Read about current issues and people who inspire us in articles that are to the point.
FEATURES | 27 August 2022
HOW JULIEN BRACHT HAS FOUND HIS SIGNATURE
Julien Bracht, solo musician and one half of Lea Porcelain, released his debut LP Now Forever One last year. Our editor-in-chief Martin talked with Julien about his album, his way of making music, and what kind of music he’s exploring next.
FEATURES | 25 May 2022
GASTGARTEN IS LIKE A COFFEE TABLE BOOK IN MAGAZINE FORMAT
Multifaceted, captivating, and inspiring – reading Gastgarten is like participating in a lively discussion. Each issue of this magazine, published and curated by Jonas Mannherz and Heiko Lietz, deals with a specific topic. While the first issue, 'VESTIMENTÆR[Y]', published in 2020, looks into clothes and anything made through a process like (inter)weaving in a broad sense, the second issue, 'SPATIAL [RÆUMLICH]', is concerned with different types of spaces. To introduce you to the Gastgarten magazine, Martin had a chat with Jonas & Heiko.
FEATURES | 17 April 2022
ARCHITECTOUR WITH MWORKS
When designing their pieces, Belgian designers Mansour Badjoko and Martin Liesnard are strongly influenced by architecture. Particularly Brussels, the city they’re based in, is an inexhaustible source of inspiration for the duo. They show us around their city, guiding us from one fascinating building to the next.
FEATURES | 14 November 2021
The New Monthly Payment Collection Shows Alexandre Faulkner's True Vision
To introduce you to Monthly Payment, Martin had a chat over the phone with Alexandre Faulkner, the founder and creative director of the Canadian label. They talked about the story and motivation behind Monthly Payment and how Alexandre shares his vision of a classic wardrobe with his new ready-to-wear collection.
FEATURES | 30 September 2021
HOW A Plant and Social Movements Inspired Simon Lextrait’s New Collection
For his Spring/Summer 2021 collection Perce-Pierre, Simon Lextrait was inspired by a rather inconspicuous plant that grows on rocks and the Chipko Movement from India. To find out more about the story behind Simon’s latest collection, we sat down for a little chat with the designer.
FEATURES | 29 August 2021
PRONOUNCE
The Chinese fashion label PRONOUNCE was founded by Yushan Li and Jun Zhou in 2016. While Yushan studied at Central Saint Martins, Jun graduated from London College of Fashion and Istituto Marangoni. Based in Milan and Shanghai, the duo elaborately combine tradition with modern designs. The sneakers from the brand's collaboration with PUMA are also available at The Wasted Hour. To introduce you to PRONOUNCE, Martin did a little Q&A with Yushan.
FEATURES | 29 July 2021
BRENK SINATRA NOT ONLY HAS A NEW ALBUM BUT ALSO A NEW LABEL
After decades in the music business, producer Brenk Sinatra decided to found his own label, Wave Planet Records. And what could be more fitting than starting with the release of his new album Boss Spieler University? Martin talked to the producer from Vienna about working on both his new label and album.
FEATURES | 24 June 2021
HOW PHOEBE ENGLISH MADE HER NEW COLLECTION WITH NOTHING NEW
For her Spring/Summer 2021 collection, fashion designer Phoebe English once again worked with non-virgin materials, giving waste fabrics a new life. To make her latest collection, aptly titled Nothing New Part 2, Phoebe further refined her system of fabric sourcing to make the fashion and textile industry less wasteful.
FEATURES | XX April 2021
NEUES FEATURE
SUBTITLE
When they first met over a decade ago, Mansour Badjoko and Martin Liesnard got along right away because of their common passion: fashion. In 2019, the Belgian designers founded Mansour Martin: their Paris-based label for sustainable menswear. Our editor-in-chief Martin had a chat with the duo about how they got into fashion, how they first met and later started their brand, and about their commitment to sustainability.
FEATURES | 17 June 2021
BETHANY WILLIAMS' NEW COLLECTION TELLS THE STORIES OF ALL OUR CHILDREN
For her new collection All Our Children, London-based designer Bethany Williams has partnered with the Magpie Project, supporting families with housing issues in Newham. With the help of artist Melissa Kitty Jarram, Bethany featured illustrations by the mothers and children of the project throughout her SS21 collection to tell the families’ stories.
