The designer, the tailor, the buttonhole maker...
Many hands have helped make Dirndlqueen: here are the first of a series of profiles of our creative collaborators.
The Art Director: David Caines
David Caines is a painter, visual artist and graphic designer based in north London. David is the founder of collaborative art space Salon16, creative director of The Man Booker Prize, a design consultant for the BFI and artist collective Live Art Development Agency.
You can see a selection of David's new paintings here.
During the day Anna produces events for White Cube artist shows, she once organised an legendary opening bash for German painter and sculptor Anselm Kiefer in a multistorey car park. The picture above is from a recent White Cube party at Soho Beach House during Art Basel Miami Beach. Anna will be producing all our live events: watch this space.
Cassie is a new faces model from London agency Select, much in demand, and studying English at Oxford in her spare time. She is also absolutely super lovely to work with. We are fans!
The Tailors: Anonymous
Our tailors, a unique and very well established East London garment business, have asked to stay anonymous. They simply cannot take any more clients: these guys make clothes for some of the very finest international designers, and for us.
Like many East End garment makers, our tailors started at the beginning of the 1900s (the images above are of the original crew in 1907) and have been going strong ever since. To this day the personal attention given to each garment is truly amazing and very personal: each of our dresses is made by one and one tailor only, who does everything from start to finish, ensuring perfect quality and a truly handmade fit and feel. You will find the name of your tailor sewn into your Dirndlqueen dress.
The Buttonhole Maker: David Millar
The Photographer: Philip Meech
Philip Meech is an East London based fashion photographer who regularly works for major international fashion houses including Prada, Miu Miu and Yves Saint Laurent. Phil’s also an experienced photojournalist and portrait photographer, he too started in documentary before moving into fashion.
The Events Planner: Anna Clark
During the day Anna produces events for White Cube artist shows, she once organised an legendary opening bash for German painter and sculptor Anselm Kiefer in a multistorey car park. The picture above is from a recent White Cube party at Soho Beach House during Art Basel Miami Beach. Anna will be producing all our live events: watch this space.
The Model: Cassie
Cassie is a new faces model from London agency Select, much in demand, and studying English at Oxford in her spare time. She is also absolutely super lovely to work with. We are fans!
The Tailors: Anonymous
Our tailors, a unique and very well established East London garment business, have asked to stay anonymous. They simply cannot take any more clients: these guys make clothes for some of the very finest international designers, and for us.
Like many East End garment makers, our tailors started at the beginning of the 1900s (the images above are of the original crew in 1907) and have been going strong ever since. To this day the personal attention given to each garment is truly amazing and very personal: each of our dresses is made by one and one tailor only, who does everything from start to finish, ensuring perfect quality and a truly handmade fit and feel. You will find the name of your tailor sewn into your Dirndlqueen dress.
The Buttonhole Maker: David Millar
David Miller is a skilled specialist and artisan who has been making buttons and buttonholes for over thirty years. His famous button making business DM Buttons has been established in the heart of London's Soho for nearly 100 years.
DM Buttons is very much a family business: David took over the business from his father, who himself took over from his great aunt, who took over from her father. Everyone who is everyone in this business had buttons and buttonholes made by David at one time or another; he is very well known in the industry.
The Patterncutter: Bev Alvarez
Bev Alvarex is a Hoxton based artist, designer and maker. In her own practice she specialises in the art of recycling to make beautiful and quirky products including craft accessories like this wonderful walnut needle cushion above. Until recently, Bev sold her products from her own studio on Columbia Road, a shop that’s attracted quite a bit of attention from the style blogging world.
Bev is also a dressmaker and cut the original Dirndlqueen pattern. She also made our very first Dirndlqueen dress, all beautifully sewn by hand.
The Original Dirndlqueen: Anna Schroeder
Born in Berlin and brought up in Wuppertal and
Dusseldorf, Anna has been making clothes from an early age, before emigrating
to London at the age of nineteen. Before launching Dirndlqueen, Anna
worked as a filmmaker for Channel Four and the BBC and exhibitions producer for
Madame Tussauds, White Cube and Damien Hirst.
The Original Dirndlqueen: Anna Schroeder
Dirndlqueen is the brainchild of
German-born, London-based designer Anna Schroeder and combines her passions for
all things dirndl, British, fashion and photography.