Magda Butrym
Poland

Designer Magda Butrym began her business a decade ago with the hope of catering to her fellow Varsovians. “I didn’t have the courage to think bigger because it felt impossible,” she tells monocle, reminiscing on early trips to Paris Fashion Week, when fashion buyers could barely point to Poland on a map. Ten years later, Butrym’s eponymous label is one of the bestsellers at global retailers such as Mytheresa, Selfridges and The Webster.

This growth has given Butrym the belief necessary to celebrate her Slavic roots. Recent collections have featured stronger references to Poland and in May she opened her first flagship boutique in her hometown of Warsaw. The shop is based in a prewar building on trendy street Foksal. Butrym worked with Swedish design studio Stamuli to highlight original features such as tiled fireplaces. Across the two rooms, you’ll find the label’s autumn-winter collections, spanning leather accessories, bags and ready-to-wear – including a range of shearling and wool floor-skimming coats.
magdabutrym.com

Bottega Veneta
Italy

For its first foray into fragrance under the creative direction of Matthieu Blazy, Italian luxury label Bottega Veneta has leaned into its Venetian heritage for everything from the concept to the bottles. The five fragrances blend organic essential oils from different countries – think Italian bergamot and orange blossom from Morocco. The Alchemie scent, a combination of Brazilian pink pepper with Somalian myrrh, is high on our wish list. The packaging – glass bottles featuring wooden caps and plinths made from green Verde Saint Denis marble – echoes the brand’s newly renovated retail outposts. 
bottegaveneta.com

A Kind of Guise
Munich

Munich fashion label A Kind of Guise (akog) has opened a new flagship boutique on Amiraplatz. The shop, clad in dark Spanish marble and Swiss pearwood, features a “Baz Luhrmann-inspired” aquarium and is just a short walk from the Rosewood hotel, signalling the brand’s luxury ambitions. “When we started, I was still studying and we only had 25 products,” says akog founder Yasar Ceviker. “Today we need space for more than 300 products and wanted somewhere to host people.”

Hosting and personalised service have always been priorities for Ceviker: “For us, the community is the reason we do the work,” he says. “Making new and long-term customers feel comfortable is where the success lies.” He’s had a busy year: hosting the first event of sister agency akog Hotel Group at the Villa Arnica in South Tyrol, developing a wine label and setting up a sports apparel brand, Societas, with Mirko Borsche and Nils Unterharnscheidt. The common thread? “Growing our community,” says Ceviker, explaining that regulars can drop by the shop for a glass of wine or a coffee. “People are coming four times a week for a drink, a chat and to look at the clothing.” Next? Revamping the label’s Berlin outpost and scouring Europe for its next location.
akindofguise.com

Anders Rahr
CEO, NN.07

Anders Rahr has been the ceo of Copenhagen-based menswear brand No Nationality 07 (nn.07) since 2021. The fast-growing label is known for its modern-casual pieces, which include chore jackets, overshirts and relaxed, tailored trousers. You might recognise its signature brown-and-navy checked jackets, favoured by The Bear actor Jeremy Allen White. Since its television cameo, though, the brand has kept up the momentum by expanding its range and investing in physical retail. Working with Dutch design studio Contrair Collective, nn.07 has opened new shops in New York and London this year. monocle meets Rahr to discuss the brand’s international ambitions.

Why was physical retail such a priority for you this year?
Offline retail has always played an important role in brand-building. Consumers are periodically swayed more towards online and then back towards the physical retail experience, so we believe in building a complete distribution model. nn.07 consumers usually work in the city and we already had communities in New York and London, so [opening shops in those cities] was only natural. We want to show the brand in its own environment.

Is there a common thread between NN.07 customers around the world?
They want to embody a style that is modern-casual, to wear something to work and then throughout the day. There’s an element of daily commuting too that influences the way that we design our clothes to be functional. We’re not a hype brand. We are design and quality-oriented rather than fashion-oriented.

And what’s next?
Five- or 10-year plans don’t work any more. Consumer behaviour is changing all the time. We try to have a vision about where we want to go and how we want to get there but you also need agility in business. [We aim for] sustainable growth but we also have ambition. It’s risky to go into retail in cities such as London or New York – but if there’s no risk, there’s no reward. These won’t be the last nn.07 shops you see either.
nn07.com

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Natalie Theodosi

For any fashion editor, the quarterly trip to the Fondazione Prada in Milan to take in the latest collections by Miuccia Prada and her co-artistic director Raf Simons is one of the highlights of any fashion week. You never know what to expect. It’s a treat to hear Mrs Prada talk about the ideas, conversations and visual references that informed her latest collection.

Surrounded by journalists clutching voice recorders, the Italian design doyenne always keeps her cool and shares insights into her creativity. This season she spoke about her desire to work against social-media algorithms. But how? One way is to present a different idea for every look, rather than a cohesive theme that could be replicated online. “We wanted to add a human touch,” she said, adding that humanity often equals unpredictability.

Weeks later, I’m still thinking about that brief backstage encounter. At a time when so many fashion collections and images are criticised for looking homogenous and algorithm-friendly, can design still be original? And can we still dress in a way that feels personal? It would be easy to adopt a negative outlook and give up on originality. But then again, there might be a simple solution: seeking style inspiration away from the screen.

As we enter the gifting season, seek the unpredictable – like the elusive Mrs Prada – and try to find out more about the products that you’re buying. Behind every item are stories of entrepreneurship, craft and human relationships between designers and makers. These pages feature a collection of such best-in-class products to start you off. — L

Theodosi is Monocle’s fashion director

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New programme: Monocle on Fashion

Ensure that you’re always fashion-forward with Monocle on Fashion. Hosted by monocle’s fashion director, Natalie Theodosi, this new programme will bring you interviews, news and special reports from fashion weeks, trade fairs and ateliers old and new. Tune in at monocle.com/radio