Interview with Wolfgang Jarnach

The handsome face you're seeing here is that of Wolfgang Jarnach, my favorite fashion design grad student pick of last fall. After graduating from the Akademie Mode and Design in Munich, Wolfgang has been getting a lot of mileage out of his spectacular award-winning grad collection, 'fin de partie'. This delightful 23-year- old showed his collection at this past London Graduate Fashion Week, has already garnered numerous media features, and is in the middle of a three-week long pop-up shop that makes me wish I were much closer to Germany. While you've already seen the photos of his pieces here, I wanted to take the opportunity to repost them in the order Wolfgang intended. For the collection is purposely built in five outfit pairs or 'positions'. You may note that in moving through positions one through four, factors such as volume, details, and diversity increase, while in the last pair, the outfits are rather minimal and focus on the body, while still retaining an essence of the previous positions. I don't know about you, but I'm quite captivated by such a young designer who puts so much thought into one collection, especially as it's only the first one to be available to the fashionable public. I have a feeling I'm going to proudly revisit this interview often, as I can't help but believe that the name of Wolfgang Jarnach will be known outside of Germany in no time. 

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How would you describe your grad collection in one sentence?

Contemporary historia - reflecting my view on everything.

Do you wear your own designs?

Sometimes I wear my own designs, but I think my little brother looks better in them - he is like my house model!

What is the German/Munich fashion scene like? How has this affected your own designs?

The German/Munich fashion scene is constantly growing, with many creative and individual people, but the public is still too focused on the well-established brands to recognize and realize this. My designs are experimental and individualistic, with a sense of tradition in it. Maybe this is my response to where I grew up.

Does music inspire your work at all, and what album do you turn on first on a rainy day?

Yeah of course music is a huge inspiration! The rainy day album is definitely Rules from The Whitest Boy Alive - it brings me up again, but in a melancholy way...

Is your workspace calm or chaotic?

This depends on the project. In the beginning, it’s calm and proper, but with the times it will get messy and 'inspiring'.

What is your favorite fashion memory?

Well, my favorite fashion memory is failing the interim examination but getting the award for the best visionary collection concept at the end of my studies! The way of fashion is incomprehensible!

Who is your favorite designer?

I don't have one favorite designer. Each designer has special things I'm interested in - eg. I like Haider Ackermann’s draping, Neil Barrett’s masculinity, Kris van Assche’s layering and Riccardo Tisci’s beautifully crafted lace pieces...

What is your favorite piece from your grad collection?

My favorite outfit is the second girls’ position with the transparent silk chiffon blouse with its historical lace shoulder pads, the blue velours leather corset and the pocket hoops. But my favorite single piece is the leather jacket with the exaggerated shoulders.

If you could design an outfit for anyone, who would that be?

I would love to design an outfit for Jude Law and Olivia Wild as a couple. But I fear they don't even know each other...

And lastly, what are your future plans?

In September I will go to London to study for a Masters there for one year. But I want to bring my pop-up store concept to more cities. Maybe the next step is a temporary store in London. In the far future, I want to establish my own brand with 'real' stores, and maybe I will come back to Munich to start them here, again.

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It's kind of nice having some fine young men around kOs, eh? Anywho, make sure to bookmark Wolfgang's website, and join his Facebook page for updates. Oh, and if you're around the Munich area, can you ask him where he got that gorgeous scarf he's wearing? I think they might be available at his pop-up shop...

(Photos by Mathis Leicht)