Luise&Franck is a Franco-German label that was born in 2007 out of the convergence of two unique individuals who bring numerous dualities into one brand: light vs. dark, fitted and loose, melancholic yet fun.The dualities began with two individualists, who met on the banks of a fashion school in Paris in 2005.
Franck Pouch is a native of Paris, while Luise Schwarze is from Halle an der Saale—a picturesque city in eastern Germany that is home to composers like Händel, theologians, and several religious movements.
Luise and Franck define their collections as reflecting the contemporary evolution of the definition, of masculinity, whereby "emotion and fragility rise in a perpetual opposition between structure and fluidity."
Minimalist but expressive, the styles draw heavily on East German expression art, which deals not so much in clear messages as in evoking strong feelings through images that explore the human psyche often through distortions of reality.
Combined with the atmospheric sounds of psych folk music and the ornamental eclecticism of postmodern architecture, Luise&Franck represents a menswear brand that is made by "individuals for individuals."
The 2009 s/s collection entitled “Reborn” brilliantly develops the dualities of Friedrich Nietzsche, who wrote “It will be eternally reborn and return again from destruction,” when he was exploring the concepts of joy and power through the antitheses of tragedy and weakness.
As for the 2009 a/w collection, “Vanished” derives its inspiration from the surrealistic collection of award-winning Japanese photographer Ikkō Narahara, “Where Time has Vanished,” which documents his travels throughout the US.
Slideshow 2009 s/s collection "Reborn" & 2009 a/w collection "Vanished" Copyright Luise&Franck.
Photo top left Copyright Luise&Franck.
