Im Laufe seiner Karriere als Einkäufer, Fashion Director, Unternehmensberater und Brand Scout unterstützt Julian Daynov internationale Modemarken sowie Global Player im Einzelhandel im Hinblick auf ihre Designer-Portfolios vielversprechender Newcomer-Labels aus der ganzen Welt.

Im Januar 2024 hat Julian das Showcase-Format NEUDEUTSCH ins Leben gerufen, mit einem erfolgreichen Debüt auf der Pitti Uomo in Florenz ist er nun eine Partnerschaft mit CIFF eingegangen und präsentiert über 35 aufstrebende Talente der deutschen Mode- und Designlandschaft bei der kommenden Ausgabe der Trade Show von 7. bis 9. August 2024 in Kopenhagen gleichzeitig mit der Copenhagen Fashion Week. 

Wir haben uns mit Julian über sein Projekt und Deutsche Mode unterhalten.

1)In your words, what does NEUDEUTSCH mean to you?

It is a modern mindset of openness and appreciation for present talent, which culturally originates or has grown artistically and aesthetically within a German environmental or social context and showcases a visual narrative which transcends the common outdated belief that German design is purely functional and pragmatic. It's a movement celebrating the greatness and contemporary vision of new-wave creatives, who re-define the ordinary idea of what's beautiful, useful, tasteful, responsible to surround ourselves with.  

I very much like the slightly ironic connotation most "altdeutsch" people project when using the word "NEUDEUTSCH" - it wears a note of "skepticism" and "doubt" and exactly this is what provoked my zeal to take it as symbolic title of the movement I would love us all to unleash: NEUDEUTSCH is all about being more open, acceptive, enabling and appreciative of modern-day design and creative talent arising in Germany and being funded, enforced, cultivated and enriched by craftsmanship, heritage, mentoring, a very particular aesthetic language and organizations believing in it and making it outgrow the scope of locality and origin. 

2)How did you come up with the idea for the Project, what was your first impulse?

An incremental part of my job as Portfolio Consultant and Buyer throughout the years has always been dedicated to finding and showcasing new brands and designs, new aesthetics and creations. Very often, I've been confronted with this particular distrust towards fashion or object design in general coming from Germany.

On so many of my scouting and sourcing trips here, though, I've been meeting numerous incredibly gifted and talented designers from various fields of work and felt they needed to be shown, they needed a much bigger stage than their home market. I guess this was the initial impulse for me to come up with the idea to curate a special project presenting new-wave German design at trade show platforms, where the entire community of influential industry pioneers, decision makers, business leads and multipliers gather: international fashion weeks and fairs, which not only generate exposure and visibility, but also business touch points and retail placement capabilities. 

Frankly, I could not have dreamed of a better and more vibrant premiere of the project than at Pitti Uomo in Florence this January - I have been working with the leadership and brand curation team of Pitti for years in my retail times and they were always eager to do a special project together, so this is how NEUDEUTSCH actually kicked off as a traveling curation format, showcasing works by aspiring creatives from various areas of design, arts and crafts. The initiative has been entirely funded by Fondazione Pitti and is in fact a pure good-will-venture, which gives a platform and business networking opportunity for young brands complementary and tries to catapult them into the prime league of retail business and fashion industry context. 

3)How do you select the brands?

I am obviously led by my personal aesthetic appreciation for design, but coming from a solid retail business background, I always believed (and still do, by the way), that commercial success is a key driver and growth factor for any designer, artist or brand. I am very much inspired by the dreamy and poetic essence or artistic extravaganza of so many fashion designers, but also know that without carrying out a certain "wearability" and "wider public desirability" and "justified affordability" aspect their triumph, growth and eventually even overall existence are strongly in danger. 

This is why I tend to throw a "filter" within my curation process for NEUDEUTSCH and encourage the creativity and greatness of modern German design I believe could make it within a commercial context and retail scenery of concept shops, department stores, etc. I personally select every single designer / brand after keeping track of their work and creations for over some seasons and analyzing their development not only throughout their design signature, but also in their business growth mode. 

4) After Pitti Uomo in Florence now CIFF in Copenhagen – in your opinion what are the best entry markets for German brands?

I am really glad and very honored that German design being presented in Florence – the fountain of fashion and crafts - has now made it to Copenhagen - the ultimate epicenter of contemporary design and sustainability. I perceive this as huge appreciation not only for my curation work, but moreover for the language and modern aesthetics of the creatives being showcased. I love seeing how design-fascinated guests and industry moguls get to discover this particular NEUDEUTSCH design era and mentally re-arrange their pre-judgement and expectations or outdated impressions of German design. It makes me truly happy to often hear even from German buyers, retailers or press representatives who stop by, that they are themselves very pleasantly surprised by what they see and verify not just to me, but also mostly to themselves that "new-wave German design is really worth keeping an eye on" and "that we should open our eyes and learn to celebrate also our local design talent, which is closer and more inspiring than we would even think". It is my personal please to see it calls out for a "click" in their mindset. 

German design needs more exposure internationally, but also some credit within our own community. It has clearly developed and keeps on evolving into a new narrative, which could easily be exported into the US, Asia but also even more into our EU-local markets; It just needs some better PR, appreciation and stamina... and some good-will supporters, I guess. 

5) What are the plans you have for ensuring German brands gain more international visibility in the future? Can you tell us where you want to see NEUDEUTSCH go next

I am thrilled to see that the attention and interest for NEUDEUTSCH is growing and am extremely proud that major international platforms from the US, from Paris, Milan, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul have already expressed their enormously generous invitations to host the showcase and give stage and market entry opportunity for the designers I believe would be worth showcasing and introducing onto their media and business scene.

I guess we'll be traveling abroad very soon again but wish it would also take the courage of our local German authorities to support and enforce an initiative showcasing German talent and design culture internationally, as so far, it's rather been more the ones as Pitti Uomo and CIFF who entirely fund our German creative exposure and advocate internationally for the actual attention towards German design. 

Last but not least - INVITATION for the NEUDEUTSCH @ CIFF

"If you happen to be in Copenhagen during Fashion Week this August, don't miss out on stopping by the NEUDEUTSCH area at the CIFF, spanning on over 800 sqm and showcasing a selection works by over 35 German based design creatives across the disciplines of Fashion, Interior, Accessories, Interior, Object Design, Nutrition and Art. If you are interested in joining or need mor information feel free to reach out to our FCG member Julian Daynov for more information and some exclusive insights for fellow FCG members."

You can register HERE to visit CIFF.

(Foto-Credit: Caroline Kynast for NEUDEUTSCH)