1000 Ideas by 100 Fashion Designers

Livia Ximénez-Carrillo, Christine Pluess/mongrels in common 185

056

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© Jochen Arndt

Mongrels in common

are based in Berlin-

Mitte, Germany. They

made their debut at

the Moët et Chandon

Fashion Award

2006, showing S/S 07

containing menswear

and womenswear. With

their  rst collection at

premium exhibitions

in Berlin, they won

the Premium Young

Designers Award

for best menswear

F/W 06/07. In 2007

they were nominated

for the German

New Faces Award.

Uncompromisingly

mixing masculine

severity and

straightness with female

delicacy combined with

high-quality materials,

they present a look that

is elegant and exclusive

as well as sexy and

cool. Designers Livia

Ximénez-Carrillo

and Christine Pluess

constantly aim for

a break of style by

combining masculine

and feminine elements,

coupling avant-garde

design with a casual,

classical style, and by

combining subdued

with  amboyant colors.

Livia Ximénez-Carrillo, Christine Pluess/mongrels

in common

www.mongrelsincommon.com

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551 INSPIRATION. In every collection we

unite two opposite cultures. Since the two

of us are mongrels, meaning we are both

from multicultural backgrounds, it is the

closest thing for us to do. It represents our

personalities. For instance, in the latest

F/W 09/10 collection we unite the rough

charm of contemporary art in Berlin and

in uences of the futuristic and graphic

architecture of Dubai.

552 D

EVELOPING A COLLECTION. Our

work approach is different from many

other designers. We rarely draw our

designs, we discuss fashion and drape a lot.

553 M

ATERIALS. We made it very clear

from the beginning what target group we

are aiming at. Hence we only choose high-

quality fabrics. It’s essential to regularly

go to the Fabric Fair Première Vision in

Paris in order to meet fabric manufacturers

and to be informed about new trends and

color charts.

554 Y

OUR RIGHT ARM? Stephanie, our

assistant. She’s the best!

555 BRAND VA L U E S . High-quality

fabrics and high-quality manufacturing for

a reasonable high price.

186 1,000 Ideas by 100 Fashion Designers

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Livia Ximénez-Carrillo, Christine Pluess/mongrels in common 187

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557 COMMUNICATION. Communication

is de nitely interlinked with sales. We

have been working with a renowned press

agency since the beginning and it has

always been a great help. Many of our

customers came to us after having seen an

article about us or an editorial with our

fashion.

558 S

TREET FASHION VS. FASHION

DESIGNER. The best would be a mix of

both. Everyone is obviously in uenced by

what one sees on the streets, but then it is

not a matter of copying what you see but

reinventing and further developing a trend

into a new design.

559 A

DVICE. To set the priorities right,

especially in moments of enormous stress,

in order to guarantee that you’ll be on

time.

560 S

ALES. It is always important that a

garment looks good on the body and that it

can actually be worn. Since we have to live

on our fashion we want to sell and therefore

we have to make some compromises not

only in the design but also in the way a piece

is produced. If it’s too difficult to produce,

the costs will rise and then a piece becomes

too expensive and no one will buy it.

556

E

VOLUTION. With every new collection we

try to top the last one. Once a collection

is  nished you always  nd things that

could have been done better and we try

to incorporate these ideas into the new

collection.

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