Also located in Bornheim on a residential street is made by miko's store-front and studio. Business seems to be going well for Milena Kossmann: her clothing rack looked a bit sparse when I came to visit, because she had just sold many of her pieces. Her studio/shop, similar to her clothing, is very minimal: tall white walls, shelving displaying different colored fabrics, thread, sewing machines and of course her designs on display.  Milena Kossmann has worked in the tailoring business for quite some time, has always drawn her own designs, and attended the Frankfurter Schule für Bekleidung und Mode. Before she came out with her official label, she showed her clothing designs at a fashion show organized by Stoff aus Frankfurt and counts this as its launch. 

The concept of her clothing is minimalism that has little special touches and can be played up or down.   Kossmann  believes that clothing should not create or cover a person's personality, but should be fitted to that person's personality. Her designs can easily be made casual and relaxed or made chic and elegant, depending on the accessories. Versatility at its best. A perfect example of this versatility can be seen with the white dress pictured below. The dress is almost like a blank canvas, except for that awesome 60s mod-inspired collar. Milena can easily picture it being worn with high-heels for dinner or with sneakers for an afternoon stroll. 

Her customers? Kossmann has all kinds of customers ranging in age. However, one thing she has noticed is most of them are interested in sustainable clothing that comes from the area and not from a huge superstore that produces its clothing in huge sweatshops. Kossmann also places great importance on using organic fabrics, so that she knows where they come from. Interestingly enough, a week after I visited Kossmann I attended a podium discussion with Sonja Eismann from Missy Magazine and Ann Jung from the #untrag-bar campaign about this very topic. It seems like Frankfurt is interested in environmentally friendly and socially aware clothing. 

Milena Kossmann is a pure-bred Frankfurter (teehee). She had tons of fun sounding locations and things to do to recommend. Here are just a few.

Milena Kossmann's Suggestions:

Open Air Theater Bornheim

Frida 116

Lebensfreude Pur

I sat down with designer Ajdar Susuri to enjoy coffee and delicious cake while we discussed his work at his studio on Petterweilstraße in Bornheim. 

Ajdar Susuri is a kosovo-born native, but now works and lives in Frankfurt. Like Hannah, he has been in the fashion business for a while and is a state-certified tailor (who can accept apprentices, FYI). His self-named label, including his first collection have existed a little over a year and seem to be doing well. He has been featured in Journal Frankfurt, was invited to the Stilblüten Festival (although, his line is more along the lines of haute couture) and recently featured in Lust auf Gut.

The collection consists of evening dresses and two-piece suites that are elegant and minimalistic. The pieces combine contradicting fabrics, like light chiffon with leather, displaying Susuri's sewing skills. In addition to skills, Susuri places great importance on precision and uses an electronic machine to get exact cuts. While the collection is featured in mainly dark tones, such as black, blues and greys, Ajdar mentioned that the materials he uses are available in a large variety of colors. 

During my visit, he was working with a stunning green for an evening dress. As he explained, his collection is meant for independent, strong and confident women, who value high-quality materials and the little details. The amount of craftsmanship that alone goes into the custom hand-made bodice of one evening dress (featured above) is unbelievable. Please visit his website: Susuri had great pictures taken of all his pieces that do them WAY more justice than my pictures below.

Ajdar's Favorites:

maincafe

Kronberger Bäckerei- Ajdar and I tasted some different pieces of cake from this bakery during my visit . It was all delicious and looked beautiful. I will more than likely be heading back there for some more.