BATAILLE – Switzerland’s high-fashion brand.

The new label BATAILLE from Zurich, Switzerland has launched its first Capsule Collection (all info in the Article).

Article shared by Carlos Eduardo Feijoo, Founder, CEO and Editor of International Lux Magazine.

Can you tell us about the brand’s establishment story?

       The history of the brand begins in 2015. In August of that year we haphazardly came across each other on Helvetiaplatz in Zurich and it was love at first sight. It was as if lightning had struck. Alexander was studying fashion design at the Berlin branch of ESMOD Paris (École supérieure des arts et techniques de la mode) and Julian Philosophy and Literature & Cultural Studies at ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology). He has immersed himself in the topics of luxury, decadence and fashion. Our skills, our knowledge, our sense of aesthetics and our love of fashion complement each other so perfectly that BATAILLE emerged naturally.

What inspired you before launching your first collection?

The founders and designers of BATAILLE
Alexander Lamm (left) and Julian Jāggi. 

        We are very similar and share the same aesthetic taste. We both love literature like Balzac, Proust, Djuna Barnes, Wilde, decadent culture like symbolism, Art Nouveau, Art Deco and the femme fatale and philosophy. The brand name is inspired by the French philosopher Georges Bataille.

       Also important as inspiration for our fashion designs is the ‹Bohemian› lifestyle with its frivolous, eccentric and unconventional traits. The current collection is notable for its combination of elegant and opulent couture-pieces with nonchalant streetwear; we combine the sequin evening dress with the bumbag and the cap. You introduced yourselves to fashion enthusiasts with a capsule collection. 

What is the reason for choosing a small collection?

       We offer slow fashion. The pieces of our capsule

Click on photo to enlarge.

collection all take a lot of time and effort as regards to design, development and production, since the exclusivity and quality of every product is paramount. Because we want to be sure that each of the products is exclusive and stands for itself, it was necessary to focus on a small but significant collection. The quality and commitment are reflected in any aspect of the brand, even in our detailed and interesting product texts. Let's take our sequin dress design ‹Ivy› as an example. The Ivy dress is lined with exquisite silk (even the straps).

       Sequined dresses are very expensive to produce, because machines and scissors break when sewing due to the heavy sequin fabric. Because each dress has to be sewn individually, the production process cannot be streamlined and is therefore time-consuming. We only use high-quality and mainly natural materials for maximum wearing comfort. Another reason is that we believe that when launching a new brand it is easier for the public to associate the brand with a recognition value when there are a only few products but that are distinctive and meaningful.

Click on photo to enlarge.

What are your favorite pieces in this collection?

       Every piece is our favorite, but the centerpiece is the bumbag design Artemisia which we have manufactured in a traditional atelier in Italy. How the Artemisia idea came about was that Alexander was out a lot in Berlin in techno underground clubs and in the raver scene, at the infamous Berghain and at festivals. In these subcultures the bumbag is worn a lot, but there is none to be had that is classic, cool, practical AND luxurious and sexy. We are filling this lacuna with our Artemisia bumbag, which consists of the most expensive leather and is unique on the market due to the massive hardware, the decadent lining (velvet) and the high-quality Italian craftsmanship. The Artemisia bumbag also fits perfectly with the other pieces of the Capsule Collection, it matches the pullover just as well as it matches the sequin dress.

How does social media affect you?

       Today, no fashion label can ignore Instagram. There's a certain shift at work in the fashion world,

Click on photo to enlarge.

whereby the power to define what is in vogue no longer lies solely with the magazines, journalists, designers and fashion houses, but is now also determined by IG influencers to some extent. What we love about Instagram is that the platform serves like a photo album that helps you bring back memories. Our instagram is like a kind of archive or portfolio of our brand, where everyone can get an overview at any time. 

What are your plans for Bataille in the near future?

       We continue to pursue our vision of BATAILLE as a global luxury fashion label. The next collection is in development. Among this collection there is unique lingerie: elaborately embroidered silk bodysuits and also ones with sequins. Also other bumbag models will come out and much more. Then we would also like to advance fashion philosophy. Julian publishes essays about fashion and luxury on bataille.online under fashion theory. More texts will follow in the near future.

Which designer or brand would you like to collaborate with in the near future?

Click on photo to enlarge.

We are open for all inquiries! 

What would you recommend to young designers who want to set up their own brand?

       The most important thing is production logistics, without which no brand can be built up. Then the right selection plays an important role in everything: manufactories, suppliers, materials, designs, colours, images etc.. No shooting from the hip when it comes to decisions! Selecting well takes up a lot of time, but may ultimately lead to success.

Is there a message behind Bataille’s philosophy?

       BATAILLE understands fashion in a broader cultural context and places it alongside art, literature and philosophy. 

The driving force behind BATAILLE is the belief that fashion can have a social emancipatory and life-enhancing, vitalizing power. Don’t dress how others expect you to, dress according to your own individuality and style. Fashion should be about treating oneself as a work of art. Consider your life a work of art, be the curator of your own life, carve out its beauty!.

Click HERE to visit the web site of BATAILLE.   Click HERE to visit the account of Instagram.

International Lux Magazine congratulates to the featured designers : Alexander Lamm and Julian Jāggi and we wish to they many successes with the high fashion brand BATAILLE.

Note: The photos credits are of the high fashion brand BATAILLE. Please send a message to the founders and designers of BATAILLE if you wish to use or to share one or more photos in other media.