Marie Coat

Marie’s coat story takes place in Lima - Perú, on 2005, when I was still dealing with student life. It was at the beginning of winterseason. I was walking in the largest clothing and textile market called Gamarra. You can find everything there: traditional Peruvian fabrics as apalca wool but also imitation designer brands, apparel pieces and more.

A place full of energy, colors, sounds - L I F E.

I remember in that time I was always looking for some statement pieces to use for my personal work and was attracted to strong patterns: big flowers, stripes, organic and geometrical shapes. I wanted to create items to reveal the body, to share a state of mind and last but not least, to catch people’s attention.

I arrived in this huge store close to this district where they were producing cotton and wool fabrics. As I was a student i couldn’t afford expensive fabrics that’s why I was all the time searching or leftovers. It was also quite a challenge for me to try to create some thing new with old stuff. Sometimes it was a success sometimes not but it became a habit for me to go there.

One day I saw this checked fabric put in a high place where it was not so easy to reach. And for some reason I was always buying someothers. I just had it in the back my mind because i knew at some point that I would use it.

In 2017, I decided to leave the eccentric Berlin life style for a  couple of weeks to visit my family in Perú. I went back to this shop in Gamarra and saw the check fabric at the same place as before, as if time had stood still. Then I realized that it was waiting for me for all those years. I decided to buy it to create Marie’s coat.

This coat has a classical straight shape which reveals the body outlines. The detail appears in the neck area: an asymmetric alcollar. The pattern and the bright color make it interesting, original and singular.

Marisa, the Designer