Valentin's Letter

Spring | Summer 2023

Dear Friends, 

I had the strange fate of growing up between sweaters. And Iris' favourite thing was to dress me in these colourful sweaters. A little blond boy in fluffy bright sweaters - that really looked cute. At the age of 7, it didn't bother me.  

It wasn't until puberty that I refused. Fuchsia just wasn't cool for a young man. Now my sweaters were suddenly black, silver, anthracite, maybe navy at times.  

A few years later came the next change. I was living in New York and working on Wall Street. It was 2002 and after the Internet Heydays of the late 90s, Wall Street had abandoned the suit. People now wore business casual: shirts and trousers. The streets and offices were beige, white, blue and grey. It was just as monotonous as you'd imagine. 

So I couldn't help but bring out the colourful sweaters again: purple, tangerine, Ferrari, brass, rose and gentian were back on the colour palette. Along with a pair of chinos and a blue shirt. I was still up to code. My blonde hair was a little longer back then, so my boss always just called me the "California Surfer Dude"... I liked that role. A little rebellion against the grey men.  

Today I have a little less hair and navy is more common than Yves Klein blue. It's a pity, really. It's so expectable. Maybe I need to dare to wear it more often again. Colour can do so much good, especially now in winter.