Strong Women and Crystals – An Interview with Glaw

GLAW stands for feminine, young design. Their specialty? Batik leather combined with soft textiles. In their Spring / Summer 14 collection at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin the colours white, rose, beige, gold and metallic dominated. The unusual about GLAW? The designer duo Jesko Wilke and Maria Poweleit graduated from ESMOD in 2011 – and are already on a successful path. DASH talked to them about their favourite pieces and future plans.

Judith: What was the inspiration for your latest collection?

GLAW: Mainly strong women and crystals. We always get inspired by many things that come together, get stuck in our heads, we choose, or sort something out and then we build on that. We refuse to name our collections. At the end, it’s about the product I buy and not about the story behind it. Of course it’s nice if you can see the inspiration, but it’s more about the fashion.

J: Who of you usually has an idea first?

G: Most of the time it’s Jesko, he’s always so early. This time it was the other way round, and we already have an idea for Autumn / Winter. But Jesko even knows what we’re gonna do in five years.

J: So where do you see GLAW in 5 years’ time?

G: All over the world! Haha, no, maybe we’ll have our own store, go more international and sell our designs in concept stores.

J: Do you argue a lot?

G: No, not at all! We haven’t had any fights yet. Sure, we have some different opinions. But no big fight yet.

J: So it’s always balanced?

G: We just learned to back down, to say: “You’re right.” When we don’t agree, we sit down and talk until we agree on something or just laugh about it.

J: Are there advantages to being a duo?

G: Only advantages! You don’t have to make decisions on your own, you have two opinions. And you’re never really alone. Whether it’s an event or organisation. And it’s always fun.

J: Why is it always the leather jackets?

G: They are our favourite garments. They are timeless, there’ll always be leather jackets. An absolute must-have.

J: Do you have idols regarding design?

G: Not really. Of course, there are designer we really like. But there’s no one we would emulate, we don’t want to adapt ourselves to someone else.

J: Do you follow trends?

G: We’re not aware of doing that. Maybe subconsciously. But we don’t watch out what’s about to come. We have an idea, and it somehow always fits a trend. We hope to be doing our part in setting trends, not following them.

J: What’s your favourite look in this collection?

G: There are so many! The long white dress with straps – that’s a favourite. And the metallic pieces, the pink pleated dress…

J: What’s next right after fashion week?

G: Dinner with our families, partying with our friends, dental surgery, our next collection.

Judith Brachem