Emerging Fervour

Today, I take you on a little journey to my beautiful hometown Hamburg. You might have heard of it and some of you may have actually been there. But it’s not the first place you have in mind, when you think of fashion. Pack your bags, we’re going to change this right now. With a special feature, where I’d like to show you some up-coming designers you should keep an eye on. Cause as we say in our Hanseatic manner: if you make it here, you make it everywhere. So buckle up, here we go!

Our first stop is a studio in western Hamburg, where Janny Schulte and Katrin Weber are currently working on their new collection named High Rollers. In 2008 they founded the label Superhorstjansen and combine the comfortable feel of street wear with sexy designs and fancy details. “We prove that street wear can be fashionable and that a comfortable feel and a sexy look are no opposites.”

Janny and Katrin met during their studies, but the idea of founding a label was born in a vacation in Mexico. “Going on this two-month trip together made us realise that we’re different, but similar at the same time. Even if we do things differently, we fit as a team. And most important: we have always had the same idea of how our fashion should look like.” So they decided to go the whole hog, moved into a studio and started their business. The First Things First collection was a success and proved, that obviously they had the right hunch.

So, was everything as easy as it sounds? “The feedback was amazing and people loved what we were doing, but this also puts a lot of pressure on you to succeed. Suddenly we were thinking about stuff like sales volume instead of authentic designs. You have to be careful not to lose creativity and communication between each other. We had to figure out, what makes us unique and where we’re heading to. It’s a learning process.”

And you can tell by the fashion they made: Superhorstjansen know who they are and what they stand for. It’s inspirational fashion for inspired people.
“We’re coming from a Hip Hop influenced background. Realness, credibility, courage and power are important matters to us and for the people who like our label. It’s always about doing your own thing and be proud of it.”

They have been doing their own thing for over two years now and have built a strong network of support. “Friends are so important for everything we do. We don’t want to build walls around us, but work together with people we like and respect. It is often such a hard business and you need support, even if it means that you get screwed sometimes. It’s the risk, but we take it.”

The longer I talk to Janny and Katrin the more I’m impressed. They’re both so passionate and tough, you have to take them seriously. It’s obvious that I’m not talking to two best friends who decided to make some clothes in their free-time. These girls really are the label and they’re working pretty hard for it. “People need to know who’s behind Superhorstjansen and they need to know why we’re doing this. We’re the heart and soul of it.”

And the hard work pays off… Janny and Katrin are planning on developing an online store at the moment, until then you can buy Superhorstjansen fashion in Hamburg, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Cologne and Munich. Newly also in Copenhagen and Utrecht.

Last but not least, I didn’t want to keep this back from you. My new hoodie and me.