The first carbon dress constructed like a beemer: the interview with the designers

I say a lot that a car is “sexy”. And usually I say it about a dress, too. But if a dress would be not just as sexy, but as resistant and daring as the most innovative car? Therefore, when I found out that a couple of designers created a carbon dress using the same carbon fibre found in the BMW i3 and BMW i8, I wanted to talk to them. And I asked Felder & Felder sisters about the process and their new fashion collection.

Felder Felder, the fashion label launched by eco-conscious twin German sisters Annette and Daniela Felder, have teamed up with BMW i ahead of London Fashion Week 2016 for a second consecutive year. And, inspired by BMWi and featured as the collection’s hero piece, they showed the “Carbon Dress”, a fringe-detailed metallic skater dress created using the same carbon fibre found in the BMW i3 and BMW i8.

How difficult was it to work with an unusual texture (carbon) and why?
It was an exciting challenge. It’s a strong fabric yet flexible at the same time.

How the carbon dress is made?
The carbon dress is draped on the stand and then transferred onto pattern from scratch. Every embellishment of the carbon fibre fringing has been hand made and attached individually to the dress.

Why should I want to wear it?
It’s the essence of “Rock Chic”. Shiny, off black, sexy yet elegant. It will certainly get you noticed.

How is to work as a “creative duo”? How do you manage to be, always, on “the same page”, concerning the designs, the collection, everything else? 
We are actually coming from different “pages” or sides, yet combine our different point of views and this create a new page. Our designs have always been the fusion of opposites, which we feel stems from us being and working as twin sisters.

Your brand is 10 years old. How do you think fashion industry has changed in all these years? In a good way or in a bad way?
It has massively changed. Neither good or bad, just different. It’s become so much more inclusive and accessible through the stratospheric rise of social media. At the same time this might also take away a portion of its mystery.

Your style signature is…
Sexy, rock’n’roll, elegant.

Τhe biggest challenge as a designer right now is… 
For us, to minimise wastage without compromising aesthetic, like we have done with our BMWi Carbon Fiber Dress this season.

What is your remedy for a inspiration gap? 
Traveling, fitness, meditation and of course my daughter Amarone.

What is next for you? 
To continue a creative and at the same time sustainable path and partnerships. It’s an exciting journey.

About the dress: Having taken over 100 hours to create, the dress is made up of 97% carbon materials. The futuristic finish of the dress comes as a result of the texture and shine of the carbon material, which remains lightweight and strong, yet more tactile and daring compared to other fabrics. The fully sustainable carbon material, which is not yet available to fashion designers in large quantities, was created at the same place that produces carbon fibre for BMW’s electric and plug-in hybrid BMW i cars: the BMW i3 and BMW i8.

Photography: (c) courtesy of BMW

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