As of: March 26, 2024, 7:11 a.m
By: Carina Zimniok
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Fashion from Munich by the designers Theresa Reiter (left) and Katharina Weber.
© Martin Hangen
Two designers produce timelessly elegant favorite pieces - in their studio behind the shop in Munich's Glockenbachviertel.
There are hardly any shorter delivery routes.
And the friends’ motto is also: sustainability.
Munich - Your clothes have already been sold in New York, Copenhagen, Riga and Zurich.
Minimalist sweaters, coats, t-shirts, mostly plain, usually with a subtle detail.
A pleat or a square collar, for example.
Every piece that the Munich designers Theresa Reiter (33) and Katharina Weber (37) send out into the world is designed, tailored and sewn in the Glockenbachviertel.
They only have a small part of the collection produced, also in Munich.
An alternative to cheap fashion that is produced under problematic conditions in Asia.
The model works, the two of them can make a living from it.
And the fashion looks good too.
The two designers also sell accessories.
© Martin Hangen
Designers record everything analogue in the Glockenbachviertel
The we.re store, the name of the two women's label, is on Reichenbachstrasse.
Here one hip shop follows the next, small boutiques with a selected range.
Theresa Reiter and Katharina Weber's clothes hang on racks on the left and right of the wall.
Black, white, green, gray, blue.
Solid fabrics with wool, fine fabrics with silk.
“There is exactly one size of every skirt and top,” says Theresa Reiter.
Once it is sold, the designer goes into the open studio behind the sales room.
There is a shelf there with many, many Leitz folders.
She leafs through it looking for the cut.
“We have everything analogue here,” explains Katharina Weber, pointing to the sketches for a pair of trousers.
The two of them cut the fabric to size at the large table, sewn on the sewing machine - then the item goes straight back onto the hanger, freshly ironed.
The next customer can come.
The two don't sell most of their clothes in other stores, but in their own shop.
Or online.
Theresa Reiter with the tape measure at the large work table in her studio.
© Martin Hangen
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Munich designers cut dresses as desired
The door opens and a young woman enters.
She rummages through the clothes racks, picks up a green silk skirt and tries it on.
“Looks good,” says Theresa Reiter.
“Is it too long?” asks the customer, looking at herself in the mirror.
“We can shorten it if you like,” replies the designer.
This is also a big difference to mass fashion: If it doesn't fit, it will be made to fit.
The customer wants to think about it.
It doesn't cost anything to take a look, but it's worth it: the we.re-Label store at Reichenbachstrasse 30. © Martin Hangen
Most people who buy clothes from we.re think about it carefully - because compared to standard clothes from the big fashion companies, they are more expensive.
A coat can cost 500 euros, a sweater 175 euros.
“But our fashion is timeless,” says Theresa Reiter.
They should be elegant favorite pieces for many years, not throwaway products that are no longer fashionable after one season.
Too much time goes into making the clothes; the designers sometimes need two days to create a coat.
And too much love.
Initially a pop-up store: more and more customers are buying the timeless fashion
This is also partly due to the story of Theresa and Katharina, they have fulfilled a lifelong dream.
After graduating from high school, the two of them studied at the Fashion & Design Academy in Munich. They met on their very first day at university - and hit it off straight away.
Because their final projects are particularly good, they are allowed to present their collection at Fashion Week in Berlin.
When the two of them take the bus back to Munich, proud and happy, they decide to open a pop-up store and sell their fashion.
New designs by the two designers hang in the studio behind the sales room.
© Martin Hangen
Pop-up store – this is a store that only exists for a certain period of time; it is usually temporary use for empty buildings.
The duo started in 2014, a concept like this was rather unusual at the time.
The friends are happy when they see their first real collection hanging on the clothes rails.
“In the beginning, it was mainly our families and friends who did the shopping,” remembers Katharina Weber.
But that is not how it remains.
More and more customers want her simple clothes.
And also other Munich shops.
Katharina sits at the sewing machine in the studio.
Meanwhile, customers at the front are looking around the store.
© Martin Hangen
Six-day week with ten hours of work per day
The designers sew their first clothes in Theresa's family's basement. They work a lot, six days a week, ten hours minimum.
The second pop-up store followed and in 2015 the young women took the next step: they opened their first real shop with a studio on Klenzestrasse.
They established themselves there and expanded a little, but not too much - until a few months ago when they moved to the new store a few blocks away.
There is a little more foot traffic there.
“We notice that clearly,” says Katharina.
Simple fashion for a little eternity.
© Martin Hangen
Women in particular shop at we.re - women who value individual fashion and value sustainability.
The designers do this through the limited supplies, so they don't have to waste anything in sales and certainly don't have to destroy anything, like big fashion chains do.
And most of the fabrics they use are certified by the GOTS seal for organically produced textiles.
The women also buy a large part from so-called dead stock.
These are high-quality fabric remnants from well-known designers that would otherwise be thrown away.
And shorter delivery routes between production and sales are rare.
Fashion made in Minga.
Your online shop: werealabel.com
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