We have a new (man) in the OGNX team, Erik, our new social media manager, and he first had to learn how to deal with so much female power in the Munich headquarters...;) After he recovered from the initial shock, he took the opportunity to ask OGNX founder Nina how the idea for the shoot actually came about and why it should be Mallorca of all places...
Nina, OGNX has been around for almost 4 years now, and this year we took the risk and went abroad to shoot abroad for the first time, namely to Mallorca. Why choose Mallorca?
Nina: Yes ;) After several shoots here in Munich and Berlin, it was simply time to try something new and since I had been traveling to Mallorca with my family since I was a child, I felt at home there It has been clear to me for a long time that when we finally dare, it should definitely be Mallorca. So one cloudy day I was sitting in the office in Munich with Jennie (Brand Direction) and Lea (PR) and said to myself, “Whatever! Now do it! Off to Mallorca.” A shoot for a small label like ours is of course always a big deal, a lot can go wrong and has to be carefully considered. Especially since we are still abroad, the budgets are limited and so is the personnel capacity, but we are such a well-functioning team that after a short discussion it was clear that we would tackle this.
If such a decision is made, what exactly does it mean in terms of preparation?
Nina: As soon as it's clear where we're shooting, we'll put the team together. In other words, photographer, hair make-up, models. Because of my active time as a model 100 years ago ;), I particularly enjoy working in a team and I always look forward to the very special atmosphere on set. We decided to book the entire team in Mallorca and so it was a completely new team, which was particularly exciting for me as I really like working with teams whose work I already know. But it doesn't get boring that way...
We can reveal it because you can see it in the pictures, but the team wasn't that new, was it?
Nina: Hahaaaaa….yes, that’s right! As we sat together, we came up with the idea of asking OGNX Family Member from the very beginning, Jelena Lieberberg, affectionately known to us as “Jeli”, if she would like to come with us. Jelena has now become a good friend and we are always amazed by her graceful yoga practice, which is powerful and elegant at the same time. She has accompanied us to many events and it is always pretty fun. We like to hang out together and come up with “stupid ideas”, as you can see on our Instagram profile (OGNXYOGA)… I just say “Boomerang”…
Speaking of “stupid ideas,” can you reveal what’s new next season? I've noticed that you and Jennie often discuss for a long time what will make it into the collection and what won't... ;)
Nina: Yes, that's true! Jennie and I work very closely together and often say the exact same words at the same time, which is sometimes a bit scary, but sometimes the "design scraps" fly about what we like and what we don't like...it's pretty funny and one long, creative process. Often you only really “understand” the collection when you see it dressed on the model at the location. This is always a key moment for us. We have also gone a step further in the materials used next season. From February 2017 we have a very comfortable to wear recycled poly product in our range and just this much in advance: They are absolute figure-flatterers with mega-cool prints! When we saw Jeli in our favorite print, which we almost didn't want to include at first, it was like an aha moment! The whole thing is really like a long journey that ends with the delivery of the new goods and then starts again with the new season. Pretty fast business. But a very nice one ;) We are also expanding the part of the collection that is very close to our hearts, as we all love wearing OGNX in the office during the day and always surprise each other with the wildest combinations. The streetwear-everyday style is coming into focus next season. Last season's jumpsuit had the perfect fit straight away thanks to our design team who always looks for the "perfect fit" until they achieve it in the best possible way. There will be a short, very casual jumper, perfect for yoga, the beach or even just chilling out. The prints are escalating the coming season so to speak ;)… Only this much can be revealed: There is an ocean and a jungle print, both very striking and, as usual from OGNX, with a high recognition value.
And what's new for us boys?
Nina: It's getting more colorful! Due to multiple (customer) requests, we took the plunge and made the collection more colorful for the boys. I resisted a certain shirt for a long time, but Jennie & Lea stuck with it until we decided to go for it. It was really well received by the guys on set, our lighting assistant Andreas even tried it on himself because he liked it so much, there was a pretty relaxed atmosphere during the shoot... as is often the case with us . There are also two new pairs of pants that you won't want to take off...OH! We would love to show you all the pictures now, we are so happy with the result, but one thing at a time. At the moment we're making the selection for the new lookbook, and it's incredibly difficult because so many great pictures came out of it...
Thank you, Nina! I've already seen the pictures myself and can only say that I'm looking forward to the new season, especially to the new men's pieces. It definitely won't be boring with you...;)
