Turning Heritage into a Modern-Day Success Story
On a very rainy evening in November, we gathered in the cozy setting of the flagship store of Merz b. Schwanen to sit down and talk with Gitta Plotnicki, the visionary co-owner and creative director behind the brand.
Merz b. Schwanen is a German brand known for its high-quality, sustainably produced clothing, particularly its iconic T-shirts. Founded in 1911, the brand originally produced premium knitwear using traditional techniques, including loop-wheel machines, or as Gitta and her husband and business partner now affectionately refer to them as, "gentle old ladies".
The brand was revived in 2011 by Gitta Plotnicki and Peter after a life-changing trip to Berlin’s Mauerpark, where they stumbled upon a T-shirt that instantly caught their eye – a style they would later learn was called a Henley. After doing some research into the Henley and its history, Gitta and Peter knew they had unknowingly embarked on a new journey together.
“It was a gut feeling that we directly shared in the exact same moment.”
Gitta started the evening off by taking us on a journey to the Swabian Alps, where she explained how they were introduced to the expert handlers of the loopwheel machines, who taught them about the legacy of the craft, and the hope of bringing life back into the machines once again. Understanding to not romanticize the past too much, Giita and Peter worked together with the original workers to honor the past, but with the goal of focusing on what the future may bring.
‘We’re going to honor what happened in the past, because we strongly believe that without our ancestors we would not be here, living this life.”
By reviving these machines, Gitta and Peter were able to combine traditional craftsmanship with modern sustainability, creating products that honored the past while meeting the demands of today’s conscious customers. This balance between respecting both the past and the future led them to embrace organic cotton in their designs, as well as exclusively incorporating sustainable materials and methods into their production.
“There’s not only the past and there’s not only the future, the most important is the now. What can we do today?”
However, it was a stroke of good luck that propelled their brand into the spotlight, helping to establish it as a front-runner in the eco-friendly clothing movement. After one of their T-shirts appeared on the TV show The Bear, worn by Jeremy Allen White, the brand went viral. Needless to say, the T-shirt, and the brand, became an overnight sensation, resulting in their website crashing and the company catapulting into waiting lists and international success!
Finishing up the evening, Gitta spoke passionately about following your dreams and not giving up at the first hurdle or difficulty. She emphasized her deep respect for manifestation and the power in maintaining a positive attitude, with her words inspiring everyone in the audience to persevere through challenges, focus on their goals, and draw inspiration and encouragement from those around them.
“If you know there is something you have to reach, then the little bumps in the road won’t keep you from doing that.”