FEATURES | 11 April 2021
NON ECO DENIM
NON-PLASTIC, NON-WASTE, NON-BRANDED
When Pete Hellyer couldn’t find a pair of sustainable jeans he liked, he made his own instead. With his conscious brand non, Pete has developed a new approach to eco-friendly and ethically produced denim. non employs numerous ways to have the smallest environmental impact possible while producing timeless yet modern jeans that you can have in your wardrobe for many years. To introduce non at The Wasted Hour, we talked to Pete about his work in the fashion industry, how he decided to start his own thing, the importance of sustainability, and his wish to be an advocate for change.
FEATURES | 26 March 2021
MANSOUR (AND) MARTIN
FROM FRIENDS TO CO-FOUNDERS OF THEIR OWN LABEL
When they first met over a decade ago, Mansour Badjoko and Martin Liesnard got along right away because of their common passion: fashion. In 2019, the Belgian designers founded Mansour Martin: their Paris-based label for sustainable menswear. Our editor-in-chief Martin had a chat with the duo about how they got into fashion, how they first met and later started their brand, and about their commitment to sustainability.
FEATURES | 11 February 2021
BLUE HAWAII
UNTOGETHER BUT UNDER 1 HOUSE
In 2020, Blue Hawaii released its new EP Under 1 House, while in lockdown in different parts of the world.
Our editor-in-chief Martin talked to Alexander Kerby, one half of the electronic music band, about how he first met his bandmate Raphaelle Standelle, their eventful time together, and their new record.
FEATURES | 26 July 2020
FIONA O'NEILL
Born in Ireland and based in London, Fiona O’Neill is the designer behind her self-named label launched in 2019. The brand explores themes of surrealism and optical illusions, incorporating different art forms and application processes such as screen printing, painting by hand, and ceramic sculpting. Fiona also works to source and use eco-friendly materials in her designs, working towards further sustainability for the future.
To introduce her to you, Martin asked her what made her start her own label, the biggest challenges for an independent designer in the UK, her most played songs on the studio playlist, and her next plans.
FEATURES | 25 July 2020
PHOEBE ENGLISH
When she realised that she was in a position to help make the fashion industry less environmentally harmful, Phoebe English drastically rebuilt her eponymous brand. Having reassessed every single process, sustainability has become an important part of the way she designs.
To introduce her to you, our editor-in-chief Martin chatted to Phoebe over the phone about her first designs, the emergency designer network, her favourite place in London and, of course, sustainability.
FEATURES | 7 May 2020
MILES SINGLETON
The algorithm in music streaming services can't replace friends’ recommendations: These people know you, your taste, and sometimes even your current mood. When I cancelled my flight to Australia, stores and restaurants in Hamburg shut down, and I slowly realised that 2020 will be a very special year, a friend sent me the link to Miles Singleton’s album Invert. The producer from Zurich created 9 tracks that transport you to another, slowly moving world that opens up a space for you to let your mind drift.
A few days later, I talked to Miles on the phone about the music scene in Zurich, the first record he fell in love with and, of course, his new album.
FEATURES | 4 April 2020
SOCKSSS
Oscar and Sean founded Socksss as they saw a lack of interesting products in that segment. It's much more than that though: from the quality, their marketing and their care for nature they began to create their own universe.
With the launch of Socksss at The Wasted Hour, I chatted with founders Sean and Oscar about their use of organic cotton, the ideas behind their photoshoots, how skateboarding influenced them and much more.
FEATURES | 13 March 2020
TWIN PHANTOM
Elijah Russell and Bryce Walters grew up together as next door neighbours in Portland, Oregon and used their combined taste in music to create a new and versatile sound.
At the end of February, pop band Twin Phantom released their first EP Self Aware. So, we sat down with Elijah and Bryce to chat about their creative process, their first impression of each other and their biggest fashion icon.
FEATURES | 25 January 2020
FANTASTIC MAN
For the 30th issue the team behind Fantastic Man decided that this was the perfect occasion for a facelift: new shape, now logo and new font.
With the launch of Fantastic Man at The Wasted Hour, Martin had a quick chat with the magazine’s editor-in-chief Gert Jonkers.
FEATURES | 4 December 2019
ISAAC REINA
Isaac Reina was born in Barcelona, where he studied architecture and fashion. He settled down in Paris in 1998 and joined Hermès at the men’s ready-to-wear studio. In 2006, he launched his eponymous line of leather accessories. Since then, the name Isaac Reina stands for beautiful, elegant, and high-quality leather items, made in France and Spain. To introduce him to you, we sat down with Isaac for a Q&A.
FEATURES | 9 Novmeber 2019
JUNLI
Jun Li is, without a doubt, one of the most promising new designers. Hailing from Shanghai, China he fuses his experience, craftsmanship and inspirations to create beautiful collections. To introduce him to you, I sat down with Jun for a Q&A.
