The Real Deal

Beauty for the Brand Beast - Papis Loveday’s birth name is Pape Badji. He is from Dakar and has 25 siblings.

Loveday Jeans . When things are running too smoothly, one may be tempted to become a little reckless. That’s not Ben Botas’ style. The owner of the fashion agency Ben And thought long and hard before deciding to launch an independent denim collection.

Text: Dörte Welti. Photos: Loveday Jeans

Ben Botas offers his customers an all-inclusive service package. Their only job is to sell the products. The idea to launch an independent jeans brand took shape over a glass of wine. Ben Botas, a 33 year old fashion professional from Munich, was having dinner with his good friend Papis Loveday, who is arguably the world’s most famous black male model. The latter was then in the process of reinventing himself. He had said goodbye to the fashion world, launched his own champagne, and was full of creative ideas. At the end of the evening, the new jeans brand had a name, a face, and a creative director: Loveday Jeans, Papis Loveday, and again Papis Loveday. Ben Botas agreed to do the rest. He proved that he is not only a distribution expert, but also knows everything about production processes, when he introduced the Cervolante jacket range two and a half years ago. The excellent contacts with producers were the reason that Loveday managed to recruit the Italian designer and denim specialist Laura Pastrello, who designs for brands such as Diesel. “Everything is perfect”, Ben Botas raves. “We have super producers in Italy and a spectacular face for the brand. I believe in this project.”

Close to the Customers

Spectacular is actually an understatement. Papis Loveday is the darling of photographers everywhere and triggers enthusiasm wherever he goes. The 37 year old Senegalese is always personally present whenever Ben Botas implements one of the brand’s core ideas, namely live events in cooperation with existing high-end customers. Parties on the island of Sylt (with Different Fashion and more than 500 invited guests) and in Munich (with Pool and more than 600 guests) were a huge success and generated a lot of press interest for all involved. “Papis Loveday shows no fear of contact whatsoever”, Ben Botas says about his famous partner who has declared himself to be a little bit of a diva at times. “Papis’ open and friendly nature manages to persuade the most difficult customers and sceptics almost instantly.” By the way, the real stars of the show, namely the trousers, are proving to be extremely popular. According to Ben Botas, his company has already received positive feedback from high-end fashion specialists such as Jades in Düsseldorf and Abseits in Stuttgart. The brand offers three styles for men and women, sexy fits, unusual details such as a cloth with a seasonally changing design in the right rear pocket, paisley lining, and coloured seams. The style is very fashionable, very hip, and very sexy. This is a newcomer trend label with added value, not least due to the interaction it can offer its customers. “We include the customers in our social media activity for the Loveday Community. We have assembled a team of specialists to ensure that the lifestyle image of both Papis Loveday and Loveday Jeans is communicated correctly for the benefit of the consumers.”

A Good Brand

Ben Botas has thought of everything, including the fact that it can be helpful to have “social entrepreneurship” on your agenda. Loveday Jeans has established an official partnership with “Unesco Foundation - for children in need” and a defined portion of the sales is passed on to own charity projects in Senegal. This is definitely a business strategy that deserves a “like”.

Loveday Jeans c/o Brand Beast GmbH Georg-Muche-Straße 5 München/Deutschland T 0049.89.32308046 agency@ben-and.com www.loveday-jeans.com

CO Sports Austria Christian Teufl & Oliver Schneider 5020 Salzburg | Vierthalerstrasse 11 0043-662-452832 | www.teufl.cc

Utopian by Studio Kaprol combines classic fabrics with futuristic shapes, as well as nostalgic cuts with modern materials.

Rebellion as a Manifesto

Utopian by Studio Kaprol . Istanbul-based designer Arzu Kaprol wants to give younger talented designers a chance to showcase their skills under her label Utopian by Studio Kaprol. For the German market the label teamed up with distribution agency CP Fashion, which places the commercial premium line in the more sophisticated specialised retail environment.

Text: Kay Alexander Plonka. Photos: Utopian by Studio Kaprol With the collection titled Utopian Studio, Kaprol has created a dynamic design platform that covers a number of areas such as industrial design, product design, graphics, and fashion design. The collection was conceived by ten young designers under the motto “Design for Life”. Alongside an 80 piece collection for men and women consisting of jackets, jeans, knitwear, and tops, it also offers shoes, bags, accessories, and jewellery. Even the collection video was created by the young collective from Istanbul, including sound, graphics, and prints. The philosophy behind the project: “Creativity is the most significant rebellion of all. The upcoming collection is a clear statement against the monotony of uniform looks. The clear line of Studio Kaprol revolts against constantly recurring imitations and copies. Rebellion is the willingness to attempt the unattempted and to express it with restraint. This is Studio Kaprol’s rebellion and the manifesto of its collection.”

German-Turkish Friendship

Reinhart Oberstein’s agency CP Fashion is the distributor for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. He will introduce the young brand Utopian to the retail industry at the Premium trade show in Berlin, while Studio Kaprol itself has scheduled a fashion show during the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. The highlights of the autumn/ winter 2014 collection have already been offered for pre-orders to selected key accounts of CP Fashion before the official start of distribution. As a next step towards the official launch, Reinhardt Oberstein and Studio Kaprol have developed an exclusive Utopian capsule denim collection together with a leading multi-brand retailer. The items, which were produced in Turkey, will be advertised in co-operation with the aforementioned highend retailer. “The first customer response to the collection was surprisingly positive and our planned exclusive distribution concept offers customers a chance to utilise Utopian by Studio Kaprol to significantly differentiate themselves from the fashion mainstream”, Reinhart Oberstein explains. Extensive PR campaigns and in-store events in co-operation with the important key accounts in large cities and important POS locations are planned for the future to boost the brand awareness in the German-speaking countries. CP Fashion is currently still looking for authentic brand ambassadors that reflect the rebellious look of Utopian by Studio Kaprol.

Studio Kaprol was founded in 2011 as a brainchild of Turkish designer Arzu Kaprol, who has been designing prêt-a-porter and ready-to-wear collections in Istanbul since 1995. Kaprol is one of Turkey’s most important and well-known designers and runs ten own stores in the country. Her international customers include the likes of Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus Direct, and Harrods, as well as Les Suites in Paris, Glamour in Qatar, and Boutique Nicole in Hong Kong. Since 2011 Arzu Kaprol also has a studio and a showroom in Paris, where she shows her collections to purchasers during the Fashion Week. The Utopian by Studio Kaprol autumn/winter 2014 collection was first presented to the German public during the “Berlin Fashion Week Young Designers” in January in the tent of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at the Brandenburg Gate, together with shows by ten other talented young designers. The Utopian by Studio Kaprol spring/summer 2015 collection can be ordered by potential buyers from German-speaking countries in the two CP Fashion showrooms in Munich and Düsseldorf.

Pitti Immagine Uomo Florenz 17.06. – 20.06.14

Premium Exhibition Berlin 08.07. – 10.07.14

Gallery Düsseldorf 24.07. – 29.07.14 Düsseldorf, MedienHafen Hammerstr. 27

Showroom: Siegesstraße 23 • 80802 München Tel.: 089 / 38 88 77 47 Fax.: 089 / 38 88 77 49 www.diehinterhofagentur.de

Contact: Dominik Meuer 0179 / 45 52 023 d.meuer@diehinterhofagentur.de