For Swiss-born, Berlin-based designers Christa Bösch and Cosima Gadient, things have fallen into place with an ease rarely found in the fashion world. The designer duo behind Ottolinger, known for their sartorial deconstruction and avant-garde fabric manipulation, met at the FHNW Academy in Basel and bonded almost immediately. Since launching their Berlin-based brand in 2016, the designers have kept a low profile, preferring to let their work speak for itself rather than position themselves as the face of the brand. Recently, they were convinced to change their minds by none other than artist Heji Shin. Shin, who shot the campaign for the duo's Fall/Winter 2024 collection—coaxed the designers out of the shadows, even talking them into shooting in their own homes. Just before Ottolinger’s Paris Fashion Week present, the designers took a break from the flurry of pre-show activity to reconnect with Shin.
Cosima Gadient: Are you in a car?
Heji Shin: I’m in Florida, on Cape Canaveral. I’m in a rental car.
Christa Bösch: I can see the window.
Shin: I’m staying with some people that I met on the streets and that’s why I’m in the car—I don’t want to do the interview in their house.
CULTURED: How are you?
Gadient: Good! We’re a bit on edge because we have the show in 12 days, so we are a little bit busy.
Shin: It must be intense.
Gadient: But it’s fun, so we’ll see.
CULTURED: How did the idea for this campaign—to shoot the two of you and work with Heji—come together? Can you describe the beginning of that process?
Gadient: We were having drinks after one show, right Heji? We were discussing doing something together and we were like what could we do? And we really convinced you, Heji, by the idea that we were going to shoot Christa.
Bösch: Not me, us!
Gadient: We didn’t do that in the end, but you really liked that idea.
Shin: Yeah, I really liked the idea. First of all, I wanted to work with Ottolinger because I think they’re a super cool young brand—not even that young, but in a way, fashion has become so corporate and creativity is the last thing you can really exercise and execute in commercial fashion photography. I was thinking that Ottolinger—you guys—would be the best playground to try different things. I mean nothing revolutionary, but something more fun.
Gadient: We also liked the idea because we’re very much not visible as designers of the brand. You know, there are other brands where someone is always on the front lines. We’re not really like that so we thought, if we are ever going to do that, we would do it with you because we really like your work. It’s a very intimate thing. It was super intimate, the whole shoot.
Shin: It was really fun. It was crazy. But also fun. It was actually also very brave of you guys to agree to it.
Bösch: But we didn’t know what was expected of us!
Shin: I don’t know what you expected. But yeah, that’s how we got together. Corporate shoots comprise a lot of logistics—they’re very complicated and hierarchical and almost bureaucratic in the way they’re done. We wanted to do something very simple.
Bösch: Because sometimes when it’s such a big production, it’s not fun anymore. Also how we did it—low-budget and everything—was way more fun than a huge production with too many people around.
Shin: I think so, too.
Gadient: Also, we were shooting at Christa’s and my place, at home, in Berlin.
Shin: Yeah, so we had everything. All the resources were actually provided by the designers.
CULTURED: As designers who don’t put their faces in front of the brand, why did you decide to do a campaign like this right now?
Bösch: Well, for me it was Heji and Cosima saying it’s a good idea. And I said, "Okay, if they both think it’s a good idea, we just do it. We don’t think too much."
Gadient: Every now and then people are like, why are you showing your face now? It’s not like we’re trying to hide our face or anything.
Shin: I was really into the idea because the girls very much authentically represent what they’re doing. Sometimes, they wear the clothes that they’re designing even. On top of that, they just look great. I thought it was a really obvious idea.
Gadient: During the shoot, our team was there—we have a team of people that help us with styling—and usually they assist us at shoots, but here they were dressing us. It was so funny because they would look at us like close the buttons and we would be like okay. It was revealing. It was fun to be on the other side for once. And honestly, the first day was a bit rough, but the second day was a bit easy because literally the outfits were our clothes and we wear them and we make them, so it’s really authentic. Even though it looks a bit gritty, it’s very much like how we work—not everything is so perfect and stable, and that really comes through in these images.
CULTURED: And how about the at-home part of it—was there a reaction to that? I feel like that’s the most comfortable place you can possibly shoot.
Gadient: I think so. Right?
Bösch: I didn’t think too much about it.
Gadient: You stopped thinking about it? We had to convince Christa to do it.
Bösch: After the first time, I was crying because it was too much.
Gadient: And the team had to leave us a little bit.
Shin: Actually, you started to cry after even like 10 minutes. It wasn’t even like you went through something!
Bösch: No, it was the start.
Shin: It’s your shyness. It was a shyness you had to overcome. But it was very brave of you.
CULTURED: Do you feel like you overcame it? Did you get into it?
Bösch: I guess I stopped thinking. If the whole attention is on something you know you’re not an expert in—
Shin: Sorry, I was just thinking how good you were afterwards. How incredible, actually. You’re a very good model without us giving you a drink or anything. You’re just a natural.
Bösch: The thing was, at first, sexy, sexy, sexy! I was like, Oh my god, I can’t do sexy.
Shin: So we did scary.
CULTURED: That’s your sweet spot.
Gadient: I think it’s an important component. We showed the images to our close group of friends and everyone is really excited—they said the energy that the two of us have really comes through in those images. It’s not just a sexy image. It’s a little thriller, in a good way. Like disheveled, but strong at the same time.
CULTURED: They are incredible images. They’re so much fun. They are a little scary. How has the show preparation been going?
Gadient: It’s up and down. There’s always a lot of different things going on, so we split up our tasks. We have to finish the collection. We have quite a big show this season—it’s steadily getting bigger and bigger. We also have a bigger set design. It’s the first time we’re doing something like that. I mean also, currently, the state of the world is not in the best place so… it’s a really tense moment somehow.
Bösch: But you know, it’s always the process—you think, Ah yes, we have it. And then, Oh no, we have nothing. And then, it’s good again. It’s this up and down. Heji, I guess you have this too, with your exhibition [this November].
Shin: Yeah, of course. It’s the creative process.
CULTURED: Where are you in that process right now?
Shin: Maybe more in the not-working-that-well, but it’s going to get better.
CULTURED: Also ups and downs. Is there one thing you each want to ask the other? It can be anything.
Bösch: When are you coming back to Berlin?
Shin: I don’t know, after my show, I think. I hope to see you. Actually, I didn’t tell you but I was there two weeks ago and I didn’t call you, but I was thinking of you very much.
Bösch: Next time, you tell us.
Shin: Next time. Also you have to tell me when you’re in New York.
Gadient: Are we going to do another campaign together?
Shin: Yeah, I want to! You know that I’m always down with you guys. I mean, always.
