by DThe young woman with brown curls and a shiny gold top takes a sky-blue top from the hanger, puts a light berry-red jacket over it and says laughing: “It’s great.” whoever wears the declared sexy t-shirt would be a possibility. The other: the object is old, from the 1980s, but never worn. So, unlike the usual vintage fashion, it is not second hand, which is what Natalie Malik appreciates. It sells only clothes from the 1980s, including thick lumberjack shirts, red felt hats and neon-coloured suspenders, but mostly wild-looking shirts, blouses and trousers from that era.
Malik actually earns his living as a freelance singer between Frankfurt and Cologne. But vintage fashion is in his blood, so to speak. His father ran a business and designed pieces himself. After the shop closed, the parts were packed up and stored in a basement. Now he offers his daughter again at the Karstadt in Giessen, where the department store restaurant used to be. In collaboration with the cultural cooperative Raumstation3539, the management of Karstadt has created an action area, known in modern German as a pop-up shop. The comrades approached merchants and artists and convinced them of the project. They promise “special products from local creative professionals, unexpected offers and services.” All of this operates under the name “Kaufhaus der Experimenten” and is initially limited until the end of the year.
Generation Z and the Eighties
The things Malik offers are fine, says Anna Walldorf. Generation Z loves the 80s. A few meters from the Eighties fashion presented in the center of the space, the aspiring goldsmith takes care of the gold jewels displayed by her and her boss Ilona Herbst. silver and other material. Your Werkladen19 is one of the few professional shops to use the pop-up. It offers only its own creations. In addition to personally designed unique pieces, goldsmiths also produce jewelery on commission. “It still has to go on a little bit,” Walldorf says. However, customers have already placed some orders and purchased parts.
Pop-up at Karstadt in Giessen
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Unique, never worn fashion and decorative pieces from the 1980s
Natalie Malik, on the other hand, says the pop-up shop has been better received than expected. Tanja Herring goes one step further: “Things are very good for me,” says the seamstress from Frankfurt, who has already made a name for herself as a “jeans healer” in the region. However, you also work for the Gießen City Theater. It is part of their daily life to repair damaged clothing. The “healing” jeans are well suited to the fair trade town of Giessen, she says, which has set up half a dozen sewing machines and an ironing board. She offers upcycling and custom tailoring, alters pieces based on customer requests and offers unique backpacks for sale.
Backpack according to customer needs
While explaining her concept, a customer wants to know more about backpacks and how they are made. “You can even bring me an old pair of your jeans and have the Stones tab sewn on,” Herring says. “Perfect,” the middle-aged woman replies and waves. This may result in an order. Herring already has other orders up his sleeve: all custom work.
Jewelry designer Nancy Castronovo, originally from Herborn, also wants to win over customers with unique pieces. The special thing: she makes the jewelery out of Westerwald wood, for example from scraps. She saws them into slices, with nature providing part of the design. A slice made from the branch of a plane tree surprises with a leopard pattern, while the ice ash has waves. At the entrance to the pop-up, Castronovo shows how she makes jewelry and her video images of her are played on a tablet. “Things are going great for me,” she says.
But there are also those who complain. A pensioner misses the restaurant. But the meeting point with culinary delights is approaching. A small pop-up café and cocktail bar will open soon.