FEATURES | 28 August 2019
THE EARTH ISSUE
The Earth Issue is a collective of artists and creative professionals working at the intersection of fine art and environmentalism. I talked to founder Elena Cremona about making a magazine without any experience, the feeling after the release of the first issue, her future plans, and much more.
FEATURES | 2 June 2019
KANE CHATTEY
'Are you going to carry on, even if you lose everything and have to do it all over again?'
On the release day of his EP Self Construction, I talked to Kane about losing the hard drive that contained all of his songs, giving up himself for others, and self construction.
FEATURES | 25 May 2019
LOU DALTON
Since the first Savile Row suits in the early 1800s, Britain has been an influencer of menswear around the world. Even today, London Men’s Fashion Week is place of inspiration for current trends on the streets and future trends on the runways. Lou Dalton is a fixed part of the fashion show cycle. For the past decade she has managed to seamlessly combine tradition and presence in her clothing designs.
2 days after her presentation for Spring/Summer 2019, we met in her studio to talk about the TV show This Is Your Life that inspired her, Lou's work experience, Fashion Week and, of course, menswear.
FEATURES | 15 February 2019
DESTA FRENCH
Desta French and I met in a pub in East London. We talked about surviving as an independent artist in London, her Colors Show, and the difference between good and bad music.
FEATURES | 10 January 2019
BRENK SINATRA
Brenk Sinatra is, without a doubt, one of the most exciting rap producers. For 2 years now, his LP Midnite Ride has accompanied me during almost every car ride. We met on a rainy day in Vienna to talk about making music for a living, burning Biggie records in a park, Krautrock, and other things.
FEATURES | 16 December 2018
KELLY LEE OWENS
Kelly Lee Owens released her self-titled debut in 2017 and it was one of the most refreshing and unpredictable albums that year.
I met with Kelly in London to talk about Björk, the term 'perfection' as well as self-love, self-care and self-value.
FEATURES | 5 December 2018
JAN 'N JUNE
Bye, bye fast fashion! With their label JAN 'N JUNE, Anna and Jula have been proving that clothes can be fashionable, affordable, and sustainable since 2013. Our editor-in-chief Martin sat down with the duo for a little chat.
FEATURES | 25 September 2018
STORY MFG.
Recently, several fashion labels have entered the scene and have proved the important fact that fashion can be sustainable and look stylish at the same time. Story mfg. is one of them.
I met with Saeed, one of the two founders of the label. We talked about their way from making a pair of jeans to producing a whole collection, making 'positive products' in India and the current wave of 'sustainable' fashion.
FEATURES | 14 July 2018
ALXNDR LONDON
It was last year when a friend sent me the link to Alxndr London’s Colors Show. My first impression: His visual appearance is stunning. Second impression: What a voice.
Pretty rapidly, his EPs Today and A Long Time Ago became my soundtrack to a time when the days were getting shorter and the rays of sunshine getting colder. Two days before the release of his newest EP 2023, we met in the Ace Hotel in Shoreditch, London to talk about time, Brexit, and the importance of a good producer/songwriter relationship.
FEATURES | 8 July 2018
THE PACK A.D.
The Pack A. D., a duo from Vancouver, Canada plays a fearless Franken-blend of heavy psychpop/garage-rock. You have to see them live or watch their music videos and read their lyrics. Over the past 10 years, they've released 7 LPs and 2 EPs, the latest being Dollhouse, an emotional, bleak but still somehow optimistic record.
I met with Maya and Becky before their concert in Hamburg to talk about songs that make you dance, their music videos, and books.
FEATURES | 30 June 2018
ATEM
Fresh out of high school, ATEM founder Nelson was travelling to Spain and started making wallets out of old sails that he found on the side of the road. Today, ATEM is known for beautiful bags and accessories that make every outfit perfect. Contemporary timelessness.
I met with Nelson at the Chipperfield Kantine in Berlin to talk about the Philippines, how quickly you can transform an idea into a product, retail and the gayest city in Germany.
FEATURES | 16 June 2018
HIEN LE
Since its inception over 10 years ago, Berlin Fashion Week has also nurished new labels and designers. Many new brands have come, unfortunately, many disappeared again. Hien Le had his fashion week debut in 2011. He has evolved with each collection, combining elegance and nonchalance. Hien's trademark: His clothes are produced entirely in Germany.
On a sunny afternoon in Kreuzberg, I met with Hien to talk about 'Made in Germany', his career before going solo and, of course, Berlin.
