brings you happiness?
Hanna:
My dog. I think she’s the most amazing purchase I’ve ever done in my entire life. Feels weird that I was able to purchase her. That feels wrong. She’s a family member and she just brings me so much joy every single day. She’s so hilarious. And I don’t know how I could wait so long to finally welcome a dog into my life.
Anne Muhlethaler:
What’s her name?
Hanna:
Her name is Ava, A-V-A.
Anne Muhlethaler:
Oh, glamorous like Ava Gardner.
Hanna:
I know, right? After naming her, and it took me a while because I felt none of the names were right, and then I had a moment when I was like, maybe I shouldn’t get her because if I can’t name her, she’s not the right one for me. And then Ava just felt so fitting. And then afterwards, it felt, oh, it would have been a great name for a girl too. It’s a beautiful name, I feel. It shows somehow that the cheekiness of her and yet it’s quite elegant and grown up itself. And it somehow fits her perfectly.
Anne Muhlethaler:
And that’s absolutely adorable. Hanna, thanks so much for taking the time. It was a real pleasure to talk to you. Is there anything that you want to add? Anything you want to share? Anything that you haven’t mentioned for our listeners before we go?
Hanna:
I think what I want to share is that I absolutely love your podcast and I feel so honored having listened to your previous episodes and the amazing guests you have. I feel absolutely honored to have been now invited. So I thank you so much. And if anyone hasn’t listened to your other episodes, they should definitely do so.
Anne Muhlethaler:
Oh, thanks so much. I’m so glad it resonates. That’s wonderful. Well, have a wonderful rest of the day or rather have a lovely start of your weekend.
Hanna:
Thank you so much.
Anne Muhlethaler:
It was absolutely awesome. I’ll put all of the links of everything in the show notes. And then obviously I’ll speak to you really soon. Thanks again to Hanna for being my guest on the show. You can find her online at hannafiedler.com, and on Instagram at Hanna.Fiedler. Links are all, of course, included in the show notes, including the link to discover Hanna’s latest collection, Chapter 3. So that’s it for this other episode.
Anne Muhlethaler:
Thank you so much for listening, and I hope you’ll join us again next time. Our theme music is by Connor Heffernan, artwork by Brian Ponto. Special thanks to Pete and to Joel for editing and sound. You can soon find all my episodes and find out more about my many projects at annevmuhlethaler.com. If you don’t know how to spell it, it’s also in the show notes.
Anne Muhlethaler:
And sign up to receive updates on all the fun things I’m doing. The site will be live soon. Follow us on Instagram at _outoftheclouds. And if you can spare a minute, we would love it if you could rate and review the show on iTunes. It helps us find the right audience, and we appreciate it very, very much. So until next time, be well, be safe. Remember the hand-washing, social distancing, et cetera. Thank you.