A special interview project that unravels the backgrounds and future plans of brands and designers that have close ties with NUBIAN, such as those that have hosted POP-UPs with the brand.
The second release is from the designer of "NO/FAITH STUDIOS"
Luis Dobbelgarten appears.
- Could you please introduce yourself and your position on the team?
Luis (hereinafter Lu): I'm Luis Dobbelgarten. I'm the owner and founder of NO/FAITH STUDIOUS. I'm the main designer of the brand and I've been doing it since I was 16 years old.
Moritz (hereinafter Mo): Moritz. I'm also a designer. Luis and I had a vision and started the brand together. He's the head of the brand, but we all do everything together.
Leon (hereinafter Le): Leon. Luis' older brother, he is the director and data manager of NO/FAITH.
- This is your first time in Japan, right? How is it?
Lu: It's amazing. It's my first time in Japan and Tokyo. The culture and food are amazing, and everyone is so kind. I didn't realize Tokyo would be this great. Everywhere I go is amazing, and I love this city.
Le: Yes, everyone in Tokyo is so kind. I'm very grateful to everyone at NUBIAN for being so kind to me and being able to see so many different things over the two days. It's great to be able to make friends with everyone and do things like this as a brand.
- Please tell us the story behind your brand name.
Lu: There's no big story behind it, but when I was about 16 years old, I was talking on the phone with a friend and we both thought the name NO/FAITH STUDIOS sounded nice, and we didn't really think about what it meant. In fact, I think it's great that everyone can make their own meaning for NO/FAITH since it doesn't have any meaning.
- Where in Germany are you from? Also, please tell us about German fashion. If so, what do you think German fashion has in common with NO/FAITH STUDIOS?
Lu: I was born in a very small town called Kommern in Germany. There are about 500-600 people living there. The nearest big city is Cologne. It's about an hour away from the studio. I live in an old concrete factory-like building, and my studio is there too. Then I met Moritz in Paris, and we were like, "Hey, I live about 20 minutes away. Let's do something together." Then about a year ago, he came to visit the studio, and we became good friends and went on a two-week trip together to Switzerland, and we became really good friends then.
Mo: Yeah, we became really close on that trip.
- You started NO FAITH STUDIOS when you were 16 years old. Tell us about your lifestyle as a teenager. And why did you start making clothes?
Lu: My hobby was going to skate parks and skate camps. I went to parks in various places, including Cologne. In 2014, when I was 14, I went to a skate camp and did my first silk printing on a shirt. After that, I came home, sold my Jordan 4 and bought a silk printing machine. Then I started making my own shirts. The shirts I made at that time were no good at all. But what was amazing was that I sold them at school to earn money for lunch, and I kept saving money, and in 2016 I was able to make NO/FAITH STUDIOS as a proper brand and open a store. Then I started getting orders. At first, I only sold a few shirts at school, but before I knew it, I had saved enough money to produce. I think all of this has been my inspiration. Skateboarding is one of them. NO/FAITH is not a skateboard apparel brand, but it is my inspiration.
- This is the third year that NO/FAITH STUDIOS has been running at NUBIAN. Over the past few years, NO/FAITH has become incredibly popular around the world. How do you feel about the current situation? What were the important points in changing the collection?
Lu: First of all, I'm very grateful to NUBIAN for showing their love for the brand. A few years ago, many people in Germany didn't know about NO/FAITH STUDIOS, but now I'm receiving calls from Japan from people who want to order this denim directly, and I'm so happy it feels like a dream. I didn't feel this much love for the brand in Japan, even in Europe, so it's amazing to fly 12 hours to Japan, meet everyone, and see this amazing pop-up. I think it all started with the flare denim. It went viral on Instagram, the campaign I did with Louis Mack was reposted by everyone, and he even shouted out to me. He always supports me as a photographer, but now he's also a dear friend. Well, we're not that famous, but it was the collection where we released the flare denim that went viral on social media. It was the first collection I did as a team with Moritz and Leon, so I'm even happier. My brother started working as a director at the beginning of this year, so I was doing everything by myself until two years ago.
- That's an incredible change in just a few years.
Lu: Yes, and we're a small team. Other people probably think NO/FAITH is a big brand and has a lot of staff, but it's really just me, my brother and my best friend. Our family members are photographers and models. Almost all my friends have modeled for NO/FAITH, so it's a family business. It's nice that everyone knows that.
- Please tell us the story behind the name of this collection, “Raum,” and the source of inspiration.
