rechenberg boutique design

The new Rechenberg boutique opened in late spring 2019, in the Qianmen East area of Beijing, located South of the city’s historic Legations quarter.  This leafy revitalised corner of the city is drawing more and more people attracted by its growing number of individually styled restaurants, inviting cafes and design-led boutiques. Entering Rechenberg is to experience an “authentic immersion" into Kathrin’s world. The Rechenberg name stencilled  onto an iron Stele, stands beside the entrance, defining the signature haute-couture brand for which she has become justly known.  It is an invitation to explore the realm of her imagination, expressed through the elegantly simple clothes that sophisticated women love to wear.

The new space, interior-designed by Kathrin herself, extends over 2 floors. She explains ‘I followed the same thread I use when I design my clothing.  In the same way as I create space around the body, I created a wallpaper, ‘fabric’ with which to line the walls,  and a look for the boutique interior that gives the space an organic and translucent feel’. The long lengths of handmade Xuan paper, randomly overlaid, marking the organic texture of Kathrin’s garments and the walls appear to be breathing.

The focal point of the boutique’s interior is the staircase that encloses a void and, at the same time, expands the space as it connects the two levels, each one marked by high ceilings. The traditional wooden structure of the roof can be admired from the lower level.

The natural Indian slate floor reflects the many hues that inspire Kathrin as she creates her color palette and forms her shapes, taking nature as her teacher.

Plants are an intrinsic part of Kathrin’s workshops and showrooms. The shuliang creeper-vine whose tuber provides the tannin and red colour essential for Tea silk dyeing is a clear metaphor for her art.

The lower level often serves as open space extending to the street for events and concerts. On first entering the space, a high wall with openings from floor to ceiling attracts the attention.  Long and translucent silk hangings conceal an area behind the openings used as a storage room for silk clothes, evoking a ‘sense of timelessness’" inspired by Chinese ink scroll painting and dyed by Kathrin herself. The walls become their frames and reflect Kathrin’s passion for the principles of geometry, an essential element that informs but never dominates her designs.

The boutique is also an attractive gathering place for Kathrin’s friends, musicians and artists who enjoy coming together in the inviting space to share their respective talents. Recently, following Amy Grubb a contemporary dancer, and Kathrin’s sister Helene von Rechenberg, He yi a Chinese singer and Guqin artist, who loves to wear rechenberg on stage and in daily life, was delighted to be photographed modelling selections from Kathrin’s collection.

rechenberg Art Couture

address : N°112 Xixinglongjie, Dongcheng district, Beijing 100062

工作室地址：北京市东城区西兴隆街112号

We are looking forward to seeing you here anytime from Monday to Saturday, from 10am to 6pm, and by appointment

营业时间: 周一到周六，早10点-晚6点，可提前预约。

tel：+86 10 64631788

info@rechenberg.cn

www.rechenberg.cn

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instagram : rechenberg.studio

Tea-silk is all but forgotten in present-day China. A complicated, completely natural dyeing process makes tea-silk unique and precious. Kathrin von Rechenberg collaborates with a traditional dyeing workshop in the Pearl River Delta where tea-silk processing is still carried out by hand.

The silk fabric is dyed 30-40 times with the juice of the shuliang root (dioscorea cirrhosa) and after each dyeing process, laid flat in the open air to dry in the sunshine. Covering it with river mud after the dyeing gives it its characteristic glossy brown/black sheen. This natural and traditional fabric, processed in a completely ecological way, reflects water, sun, sand and changes in temperature. Its luster, like that of the pearl, increases with time. The uneven shading makes the fabric unique. Properly aged tea-silk is as rare as fine wine; thus some ‘items’ are only available in limited quantities.

In addition to Xiangyunsha, for which the rechenberg studio commissions artisans in the Pearl River Delta to perform the natural dyeing process, the studio also dyes a range of fabrics in-house. We use locally grown traditional dyes such as pomegranate peel, shuliang, and banlangen (indigo)—all of which are also used in traditional Chinese medicine. More recently, we have begun creating paintings and frottage using traditional Chinese ink on clothing.

Natural dyes possess a remarkable luminosity, giving fabrics a vividness of color and texture that cannot be reproduced with chemical dyes. Experimenting with various traditional dyeing and resist-dyeing methods often involves numerous time-consuming and laborious steps. This painstaking work allows us to achieve a diverse variety of colors and textures, resulting in truly one-of-a-kind fabrics and garments.

In every timelessly designed, hand-dyed, and handcrafted piece, one can feel a profound connection to thousands of years of history.