Silky Smooth Couture: Kathrin von Rechenberg

German-born designer Kathrin von Rechenberg apprenticed in Munich, trained in Paris under top couturiers like Dior and Chanel, then set off to China in search of tea silk. Ten years later, she’s still here, and that special material has become the basis for her label. She unveiled her 17th collection just a few months ago. We pressed her to share her take on love, natural textiles and elegant simplicity.

Designing clothes to underline the personality of the wearer, not to hide it, is very important to me. One should not see the clothes first, but the woman wearing them. She looks good when she feels comfortable and makes the clothing her own.

I prefer the functional, yet beautifully executed. Many of the rechenberg designs are born out of the search for functional solutions (e.g. different fastening solutions and edgings, integrating or eliminating darts and seams) along with the possibility of wearing the same garment in different ways or reversibly. If something is only decorative, it is not artful.

The simpler you want to do things, the more complicated they are to do. When the cut is perfect, you don’t need to add decorative elements to enhance or improve them.

In Paris, I picked up haute couture techniques like draping, cutting on the mannequin, the perfect cut-and fit of a garment and, of course, a love for beautiful fabrics.

I prefer to design independently but I regret that I did not have the chance to work with Yves Saint Laurent for his perfectly cut jackets.

What do I love about tea silk? Its texture and papyrus-like rustle, its inimitable black metallic sheen, its look of leather. Tea silk is never quite the same color from one batch to the next, which makes every piece unique.

Tea silk brought me to Beijing, then my future husband caused me to stay.

Other than the “little black dress,” every woman should own a pair of rechenberg tea silk pants. They are timelessly elegant, simple and easy to wear at any time of day and any season of the year.

rechenberg couture
Xinyuanxili Dongjie (yard behind Bldg 12, close to Yuyang Hotel), Chaoyang District (6463 1788) www.rechenberg.cn 朝阳区新源西里东街12号楼后院

Photos: Judy Zhou