Meet Annette & Daniela Felder | Responsible Fashion Designers , Plant-based for the animals.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Annette & Daniela Felder and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Annette & Daniela, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
We started our brand while we were still studying at Central Saint Martins in London, and in the beginning, we just had one objective- to be part of the official catwalk schedule at London Fashion Week showcasing our stage worthy designs. .Once we achieved that and our collections were stocked in internationally reclaimed stores all over the world, we started to realize more and more that our values did not align with the the way the industry works, and even as an independent and considerably small brand you get pushed to overproduce to reduce the prices and you end up with a lot of unnecessary stock. Step by step, we started to implement changes into our company, and at one point it became relatively clear that Felder Felder had transformed into a new band focusing on showcasing designs with cruelty-free, plant-based textile innovations & organic materials that are environmentally friendly and only created on demand to avoid overproduction. Therefore you can say the thought process behind the brand has evolved with us over time, and we think it is important that your personal developments are reflected in your work.

What should our readers know about your business?
`As we mentioned already earlier it definitely was not a linear journey as we changed our entire business model The proudest moments, gosh there are so many. From people we admired wearing our clothes, like Kate Moss, Florence Welsh, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rihanna to name a few, to having the honor to meet King Charles, for example. How did we get where we are ? Persistency. It is a tough business, and we only overcame challenges by never giving up. Also knowing who is on your team and who is not! We definitely had to learn this the hard way, and for people who read this, we can just advise to trust your instincts! It is more reliable than you think, and in the end we always knew better from the start deep down.
We realized we don’t want to be part of the traditional fashion system and instead want to help rewriting fashion’s linear model and lead the way into a shared economy. It is our purpose to avoid overproduction by implementing one-off-a-kind designs that are kinder for the planet & its inhabitants and allow our customers to be as unique as the design. We are working on a rental system at the moment to give more people the opportunity to get their hand on some FF Eco-Couture (or how we call it: Ecouture). Watch this space!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Although we are identical twins and we work together, we are a continent apart. Annette lives in Miami and Daniela lives in Berlin (although she is a snowbird in Miami over the winter). So, we sum up our faves in both cities. In Berlin, Frea Bakery is a must. It is a vegan cafe with a zero-waste policy, and it is just so good that you can take your non-vegan friends there, as well. As we love sports, our guests will have to come along, and we would take them for a kick *ss Pilates Reformer class at Beyond in Kreuzberg followed by an oat hot chocolate at Concierge Coffee at Paul-Lincke-Ufer.. Then there are all the amazing Museums, depending on which exhibition is on, we would decide then where to go. But alone a walk along the Spree around the “Museum Inseln” is worth the while. We love that you can walk almost everywhere in central Berlin. A dinner place to check out is the legendary Paris Bar which has such a unique artist vibe and you always have a really eclectic mix of dinner guests there.
In Miami, we would go to the Design District for an early Ahana Yoga class followed by a Smoothie at Pura Vida. We love the Design District in the mornings before the tourist madness starts. Key Biscayne has some really beautiful parks with tucked away beaches, which are really magical. Our dear friend Paloma Teppa, founder of Plant the Future, has a beautiful store surrounded by a botanical garden in Little River which is a great spot to find beautiful gifts for any occasion.
If we have too much energy, and a friend is playing, we could swing by Club Space, which is legendary, and the terrace has a vibrant energy. Although we probably rather set the alarm early and go for a breakfast dance.
Miami Poolhouse, which is part of the Soho House Group, is the perfect spot to have a work/play day with a break by the pool. Life is good!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Wow, there are so many incredible people who believed in us from the very start and supported us on our journey. Our dear friend Erin Mullaney, who was first the Buyer at Selfridges and then later at Browns Focus, was the first one to give us a break. She really put us on the map, when she gave us a window at Selfridges with our first catwalk collection, that was huge! Caroline Issa, the Co-founder & Fashion Director of Tank Magazine, was another very supportive friend and our very first Fashion Week Party was hosted by Tank at the legendary Sketch Club in Mayfair, that is owned by another supportive friend Mourad Mazouz. And then of course, there is Annette’s husband, music legend Arthur Baker, who has been a real rock for us since the beginning and the producer of all the music for all our catwalk shows, he truly helped creating some real catwalk magic moments. Then there is the incredible Make-up artist Georgina Graham who was more like a mentor to us and together we created the fierce Felder Look. Susanne Tide-Frater, a fellow German in London, and respected brand strategist took us a bit under her wings and her expertise and kindness was super appreciated. Another big shoutout goes to Charlotte Lurot and Anoushka Menzies from Bacchus , who were producing the majority of our shows and they were just incredible.Then there is Emma Whitehair, who did our PR, and she was a real trooper and we just love her! And not to forget the wonderful journalist Kate Spicer, who always wrote our press releases and they were epic. Since we have moved into responsible fashion Nina Marenzi and her team at The Sustainable Angle have been very supportive and always pointed us in the right direction with all the millions of questions we had in the beginning, and their exhibition Future Fabrics Expo is nothing short of amazing! Furthermore, Tara St James, who was introduced to us by Caroline Issa, and who is a circularity strategist has been been so supportive on our journey into sustainability. From our corporate partners, German skincare brand Dr. Hauschka and especially their global head of communication, Nicoline Wöhrle, have been incredible to work with and will always have a special place in our hearts.

Website: www.felderfelder.com

Instagram: @felderfelder

Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/annette-felder-7ba34b12

Facebook: Felder Felder

Image Credits
first image: Portrait of Annette and Daniela Felder wearing FELDER FELDER, photographed by Xandra Linsin (@allez_xandra), H&M: Lauren Buckley (@ljbmakeup) Ecouture Campaign : All clothes FELDER FELDER, Models : Mia Ganda (@mia.ganda) and Aglaja Brix ( @aglaja_brix ) photographers: Brix & Maas ( @brix_and_maas), H&M :: Sam Hill ( @sam.hill.makeup ), shoes : Bhava (@bhavastudio )