Voo Visits: Johannes Boehl Cronau

Voo Store: How was the brand ioannes born?

Johannes: I started working under the moniker ioannes very early on, even before studying. The brand name refers to the Latinised signature of Renaissance artists like Giovanni Bellini or Jan van Eyck.
I presented my first collection within the museum structure at Palais de Tokyo in Paris during Fashion Week after graduating from CSM. My ambition was more along the lines of fashion curation rather than design, it was very conceptual and I wanted to break the confines of a traditional fashion show. My second collection was then picked up by Net-A-Porter’s Vanguard program that eventually launched the proper beginning of the brand.

V: After graduating you left London for Paris and are now based in Berlin, where you created a beautiful studio space.

J: Creating a home for the brand is very important to me. I think along the lines of Donald Judd’s studio home on Spring Street in New York or Coco Chanel’s house in rue Cambon in Paris, that doesn’t only host the atelier and workers, but also her own apartment and shop. Back in the day it even hosted the shows that she watched through the reflections of the mirrored staircase hidden from the public gaze.
With the studio my aim was to create a place for work but also for leisure and conversation. I think the sense of merging work and private life comes back to me growing up in a small village. My families’ carpentry workshop was always open for everyone, people who worked in the workshops, neighbours, friends. Somehow everyone always gathered at our house around the big family table.

V: I feel like this consideration for community is very engraved in your brand. You have a quote from the American poet Laurance Wieder stitched into each of your garments: "Body is to spirit, as cloth is to body". Why did this resonate with you and how does it weave into ioannes?

J: I came across this quote in a book in a bookshop in Tokyo during my studies and it spoke to my innermost spiritual nature. I think creating garments is very cumbersome yet very poetic. Garments and clothing are part of our identity - whether you care for contemporary fashion or not at all - and the act of dressing and choosing how you want to present yourself to the world but also to yourself is very interesting to me. So this quote is a little reminder to myself about my motivation and what I am trying to achieve in the long run; to create garments between austerity and excess in order to make the wearer feel truly alive.

V: Why did you choose to design womenswear?

J: I originally wanted to become an actor or architect. And I really wanted to leave my home village and go out into the world. I decided to go to Paris to start an arts program foundation course and even though I was always interested and intrigued by fashion, it wasn’t really on my mind as a course to study. I didn’t think I have the intellectual stamina that it takes to pursue becoming an artist, but was also bored by the curriculum of architectural studies, so I somehow slipped into fashion design. I struggled with the choice from beginning to end but eventually embraced it. And in a way, my arts background informs the way I design for ioannes. Like a sculptor I’m interested to see how different materials behave, how they fall, drape, hug the body differently. I have a strong appreciation for intellectualism in design and a desire to wear it in an artful but still beautiful way. This reflects in the overall design philosophy of ioannes, where we strive for effortless elegance and comfort while maintaining an intellectual edge.
Womenswear gives me the opportunity to emerge myself into research sprees, ideas and concepts with a much quicker turnaround. Architectural projects would consume years whereas in fashion I can pretty much hop around inconsequentially when I get bored with a material or colour. It’s perfect for someone who gets bored quickly.

V: Speaking of colour. Your collections often feature prints whereas personally, you stick to a more understated wardrobe.

J: Print gives me the opportunity to express my artistic interests, and explore processes and techniques. We often print garments once they are finished, so there are irregularities, cracks and imperfections which excites me. They remind me of imperfection often referenced in Japanese art, but also abstract expressionist paintings.
In order to focus and concentrate on my work I can not possibly think about my own wardrobe, I love simplicity and comfort. I like wearing suits in winter and big shirts and smart trousers in summer. Very simple and very comfy.

V: As a young brand it can be challenging to navigate the Fashion industry and especially the past few years have certainly been quite difficult for many. How do you overcome these obstacles?

J: I don’t have to state the obvious, the frustration, the financial struggle and the constant difficult circumstances from the pandemic to material shortages and price increases. All these experiences taught me to kill my ego and revisit my priorities. I am so lucky to have found an amazing colleague for studio and production matters which gives me the time to work on the collections again. We are also very lucky to work with our fantastic stylist Dogukan Nesanir and our interns literally give me life. It is all about the work we create together, in dialogue with the team, community and audience. My aim is really to become the reference for an innovative and sustainable approach. There is still much work to be done in the fashion industry to reduce the impact on the environment and as a small, self-funded business, we do our best to make positive changes and contribute to a more sustainable future.

V: You often work with deadstock materials. How do you define sustainability for ioannes?

J: We usually don’t communicate excessively about the fact that we only use surplus and deadstock material for all our products except for other printed lycra, which is also 100% ocean waste. All leather goods are sourced from food industry waste skins and yeah, to start listing all this should be the standard not an exception for a young brand with limited resources.
But we also recognise that there is always more we can do to improve and I think that there is a lot of opportunity in being a small business. We constantly strive to find new ways to be more sustainable, from using innovative materials to minimising waste in our production processes. Design can be sustainable, too. Diversity and inclusivity are important. I believe that sustainability is not only about how we produce, it is also about social impact and innovation and I truly believe that everyone’s input and perspective is valuable, regardless of their position.

V: Totally. Last question! What was the inspiration behind SS23?

J: The SS23 collection titled Dahlia was heavily inspired by the vanity of youth, the boldness of the print and the boredom of summer break. Lingering by the pool, being a citizen of the world and being too hot to do anything.