ATELIER
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From the first sketch to the final stitch: a look at the process behind the pieces. In our studio in Berlin, Jana Heinemann and the IMPARI team design, print and make every piece themselves. This story follows the moments in between – an observation that turns into an idea, the decisions along the way, and the details we only discover while making.
One room, every step
Our studio in Berlin is a working space, not a showroom. Daylight falls through tall windows onto the cutting table, and finished pieces hang on rails and mannequins right next to work in progress. Sketches, patterns and freshly printed fabric share the same room.
Having design, printing and making under one roof changes how we work. Decisions happen at the table, with the fabric in our hands. And nothing leaves the room unnoticed: every offcut stays within the system and becomes part of the next idea.
Observation / idea
Most of our pieces don't begin with a drawing of a garment, but with an observation: [ERGÄNZEN: was euch typischerweise inspiriert – z. B. Oberflächen und Strukturen in der Stadt, Wasser, Licht, Begegnungen in Ghana]. We collect these moments in [ERGÄNZEN: z. B. Skizzenbüchern, Fotos, Moodboards] until a theme starts to take shape.
[PRÜFEN: From there, the print often comes first.] [ERGÄNZEN: wie eure Prints entstehen – z. B. von Hand gezeichnet oder gemalt und digital weiterbearbeitet]. Only when a print has found its character do we decide which silhouette it needs.
Process / decision
We print our designs in our own studio, so the fabric reaches the cutting table only a few metres from where it was printed. Before the first cut, every length is laid out in full. This is the moment of decision: where the strongest part of the print should sit on the body, how a motif runs across a seam, and how the pattern pieces fit together so that as little fabric as possible is left over.
Some decisions can only be made here, with the fabric in front of us. [ERGÄNZEN: ein konkretes Beispiel aus dem Studio – z. B. ein Teil, bei dem der Print den Schnitt verändert hat, oder eine Entscheidung, die erst am Tisch gefallen ist]. What remains after cutting is not thrown away – it is collected for what comes next.
Detail / discovery
The offcuts from the cutting table are where some of our most unexpected work begins. Using knitting and zero-waste techniques we have developed over time, we turn cutting remnants into new textile surfaces, complete structures and experimental pieces. [ERGÄNZEN: ein konkretes Beispiel – z. B. ein Teil, Accessoire oder eine Fläche aus Resten, mit Kollektion oder Namen].
Working this way means accepting that not every result is planned. [PRÜFEN: Colours and prints from different pieces meet in ways no one would design on purpose – and sometimes that is exactly where the next idea comes from.]
Reflection / what comes next
A studio diary is never finished. What lies on the table today – a print, a cut, a remnant – shapes the pieces we make next. That is what we mean when we say we design in cycles, not seasons: every step stays connected to the one before.
Next in the studio: [ERGÄNZEN: woran ihr gerade arbeitet – z. B. die nächste Kollektion, eine neue Technik oder ein Teil aus Resten]. Beyond Berlin, we are building a recycling system in Accra together with partners in engineering, with the aim of developing our own circular fibre [PRÜFEN: aktueller Stand so richtig beschrieben?].