WHAT'S THE STORY
The Future – Who?
Made in-house of the best organic cotton and in a socially sustainable manner: Stefan Brandt’s jersey collection.
STEFAN BRANDT
AIMING FOR SUPERLATIVES
Stefan Brandt questions conventional manufacturing methods in order to improve them continuously.
The Stefan Brandt collection is preceded by its reputation for its “world-class shirt”. This is no surprise given that Stefan Brandt himself is ambitious enough to strive for the greatest possible perfection in every product. The label is now turning its attention to distribution.
T
he Stefan Brandt label has never bothered about marketing – until now. The focus has always been on making the pure product desirable. Stefan Brandt has trod rather unusual paths to achieve this. His story is marked by pioneering spirit and courage, by trial and error. The graduate physicist travelled to the University of Cartagena, Colombia, as a guest scientist in 1992 and founded his first textile company in Quito, Ecuador, one year later. “Ecuador is a jersey stronghold, which fascinated me,” says Brandt. He launched the boxer shorts label Boyz, which added shirts to its range in 1995. Everything was made of the best available raw materials, to ensure products with special elasticity and feel thanks to fine, densely knitted yarns. PIONEERING SPIRIT AND COURAGE
“Even back then, a few shirts reached stores in Germany. Joschka Fischer, a former Green politician, was a huge fan,” Brandt reports proudly. 2012 marked the birth of the Stefan Brandt label, which relies on Peruvian long-staple ELS Pima Cotton. “Using my own specially developed processes, I was able to extract the ‘South American Silk’ inherent in luxury cotton,” Brandt explains. He believes the German-speaking market is ideal. “Pairing luxury with ethics plays an important role here; I strive to be on point.” The label is fully integrated: from the extraction of organic cotton to the finished garment. Now Brandt is eager to resettle Pima Cotton in Ecuador. 094
style in progress
“The project has historical dimensions, because Pima was cultivated in Ecuador in 4400 BC,” he stresses. “The first harvest is scheduled for the upcoming summer.” The jersey collection has been expanded by adding underwear/nightwear, polo shirts, trousers, and sports jackets. Material innovations are introduced regularly. One example is a winter jersey for which alpaca wool is spun with ELS Pima. EXPANDABLE
Today, the label has around 140 points of sale in Germany, 50 in Switzerland, and 30 in Austria. The men’s collection is stocked by Masculin Group. Lodenfrey, Bailly Diehl, Gränicher, and Ciolina stock both lines. However, there’s potential for more. Modalek has been the sales agent for Switzerland since 2014. It was high time for a proper sales structure in Germany and Austria. Since mid-2019, Borghetti & Bülow have been responsible for selective expansion in the markets of Austria, Bavaria, and Baden-Württemberg. Ben Botas of Ben And covers all other German federal states. “The most important thing for me is that my sales partner has the same passion for our unique product. I believe I am in good hands with all three partners.”
