Clemens en August

fashionvergnugen, n., German, [fa-shen-ver-nuhj-en] meaning: the love of fashion.

Invite only is how it works here.

The deal is this: there is no store at which to peruse their line. There are no salespeople humoring consumers every whim. Potential buyers cannot try garments on, or even mull over their potential purchases for more than a few days.

Clemens en August takes a marketing nod from the music industry. Much like a traveling rock band, they go on tour. They show their collection on a semi-annual basis for just a few days at a time in venues all over the world. Last season’s tour included exhibitions at various art galleries and small theaters in cities like Berlin, Zurich, Vienna, London, Glasgow and New York.

The fashion label sells exclusively at these arranged trunk shows, though they do offer website shopping via invite after clients have personally attended one of their events.

Based in Munich, Clemens en August was created by Alexander Brenninkmeijer, heir to the C&A line, which was oh-so-popular in 1970s London. He was not only eager to launch his own line, but make high-end fashion actually affordable too.

The secret to his success is the exclusivity guaranteed via his approach to sell his product, and it seems to make it fun at the same time’a fashion club, if you will.

Tres chic! Or rather, ja wohl!