This week, we got the chance to catch up with the design duo behind Ottolinger, Swiss-born designers Christa Bösch and Cosima Gadient, to chat about their new G-STAR collaboration, finding out how they went about reworking an iconic piece of denim like the ELWOOD and what Christa and Cosima’s best advice is for young designers. Linking up with G-STAR as part of its new series titled “THE DENIM,” Christa and Cosima of Ottolinger are the first guest designers to take part in the series, delivering a selection of limited-edition jeans in their own style.
For their “THE DENIM” drop, the design duo reimagined G-STAR’s infamous silhouette, the ELWOOD, by transforming the pair of jeans originally designed for the male form into a figure-hugging silhouette for women. With two pairs dropping - THE DENIM 001 and THE
DENIM 001 Zip - both feature zips up the sides of the jeans, bringing Ottolinger’s feminine, deconstructed style to the world of G-STAR. We caught up with Christa Bösch and Cosima Gadient to find out more about the collaboration; here’s what went down.
How was it linking up with G-STAR? What is it about your brands that means you align?
Cosima: “One of the things we always consider when designing is movement and the fact that we live in these things, we have to move in these garments. That was definitely a joint [ethos] that we shared with G-STAR. Also our reinterpretation of [G-STAR’s] ELWOOD for the female body helped us to align.”
What was your number one priority when designing for G-STAR?
Christa: “The ELWOOD is so iconic and unique [but it is originally designed for the male body,] so we really wanted to make a female version of the ELWOOD.”
Cosima: “Yeah, [we wanted to create a reinterpretation of the ELWOOD] that enhances all the female curves and features while maintaining the maximum comfort. We wanted to play with the female figure and create a really powerful shape whilst staying loyal to G-STAR’s classic denim.”
Your collections always have an air of femininity: how did you go about bringing that to the ELWOOD, which was originally designed as a pair of men’s jeans?
Cosima: “Usually we work, not with drawings, but with 3D draping, so we asked G-STAR to send us a bunch of ELWOODs and then we put them on our bodies or on the dolls and reshaped them [into this new silhouette]. For example, the ELWOOD has some very significant lines around the knee areas and on the hips, so we [reshaped and] adjusted them to female proportions.”
Other than G-STARs ELWOOD - which we know you re-worked for the collaboration - did any more iconic denim pieces make it onto your mood board?
Christa: “We own many jeans, but this collection was really about the ELWOOD.”
Cosima: “It's interesting because it’s always good to see what is circulating the secondary market and what’s popular in vintage denim right now, so when we found that G-STAR has really does have this reputation in those markets for delivering on such iconic jeans like the ELWOOD, we felt it was the time to rework it. Jeans generally are an item that goes through all generations, all body types, all social levels; they’re like the perfect uniform, they’re something that protects you; they make your life easier.”
What do you think of the hate that skinny jeans get?
Cosima: “I think that's always what happens with trends - if something gets worn so much people can’t stand it anymore because they’ve seen it so much. But at the point when they start hating it, that’s when it will come right back. I think it's good to have jeans in all silhouettes so you can dress the way you want. I love skinny jeans.”
How did you approach the link up with G-STAR sustainably, given denim is so often not?
Cosima: “I mean one way is that we [didn’t create] large quantities of our collab: it's quite a limited collection so that’s one of the ways it's sustainable for sure.”
Where do you see the Ottolinger x G-STAR jeans being worn?
Cosima: “I think it's really an everyday uniform. You can put them in the morning before you go to work, for like your 9-5 or whatever it is, and then keep them on for your 5-9 after that.”
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing small and emerging designers today?
Christa: “I think the market in general is very challenging - I think that’s affecting all brands right now, although it's always more risky for new brands.
Cosima: “But there’s also a lot of different challenges, like maybe you’re a young brand with a lot of ideas but you don’t know how to produce them, and then once you figure out how to produce them the ideas don’t work anymore or like you’ve squeezed them all out already. The first step is
What’s your best piece of advice for young designers?
Christa: “Don’t give up!”
Cosima: “Yeah, you really have to keep going.”
Christa: “Don’t listen to anyone, you just have to do what you think feels right for you.”
Cosima: “Because if you’re true to your niche, and you’ve found your niche, there [will always be] a market for that. People love authenticity so if you have a story to tell - like us, our clothes always tell a story - and it's personal to you, people will like it.”
What’s on the cards for Ottolinger next?
Christa: “We’re going to open a pop-up store in New York just before Christmas - keeps us busy for now!”
Cosima: “And we’re also working on the next season and on the Pre-Winter season, and we have quite a few activities coming up in the new year which we’re currently planning for. We’re trying to get a bit more out there and do more stuff off of social media, so we’re working on a lot of physical activations.”
Featured image via Ottolinger x G-STAR©
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