Lu: "Raum" is German for room. I live in an old factory-like place, and my room is room 233. That's the story behind the name of this collection. We all designed in a small atelier, and all the work was done in that room, and we all worked hard at a small table, so I wanted to use the room number. There was no one professional in making patterns and designing, so we really practiced and became good at it ourselves. 233 is where I do everything.
- The patterns and details you mentioned earlier, the materials you used and the unique denim washes became NO/FAITH's original style. Your pattern making is really amazing. Did you make it all as a team? If Luis did it, how did you learn how to make patterns?
Lu: I don't make the main patterns, I do the measurements by myself or with Moritz. We went to Naples, Italy, and destroyed all the materials we chose ourselves to make them more dirty and wild. I saw the process of them making leather, and I thought it would be interesting to make leather that looks like paper, so I remembered them in Italy and made it together. I got a lot of inspiration from them when I was at RSVP.
Mo: It was really important to fly to Naples. Especially leather, you can't really tell until you touch it. Because we want to be particular about the materials we use at NO/FAITH.
Lu: Yes, and the denim washes. For example, there's a lot of dirty white in the next collection, and to get that, I splashed a ton of coffee on the denim. I don't want to splash anything really dirty on it, so I splashed coffee on it. So I practiced and I was able to get that wash.
Mo: You did a pretty good job (laughs).
Lu: Yes. We tried different things with what we had. We don't have a denim factory in our town. So we dragged some denim down the highway and did experiments to see how dirty it got.
Mo: Yes. It's important to us that the fabric looks natural. We want all the washes to look natural. Other German brands do really fake looking, unnatural finishes, but we want the finish to look really aged. You know, like 30 years old.
Lu: This was the hardest part of making denim. Usually, when you go to a factory and say you want to make used denim, you have to explain it well before you know how it's going to be made. Because everyone wants to make used denim. But I want to make perfect washed denim. It's not as easy as you think.
- There's no end to it. What was the most difficult part? There were problems during the production process.
Lu: At first it was hard to find a manufacturer that could make these crazy things. They are small, but have 100 pockets, zippers in various places. That's why manufacturers don't want to do it. It's easier and more profitable to make more and simpler designs. So it was a problem to find a production team that worked well. But now we are also trying to make new things in Italy. The production period is off. But Moritz and I are 23 years old, so we are still young, so we think we just have to make these things and go to the next level.
-What is the most memorable thing about being with NO/FAITH?
Lu: I think it was when we did the campaign look for the flare denim. That was when NO/FAITH took it to the next level. The look that was posted on social media was of about 10 people going to Paris with a bunch of flare denim.
So I realized that the sample was a little wrong in Paris. But I was already in Paris, and there was so much denim and a great photographer. So I gathered about 12 guys and shot on a really small rooftop. The results were really good, and I think that's the most memorable. Other than that, I can't forget all the lookbooks I styled with Moritz. One day after the shoot, Moritz and I talked and said, "Hey, we're great, aren't we?" That's also very memorable.
- What is the most important thing to you as you continue running the brand?
Lu: I think it's important to build a strong community. Because community is everything. Not just in Europe, but in Europe now, every time we do a pop-up in Munich, Paris, or my hometown Cologne, we see it growing, so I want to build a community in other places too. Seeing the people who are already coming to buy our denim in Tokyo, I want to build a stronger community and do something bigger and more amazing next time. Right now, we're in the middle of the process. The movement happening in Tokyo right now is just the beginning of the story.
- Please tell us your goals and what you envision the brand as being like in five years’ time.
Lu: My goal is to do a runway show as a brand, but it's also important to grow with my friends and team. But my big goal is to do a show in Paris. Yes.
-What did you think of the pop-up in Japan?
Lu: It's amazing. First of all, I'm really grateful to NUBIAN for giving me this opportunity. I'm also really happy that they invited me, Moritz, Leon, and Luca to Japan. I felt a sense of accomplishment because we worked hard for this pop-up. And it's such an amazing place. When I first saw the photo of the NUBIAN store, I thought, "What? You can do a pop-up here? There's no store like this in Germany." I'm happy to have a pop-up in such an amazing store, but everyone I met today was also really kind. Today is the first day, and I'm happy that so many people have come and bought things. Of course I'm happy that they bought things, but I'm happy that they showed me their love by telling me directly, "What you make is really amazing." Even if you don't buy anything, I'm happy that you came here and had a good time. That's what I want.
-Finally, please give a message to your Japanese fans.
