Dispersed in Paris and Berlin, Ines Kaag and Desiree Heiss of the conceptual fashion label BLESS always talk about their work together. We learned this when we asked to interview both of them face to face, yet separately, with the same questions, since Jenna happened to be in Berlin and Anni in Paris at the time. Their kind refusal was explained by the fact that BLESS is something between the two, and therefore they don’t do interviews alone. So, we ended up in an email conversation with the twosome on the issues of identity and privacy as well as working together from two different cities.
Ines Kaag + Desiree Heiss = BLESS. Illustration by Manuel Raeder.
Dear Ines and Desiree,
We see your work as something in between art and fashion design. What do you think about this description and how do you see your position in the fields of fashion and art?
I & D: Honestly, we don’t think in categories. We simply do what we do and everybody is free to interpret and categorise it. In general, we see our work as creation of everyday products that are made to be used. However, art projects are welcome since they allow a certain freedom, budget and time to create new products that we wouldn’t have been able to develop otherwise.
BLESS seems to us as something very unconditional, and something genuinely based on personal interest. What is the motivation behind your work?
I & D: To earn our living in doing something we like to do and that makes us advance continuously on another, human level.
How did you get together in the first place?
I & D: We met in Paris in 1993 through a fashion competition and later started a penfriendship. After having visited each other for our graduation shows, we became close friends and started to discuss each other’s work as well as work on small projects together. We slowly slided into a more serious ground when Martin Margiela discovered our fur wig advertisement in i-D magazine and hired us to make wigs for his show.
How big is the company altogether and how do you share the tasks between the two of you? How does it work to do creative things together?
I & D: We have worked in two different cities, Berlin and Paris from the very beginning. In both cities, we have one fixed and one freelance employee, plus in Berlin a person that takes care of the shop. We share all the tasks between the two of us. Our creative work is like a hobby somewhere between the lines of hundreds of administrative emails.
“Our creative work is like a hobby somewhere between the lines of hundreds of administrative emails.”
Could you tell us more about your design process?
I & D: There are no fixed rules or schemes in terms of how we work. Everything is imaginable – it just occurs. Sometimes we develop the ideas 100% together, sometimes 100% separate. At times, one person starts and the other one ends, one person comes up with an idea and the other one makes the prototype, or one person makes something and the other person destroys it. Our tools are mainly words and hands. We never draw.
What are your studios in Paris and Berlin like?
I & D: Both are quite special, somehow like private houses, quite green and charming.
BLESS shop Paris, 14 Rue Portefoin. Photo by BLESS.
BLESS shop Berlin, Mulackstraße 38. Photo by BLESS.
What do you feel are the differences in working in Paris vs. Berlin? Is it difficult to work from two cities?
I & D: The secret is that it´s not Berlin “vs.” Paris, but “together with”. We never actually ended up working in different places but the other way around: we started working like this and haven’t stopped so far. It’s like a long distance romance – it has its pros and cons like any other form of being together. The main advantage is that we remain our own bosses, free to work in our own personal way in each city. The cons are the additional costs and loss of time through internal administration and communication. However, we do meet up at least every ten days in Berlin, Paris or elsewhere.
“Working in two different cities is like a long distance romance.”
Are there any special charateristics of Paris and Berlin that affect your thinking and doing? And how?
D: Living in a capital means that you can get really everything you need. I like that, as well as the light in Paris.
I: I have no reason to move. The sensation of comfort keeps me in Berlin. I have no idea whether it’s the city itself or its trees – and it wouldn’t make any difference.
Despite the fact that you work far from each other you are one as BLESS, always presenting your work together in public. Is this something you make a point of because you are dispersed in different places – taking care of your public presence together?
I & D: You guessed it right. Since we are often apart, it is important that BLESS is clearly a unit. It wouldn’t exist without the both of us: the products, the structure and the vision are a dialogue rather than a master plan.
You’re very mysterious when it comes to your identity and keep your private lives, and even working life, to yourself. We feel that it’s very interesting, especially now that people are sharing more and more in public in general. Why did you decide to do this?
I & D: We are not at all interested in sharing our personal life with the public. Instead, we are very happy to share our products that are made to be shared.
Like your working habits your work itself is also very futuristic. How do you see the future?
I & D: Playful.
Thanks!
I & D: Thank you!