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The Hotel Clothing

Hôtel Vetements

「我覺得開始這個企劃是有點天真,那時候我是一名自由設計師,剛在Henrik Vibskov完成工作,一開始時我打電話給巴黎每一家酒店,當時我對整件事情抱著很開放和天真的心態,反正也不會損失什麼,現在回頭看來,真希望我有記錄這個過程,因為在當中確實有些非常有趣的互動!」

Hôtel Vetements創辦人Alexandra Hartmann慢慢地憶述著:「這對我來說是一個有趣的奇怪歷險記,對於我的成長也很有意義,因為我從小到大所有的衣服都是媽媽造的,她以前是一名造型師,她對古董布料情有獨鍾。」

正當Alex在打這些電話時,發現了(Coco Chanel最後的住處)麗茲酒店正在做拍賣,於是她便救回了一些非常漂亮的古董刺繡絲綢布料,熱那亞絲絨等等;「我一把布料拿上手,就頓時感到既有壓力又興奮,我不想把它搞砸,但我知道我可以再次為這些美麗的物料賦予新的意義。」

“I think I was quite naive starting this project. I had just finished at Henrik Vibskov. I was working freelance as a designer. In the beginning, I called every hotel in Paris. I was being very open and naive about the whole thing. I had nothing to lose really. When I look back, I wish I had documented the whole process because I had some really funny interactions.”

Alexandra Hartmann, founder of Hôtel Vetements, continued, “This was a fun, weird adventure for me. It also made a lot of sense, because of how I grew up. My mother made all my clothes. She worked as a stylist back in the day. She had a thing for antique fabrics.”

It was in one of those phone calls that she found out about the auction at Hotel Ritz and eventually recuperated some very beautiful antique embroidered silk fabric, Genoa velour, and more. “Once I had that fabric in my hand, I kind of felt a bit pressured but excited at the same time. I didn’t want to mess it up but I knew I could give new meaning to this beautiful fabric again.”

當時Alex在巴黎一家酒店外救回了一些舊窗簾,即時腦裡浮現起一個願景、一個設計企劃案 —— 通過一絲不苟的手工藝創造出能夠捕捉象徵酒店體驗的服裝,於是Hôtel Vetements 便於2017年以一個企劃的方式成立,成為一個品牌,起初時事情進展得很快,可惜在快節奏的世界裡是很難創造出「慢時尚」的。

「這個行業很難理解它的真正含義,他們喜歡這個意念,但不喜歡這些限制;我要不斷地解釋這是怎樣的一回事 —— 這是一個緩慢的過程,整件事必須要很周詳和靈活,而且我們無法生產出50塊相同的面料,因為這並不是我們的模式。但我認為現在已經清楚很多了。」

到了今天,Hôtel Vetements所創作的可穿戴傳家之寶,已不單止是來自酒店的物料,還有被遺忘的窗簾、室內裝飾品、手工刺繡、亞麻布、桌布、來自普羅旺斯的棉床單等等。

「當我們採購布料時,我們會尋找獨特而富有故事的古董手工紡織品,我們與古董商合作,他們都知道我們想尋找什麼。採用這些織物可能充滿束縛和限制,往往是一個細緻而漫長的過程,就像把拼圖碎片逐塊拼合起來一樣。」

The vision came about when Alex recuperated some old curtains outside of a hotel in Paris. She wanted to create clothing that captured the symbolism of the hotel experience through meticulous handicraft — this is how Hôtel Vetements came to exist in 2017 as a project and soon became a brand. Things went very fast at first and it was difficult to create slow fashion in a fast paced world.

“The industry had a really hard time understanding what it really meant, they loved the idea but not the restraints. I had to constantly explain how the process was, it is a slow one. You have to be thorough and agile. Also, we couldn’t produce 50 pieces of the same fabric. That is just not what we do. But I think it’s pretty clear by now.”

Today, Hôtel Vetements creates wearable heirlooms from forgotten curtains, upholsteries, handmade embroideries, linens, tablecloths, cotton sheets from Provence, and more. They are not all sourced in hotels of course.

