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A Dream Comes True rechenberg couture:

      German fashion designer Kathrin von Rechenberg becomes eloquent when speaking “tea silk,” a special fabric favoured by the wealthy in ancient China. It was her appreciation for this material that first brought Rechenberg to China, where she would eventually start a business, marry and begin a new life.

      Rechenberg worked as a modelist and patternmaker with various Parisian couturiers such as Christine Dior and Chanel after graduating as a top student from the Paris Couture School. She became aware of tea silk through a Taiwanese designer. The unique quality and marble gloss of this fabric instantly won her heart. With a dream of designing and making her own fashions, Rechenberg decided to fulfil her dream based on tea silk at its place of origin: China.

      “I love black very much,” said Rechenberg. “The black of tea silk varies and is very special with its metallic gloss.”

      In 2000, Rechenberg came to Beijing and began her efforts to establish her own couture brand by making clothes for friends. The pace of development hastened after she met her Chinese husband, who became her “advisor.” In 2002, “rechenberg couture” was registered in an office building before soon moving to its current location in a residential community near the embassy area.

      rechenberg couture now occupies a brick building with floor-to-ceiling windows and a small courtyard designed by Rechenberg and her husband on rented land. The workshop is located in a building on the property. Here Rechenberg and her staff of fewer than ten people design and tailor clothes for her clients, who now number about 200.

      Originally, tea silk constituted the major product line of rechenberg couture, as the fabric coincides with the design style of Rechenberg: elegant simplicity with flowing fabrics, clear lines, and essential graphics. However, tea silk is also very expensive and requires time-consuming and complicated procedures to make and use. First, the material is dyed with vegetable juices, then covered with river sand and laid out to dry in open air. Just before finishing, it is washed in tea. The individual colouring of the final product reflects the influences of all of nature’s elements: plants, water, sun, earth and changes of temperature, the rhythm of the seasons. It gains in gloss and quality if stored for several years before use. In China there are only two producers left, both in Guangdong Province, who know all the secrets of making this precious silk.

      With the revived popularity of this fabric in China, demand for it has grown rapidly, leading to a decline in product quality, such as not being dyed enough before being sold. To get the best material for her designs, Rechenberg orders white silk and has it dyed in designated workshops in Guangdong. 
      Rechenberg has also expanded her product line by using other fabrics, 50 percent of which are imported, because international fashion capitals are clusters for high-quality materials and it is easier to order small-amounts of fabrics from abroad. Of the invested in her business, about two-thirds went to the purchase of fabrics.

      Rechenberg’s client list now includes Chinese customers, most of them wealthy women in pursuit of unique and understated designs, who constitute about 20 percent of her clientele. A tea silk jacket here costs about 3,500 yuan to 4,500 yuan (US$525 to $675), and 2,000 yuan (US$300) for pants; evening gowns and wedding dresses would cost more: 15,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan (US$2,250 to $15,000).

      After operating for seven years, rechenberg couture has a healthy cash flow, which is spent on rent, wages, and another key expense: the twice-a-year mini fashion show.

      As in Paris, rechenberg couture holds a spring–summer and autumn–winter show, later than the international timetable, just to make it more client-friendly. A fashion show can cost about 100,000 yuan (US$15,000) to produce and takes several months to prepare. Every once in a while, Rechenberg invites her customers to her Couture Cafe, during which one or two models present the newest collection and the designer explainss about specialties of various fabrics and their use.

      Aside from operating expenses, much of Rechenberg’s business profit is spent on purchasing the best materials worldwide, as an irresistible hobby of a designer, a hobby regarded by her husband as "not rational" from the business perspective, but still supported. To allow the rechenberg brand to extend from couture to more customers, Rechenberg and her husband are considering plans to open a small shop selling ready-to-wear clothes as another product line. Confident of their design and quality, Rechenberg and her husband are making efforts to extend the number of multi-brand shops selling the brand in European cities.

德国服装设计师的梦想照进现实

文/赵迪迪

痴迷服装设计  投身时装之都

      “香芸纱是天然环保的中国传统面料，迄今已有近800年的历史，并且早在明朝永乐年间（1360—1424年）就开始出口世界各国，当时的达官贵人们都将身着香芸纱看做是身份的象征。我们经常到中国南方去寻找质量上乘的香芸纱面料，有时需要自己晒制和染色以确保质量，使面料的质地达到凉爽宜人、易洗快干、不粘皮肤的程度，成为真丝中的极品。”设计师凯瑟琳·冯·瑞兴博格在介绍香云纱面料时如数家珍。

      出生于德国慕尼黑的凯瑟琳，对时装设计的迷恋与执着促使她到法国学习生活了8年时间，并以服装设计和制作师学位年度第一名的优异成绩毕业于巴黎高级时装工会设计学院，曾先后受聘于迪奥、香奈儿等世界知名的高级时装工作室。在众多世界顶级设计大师的熏陶下，凯瑟琳积累了深厚的立体剪裁技术功底，熟练掌握了高级时装制作的繁琐工艺，并由此逐渐创立了独树一帜的设计风格。

