"It all started with New York Times."
Eugenie Schmidt was born in Tadzhikistan in 1979 and grew up as the granddaughter of a well-known post-war seamstress in the capital Dushanbe. She grew up with her grandmother's inspiration and know-how to make a lot out of little or to create clothes with elegance, style and above all uniqueness from used or existing items.
Her family emigrated to Bavaria in Germany in 1990. In Berlin, she studied fashion design at the weißensee berlin art academy and after graduating, the theme of making a lot out of a little became topical again. Together with Mariko Takahashi, she created the debut collection “Reanimation - Wiederbelebungsmassnahmen” and immediately attracted a lot of attention in the press, from the New York Times, Zeit to FAZ.
The special thing about her collection was the idea of making the history of old clothes visible. They developed a system that the customer could use to track the collection. Each new item of clothing had a family tree with “parents and siblings”. The donors were able to trace the life of their clothing donation and see which “daughters and sons” grew out of it.
The label “SCHMIDTTAKAHASHI” was founded in 2009 by Eugenie Schmidt and Mariko Takahashi with the circular concept of transparency and at the same time production from sustainable resources.
They have created unique collections for men and women that have been shown at many exhibitions, such as the Museum of Applied Arts in Frankfurt am Main, Athens, New York and Tokyo. They have been invited to lead upcycling workshops many times, from Mexico City for the Goethe Institute to Panama, Guatemala and Dubai.
There have been press reports from the FAZ and Die Zeit to fashion magazines such as Brigitte, Madame and VOGUE.
SCHMIDTTAKAHASHI has sold her fashion in many cities and countries, such as Galerie Lafayette in Berlin, in Switzerland, in London, the UK and in many stores in Japan.
SCHMIDTTAKAHASHI were pioneers of their time, long before the circular economy became popular in the fashion market and when upcycling was still to be found in the dingy corner. They stood out with their concept, and especially with the elegance and high-quality standards of processing used clothes.
Eugenie continues to give workshops, such as at TheMakery or in the Haus der Materialisierung at KunstStoffe e.V. or in her studio at VELT, Berlin.
She is guest lecturer at weißensee kunsthochschule berlin, Muthesius Kunsthochschule Kiel and Hochschule Hannover for circular design and sustainable design strategies.
About the brand
Studio SCHMITD focuses on creating unique forward-thinking garments and trans-seasonal products for the contemporary citizen. We reinvigorate deadstock-materials and pre-existing items to create „new singularities“ with a tweaked and refined expression.
SCHMITD explores the labyrinth of deconstruction and reconstruction, transforming „waste“ with glory in skillful craftwomanship and passionate attention to detail.
The idea of designing the future by re-designing the past in compassion and mindfulness leads us in every part of the process which we call: from crap to candy.