Niche Detected and Claimed. Dornschild knows that

Jörn Boysen decided to pursue his passion: creating beautiful masculine vests for men.

DORNSCHILD

NICHE DETECTED AND CLAIMED

Fashion and lifestyle marketer Jörn Boysen and his business partner Michael Ostermeyer founded the vest brand Dornschild out of a shared personal passion for vests. In this interview, Boysen explains how passion for a product allows you to grow in a niche.

Interview: Martina Müllner-Seybold. Photos: Dornschild

Dornschild is a niche brand that is fashionable, yet entirely timeless. Please explain your corporate philosophy.

We at Dornschild live by values in which we firmly believe. These values are detached from imposed trends and ephemerality. We do not attempt to pick up trends wilfully. We surprise every season with our products from within, not because of short-lived trends. This, in turn, makes our style unmistakable, with all qualities we stand for with our values.

What makes your vests special?

When we launched the company in 2013, our aim was to present vests for men in a new light within the fashion world, modern yet timeless. We developed numerous cuts

A good vest is precision work. It is no coincidence that Dornschild calls its products jackets without sleeves.

and prototypes, which are designed like a “jacket without sleeves”, and meticulously refined every millimetre to create the perfect cut for different body types. In terms of fit, our vests are slimmer and more masculine, but also longer for taller men. Only the finest Italian fabrics are used for our vests, but they are not used as such in suits or jackets. Lined backs and plastic buttons are taboo for us. We offer a wide variety of cuts including single-breasted with or without collar, smart double-breasted variants, casual hooded vests, elegant tuxedo cuts, and cool biker vests.

Do you focus consciously on a small, but all the more quality-oriented collection?

High quality is our top priority. This begins with our selection of fabrics and materials and continues through every step of the manufacturing process. Every year we design two collections consisting of 18 to 20 different vest models. Our vests have numerous extras such as different outside and inside pockets and high-quality coloured lining. We offer to add a free pocket square made of the lining material to each vest. A top-quality vest is precision work! We owe thanks to our manufacturing partner in Slovakia for this flawless work. Our partner is a third-generation family business with approximately 80 seamstresses who uphold traditional skills. The result is truly impressive.

Where do you see your company in five years?

In five years I would like our customers and retail partners to be just as enthusiastic and happy with our Dornschild vests as our current success demonstrates. In the fashion world, this is anything but easy and self-evident, especially as success attracts many copycats. If we, however, continue to be this refined, then the competition will not have an easy time of it.