"I love it here. It's cool. It's small. Düsseldorf is my home."
Marion Strehlow is known for her purist fashion. For over twenty years, Strehlow has been enriching the city with her exquisite collections, which she creates in her studio in Oberbilk. For the Mönchengladbach native, Düsseldorf is her city of choice: "I love it here. It's cool. It's small. Düsseldorf is my home." But Marion Strehlow is not just a fashion designer, this is the eighth time she has created the costume design for dancer and choreographer Maura Morales. The dance company Cooperativa Maura Morales regularly performs at the FFT Düsseldorf - Forum Freies Theater. The new stage piece "In-Side-Sense" will celebrate its premiere there on December 1, 2023. And Marion Strehlow has designed the costumes again this time. We were curious to find out how the collaboration works and interviewed Marion Strehlow.
You have been a successful fashion designer for a long time. As such, you decide on the design of your collections independently and, above all, on your own. Basically, you are a kind of solo artist. How did the collaboration with Maura Morales come about and what is it like for you to work in a team?
I saw a performance by her dance company years ago and was so enthusiastic that I wanted to do something with her. A friend introduced us and Maura liked my collections. We then really wanted to work together. The nice thing is that Maura's team is always the same, from the lighting design to some of the dancers and Michio Woirgardt, her husband, who composes the music. It's fun and we have a close, very creative exchange.
Can you describe your creative process for us?
I get involved when the theme and title of the piece are set. For me, the work begins with the first rehearsal, where I listen to the music and see the expression of the dance. I take my cue from my collection and rework parts of it, focusing primarily on materials and freedom of movement. I now have more experience and know, for example, that a low crotch is unsuitable for dance. Leggings are a thousand times better. I learn something new with every piece. Sometimes I try things out myself and dance in my studio. For "In-Side-Sense", the set design was decided very early on and I was able to exchange ideas with the set designer. That was important because there is an interior space on the stage. So I asked myself how I could support the idea of the interior. There is a moment when Maura comes in from outside. That may sound banal, but for me it's an important moment as a costume designer. Especially because the scene is at the beginning of the play. It's a crucial moment. That's why she wears a coat, so that the audience understands that she's coming into the interior from outside.
Right from the start, you decided to make studio fashion under your own name and not work for a fashion company because your creative freedom and independence are important to you. The costume design for Maura Morales also bears your unmistakable signature. In addition to your aesthetic sensibility and your design language, I have the feeling that your fashion is very much characterized by your personality, your spirit. Would you confirm that?
The feeling is absolutely right. People buy a piece of me with every item in the collection. There is love in every piece. I have an incredible love for my job. It's the most beautiful thing there is. I love the freedom I have. I would do it all again and again, for me it can just go on like this. Sometimes people come up to me who bought something from me 20 years ago and make me feel like I'm part of their journey, their life. Recently, a woman told me that her 16-year-old daughter had rediscovered a skirt of mine that she had bought years ago. My customers keep these things. I am something of a constant. I think that's nice.
Interview: Cynthia Blasberg
Lead photo: Courtesy of Marion Strehlow