“When we source our fabrics, we look for unique, antique handcrafted pieces of textile that have a story to tell. We work with antique dealers that know what we are looking for. Fabric can be full of restraints and working with it is often a meticulous and long process. It’s like putting together the pieces of a puzzle.”

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如果要講一段美好的回憶,Alex説應該會是這塊1860 年代的法國絲絨錦緞,再也沒有見過這樣的東西!

「料子真的很厚很軟,絲絨的柔軟摸起來毛茸茸的,已變成了冬天的完美外套,在縫製的過程幾乎弄壞了我們的縫紉機!購買了這件作品的人,是位幸運的大贏家!老實說,有一些作品,我真希望我們也能只為了存檔而保留下來!」

When asked about a good memory she has, Alex recalled a French velour damask from the 1860s. She has never seen something like that since the encounter.

“The fabric was really thick and soft. The velour felt like fur because of the softness of it. It became the perfect jacket for winter. Sewing that piece almost broke down our sewing machine. Whoever bought that piece is a lucky winner. To be honest, there are some pieces I wish we had kept just for the archive.”

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「巴黎的工作室和哥本哈根的不同,尤其在疫情期間,我們不得不重新調整;巴黎的工作室很小,在那裡工作的人是當地的工匠,一直在行業內,擁有代代相傳的工藝和專有技術,我從他們身上學到了很多,他們對我來說就像家人一樣;而哥本哈根的團隊只有3位新的年輕工藝師,他們帶來了全新的視角。這些人是最棒的,他們來自不同的背景,都是熱愛自己的工作,並對自己的手藝充滿熱情。」

Alex形容工作室裡放滿布料和樣板,儘管試圖整理,但似乎總是有點凌亂,但她覺得這只是過程的一部分,然而創意的環境、輕鬆的氣氛和好心情,才是她們一直維繫的。或許這樣才能保持Hôtel Vetements如夢幻般的詩意、精緻的法式美學,和精心製作的優雅剪裁。

“The atelier in Paris is different from the one in Copenhagen. During the pandemic, we have had to readjust. The atelier in Paris is small, and people who work there have been in the business forever. They are local artisans that have the craft and a know-how that has passed on from generation to generation. I’ve learned a lot from them, and they are like a family to me. The team in Copenhagen is small, they are three new young artisans who bring a fresh perspective. Those people are the best; they come from different backgrounds, love what they do, and have a passion for their craft.”

According to Alex, there are a lot of fabrics and samples in the studios. As much as they try to organize, there always seems to be a little bit of chaos here and there; but she considers that is just part of the process. A relaxed and creative atmosphere is what matters. They always try to maintain a positive mood. This is probably how Hôtel Vetement can create a dreamy, poetic, and delicate French aesthetic with crafted, elegant cuts.

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「在 2017 年開始時,我感到有點孤單,因為這一切都很新;我想說的是,現在快時尚都嘗試以可持續的方式推銷自己的品牌,但實際上並沒有真正發生巨大的改變;反而很開心的是有許多新的小型「可持續」品牌已經開展了這場運動,但是我覺得很多都流於互相抄襲的,一切都開始看起來似曾相識,沒有為原創性留下太多空間,所以有點悶。也許是因為人們在Instagram上相互影響,變得非常同質化。重要的是在創作過程中保持真實的自我,沒有人可以奪走你。」

很有共鳴,不能再同意,共勉之!

“When I started in 2017, I was a bit alone. All this was very new. I would say that fast fashion brands try to market themselves as sustainable; but in reality, nothing has really drastically changed. A lot of new, small ‘sustainable’ brands have started the movement, which is great. But a lot of them copy each other, and everything starts looking the same. There’s not a lot of space for originality, I think. So, it’s a little boring. Maybe because people get influenced by each other on Instagram. It has become very homogenic. The importance is to remain your own authentic self in the creative process, no one can take that away from you.”

I can’t agree more with what Alex said. Let’s do our best, my fellows.

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