High-quality fashion for women in Hamburg’s Karoviertel – an interview with designer Annette Rufeger

At Annette Rufeger there is more than just a new garment. The design is created with a lot of love for details and through elaborate craftsmanship you will hold the finished style in your hands some weeks later. Annette tells us how it all began and what she wishes for the future.

Annette, tell us how it all started for you.

Annette: I studied fashion design in Hamburg at the Armgartstraße (today HAW) and then did a traineeship in the field of journalism with the focus on interior design. In the end I realized that I wanted to do something with fashion. After several internships I started my own business together with a friend. That was years ago!

I started my own label at the end of the 90s with a shop in the Schanzenviertel. Five other Hamburg labels were part of it. It was like a shop-in-shop system. Each designer had a meter clothes rail to present his collection and had to take over the shift in the shop once a week. The rest of the week they worked in their own studio. The model worked really well, even if the one or other label changed. They shared the financing and the income went directly to the respective designer. When the model later split up, I used the shop with my own label for another 8 years.

In the beginning I sewed almost everything myself, mainly trousers – that was my theme! Unisex pants for men and women. In general everything that had to do with trousers: culottes, overalls, sporty trousers, Marlene trousers etc. The pattern was a challenge, but somehow I had a knack for it. For example, I also took the pattern off old trousers from the flea market and tried out various variations.

“I use very good fabric qualities and always have a sustainable sense in the back of my mind – my customer should feel comfortable in the garment. It should accompany her for a long time and of course fit perfectly.”

How could you motivate yourself to keep going?

Annette: My really big dream was that I could live of it! And then you just have to hang in there, be tough and not let yourself be beaten down. Well, and a little luck is part of it. Of course I had to work on the side, but actually I was able to make a living from it after only 3 – 4 years.

The big leap came after 10 years when I took over the original ​“community shop” together with a friend who makes hats and caps. It gave me a lot of strength to start the project with someone else, it was almost like a marriage! We supported and helped each other.

And what has been your most important step in recent years?

Annette: When I moved to Marktstrasse four years ago. There I have a shop and a studio in one. Finally I have the feeling that I have arrived. The atmosphere of the street, the quarter inspires me and the shop/​studio design is really beautiful, everything is so open, almost transparent. My customers can see the fabrics and patterns of the next season and are happy to get a little insight.

How would you describe your style and who is your target group?

Annette: I make fashion for women, but I like to play with male and female details. I think that men’s fashion has something beautiful and clear about it. This creates a high quality business look, but with which you are dressed differently than with a classic suit. I use very good fabric qualities and always have a sustainable sense in the back of my mind – my customer should feel comfortable in the garment. It should accompany her for a long time and of course fit perfectly. For these reasons I also design rather timeless fashion and do not follow any current trends.

The women who come to me are between 30 and 60 years old. At some point the women become more choosy and have their own style. That pleases me and I like to serve them.

I know that my customers accept the price because they respect that it is a small company with small quantities and high quality. They also know that there are still people behind the tailoring business.

You set great store by your choice of fabric. Who or what are your sources?

Annette: Correct, the fabric purchase is really very important to me. It is also very inspiring for me and essential for the flow of my work. Some of the companies I know have been in business for over 20 years and I am also friends with some of them privately. The high-quality fabrics mostly come from Germany, France or Italy. In the meantime I also know all the companies that produce them. My focus is on new wool and cotton. I do not really look at polyester qualities at all.

What does the term sustainability mean to you?

Annette: As already mentioned, it is on the one hand the high-quality fabrics and the patterns which are worked out with great attention to detail. That is the basis for the longevity. Then it is the transparency in my shop/​studio. We make the styles in our shop or with a tailor here in Hamburg. If we have a larger number of pieces I fall back on a small sewing company in Szczecin, with which I have been working for 3 years. There I know that the production is fair and that all social requirements fit and correspond with my values. The furniture in my shop was made by a carpenter from Hamburg, sustainable materials were used. The design is functional and intelligent.

In my team everyone is a specialist in his own field. Nobody must be able to do everything. So you can concentrate much better on what you do. Being sustainable also means not chasing every fashion trend.

What do you wish for the future?

Annette: Especially after this uncertain, oppressive period of the Corona pandemic, I would like to see women in general having more fun with fashion again! They should get heart palpitations when they see a style, pattern, colour or touch a fabric. The WOW-effect should start again. That is actually what fashion is all about and that is what we need. It is something special.

Of course, women in particular tend to look at more useful, practical things, but they should take more time for what they like, what makes them happy.

In any case, I would like to avoid the time pressure and constraints of the fashion industry. I do not want to enlarge at all. That wouldn’t work with my current structures either. I would like to continue to work with the people I work with now. They are important to me and I value them very highly.

Now let’s see what the new autumn/​winter collection will bring. We have to hurry so that the first photos can be seen online at the end of August/​beginning of September.

We are all very excited about Annette’s new collection. But you are very welcome to visit her shop in Hamburg. You also have the possibility to have a look at the lookbook on her website or in Berlin in the shop ​“Wertvoll”. Annette’s collections have been sold there for 15 years.

Find out more: https://​www​.annetterufeger​.de/