by Valentin von Arnim

The Value Of Permanence

by Valentin von Arnim

The future of luxury may not be novelty, but permanence.

I just came back from Iris' apartment, where I went to pick up an idea from her wardrobe. It is far smaller than most people would imagine. Iris is not a collector. She picks out the right pieces with intuition and experience.

For her, it’s always about the right pieces, no matter if they are basics or special designs.

Once she is excited about a piece, she takes a closer look: has it been thought through, does it deserve a place in her wardrobe forever? She looks at the quality of the material, the cut, fit, finishing, colour, surface – and does it feel right when you put it on.

Obviously, something new comes along here and there. Then an old piece has to go, there is only so much space. But that always means there is someone happy here at the company, usually someone from her design team. A gift from Iris' wardrobe is something special. You want to keep it for life.

This is exactly how Iris built her collection and her vision. Every piece should be made to become a favourite and pass the test of time.

Of course, you don’t know that straight away. Will you fall in love with it? Will you be wearing it in ten years? We all have those favourites in our wardrobe.

The emotional value grows over time.

Well-made cashmere sweaters even become better with age. The excess fibres that cause pilling disappear, the surface calms down, the sweater becomes a little softer.

The longer we wear something, the more valuable it becomes. That is true luxury: keeping a piece forever.

Not every sweater makes it. We get it wrong sometimes too. But reaching exactly that is what drives us – every day, with every single piece.

Iris actually achieves this with almost every piece in her wardrobe, whether from her own collection or found elsewhere. Perhaps she is a bit better at that than most of us. Thank goodness. She is our founder, after all, and has been living this standard for fifty years.

I just came back from Iris' apartment, where I went to pick up an idea from her wardrobe. It is far smaller than most people would imagine. Iris is not a collector. She picks out the right pieces with intuition and experience.

For her, it’s always about the right pieces, no matter if they are basics or special designs. Once she is excited about a piece, she takes a closer look: has it been thought through, does it deserve a place in her wardrobe forever? She looks at the quality of the material, the cut, fit, finishing, colour, surface – and does it feel right when you put it on.

Obviously, something new comes along here and there. Then an old piece has to go, there is only so much space. But that always means there is someone happy here at the company, usually someone from her design team. A gift from Iris' wardrobe is something special. You want to keep it for life.

This is exactly how Iris built her collection and her vision. Every piece should be made to become a favourite and pass the test of time.

Of course, you don’t know that straight away. Will you fall in love with it? Will you be wearing it in ten years? We all have those favourites in our wardrobe. The emotional value grows over time.

Well-made cashmere sweaters even become better with age. The excess fibres that cause pilling disappear, the surface calms down, the sweater becomes a little softer.

The longer we wear something, the more valuable it becomes. That is true luxury: keeping a piece forever.

Not every sweater makes it. We get it wrong sometimes too. But reaching exactly that is what drives us – every day, with every single piece.

Iris actually achieves this with almost every piece in her wardrobe, whether from her own collection or found elsewhere. Perhaps she is a bit better at that than most of us. Thank goodness. She is our founder, after all, and has been living this standard for fifty years.