创业在北京  缘起香芸纱

      香云纱又名薯莨纱，是一种在20世纪40—50年代流行于中国南方地区的独特服装面料，由于该面料具有凉爽宜人、易洗快干、色深耐脏、不沾皮肤、轻薄而不易折皱、柔软而富有身骨的特点，广受欢迎。

      凯瑟琳就是香芸纱面料的忠实推广者，她认为只有这种独特质地和风格的面料才能最好的体现自己的艺术思想和设计理念。因此， 2002年，凯瑟琳在北京建立了自己的工作室——Rechenberg couture。Rechenberg couture位于一座充满了中国古典风格的小院中，小院的主体是一座5米高的设计和服装展示中心。“这是我自己设计建造的，选用宽大的落地窗装饰是为了最大程度地引进自然光线，这样除了能使设计师由此不断产生自然的设计灵感外，还能还原布料的真实颜色，让顾客发现自己真正想要的衣服。另外，我们在屋顶上还安装了10余组射灯，以便在进行服装展示活动时，使观众欣赏到每款衣服在不同场合中的独特之处。当然，在举行一些庆祝活动的时候，在这里更会感受到时尚和轻松愉悦的气氛。”谈到自己的工作室，喜爱与自豪之情始终洋溢在凯瑟琳的脸上。

      Rechenberg couture的成衣坊与设计及展示中心相邻，有10余位工作人员在此按照设计图纸精心地裁剪、缝制布料。凯瑟琳说：“这里的工作人员有着精湛的剪裁技艺，并且对服装制衣有着独到的见解。更重要的是他们都是中国人，比较了解中国文化和中国人的审美习惯等，这恰恰是我所欠缺的，所以我们经常在一起彼此交流想法。”

      “与周围人的交流很重要，我们从不做广告，客人们都是在日常的往来和相互沟通中，逐渐了解我们的工作室和服装风格，由此与我们成为很好的朋友，并且将他们的感受和我们的设计理念传播到更广的朋友圈中，这就是我们最主要的宣传途径。”凯瑟琳介绍说。

信仰与效益并重 质量与成本兼顾

      Rechenberg couture的顾问，也是凯瑟琳丈夫的张向云在谈到自己妻子时说：“凯瑟琳是一位非常敬业的服装设计师，她将全部的心思都放在了服装的选材和设计上，但是对于经营公司，我们还有许多需要学习的地方。”据张向云介绍，目前在Rechenberg couture制作一套普通套装的价位在5000—10000元；制作一套礼服的价位在1.5—10万元。

      “凯瑟琳是个纯粹的艺术家和设计师，在她心中只有自身的艺术风格、设计理念和过硬的质量。” 张向云介绍，凯瑟琳婉拒过很多投资商的合作邀请，因为她担心自己的设计会掺杂商业的色彩和受到外界因素的干扰，她的目标是目前自己创建的品牌能够保持长胜不衰，而不是随波逐流甚至销声匿迹。

      凯瑟琳对面料的要求达到了精益求精的程度，Rechenberg couture有三分之二的面料需要从欧洲进口，虽然质量可以与国际大品牌相媲美，但是成衣后出售的价格却不能达到国际品牌的标准，这也由此产生了收支上的矛盾。香芸纱是凯瑟琳最喜爱的面料，然而在目前的市场上很难找到质量一流的货源，因此只得将香芸纱材质的服装减少到三分之一份额。有时遇到质量不能完全满足要求的货源，Rechenberg couture便选择最原始的香芸纱材料，自己制染，以确保质量上乘，这样成本也会相应增加。

      “好的货源很难找到，成本压力相对较大是Rechenberg couture目前面临的主要难题，好在我们有比较稳定的客户群，他们的欣赏水平很高，购买能力也强，使我们基本能够达到收支平衡。” 凯瑟琳表示。

重视市场开发 拓展发展渠道

      Rechenberg couture每年都会租用专业场地，组织2次时装展示活动。“这可能是除购置衣料外最大的一笔开支，时装展示的费用在10万元左右。尽管支出不小，但我们认为这是非常值得的，不仅是对工作的一种总结，更是推广品牌和理念的绝好途径。” 凯瑟琳自豪地说。

      同时，Rechenberg couture还始终不断扩展和打造市场。2008年，来自德国的安雅加入其中并从事市场开发工作。如今，Rechenberg couture正在积极与奥地利、法国等国的时装店及购物中心寻求合作，力争将品牌逐步推向世界。在北京，Rechenberg couture计划未来开设更多的店面，将品牌大范围的推广。“我希望在20—30年后，Rechenberg couture品牌依然存在，当然还要比现在的风格更加优雅、独特，受到更多客人的喜爱。” 凯瑟琳充满信心地说。