MUNICH – It’s always the language that takes me to a new place. That’s how I ended up living in Bologna, Italy for four years. That’s what brought me to Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto and that’s also what brought me to South Korea. I love learning languages hence my passion for travelling. I am now in Munich, Germany and I would have never imagined living in this country several months ago. When in high school I carefully payed attention not to choose German but instead I choose Spanish. So here I am in a country and in a town I feel totally unfamiliar with. So what brought me to Germany? Fashion. In all honesty, I could have never imagined I would have gone to this country for this reason, even more when the town I am in now is not Berlin, known to be so fashion forward, but Munich in Bavaria. But did you know München (like they call it here) is the cradle of one of the most renowned luxury online shops: that is mytheresa.com? And did you also know that Adidas, Puma and Philipp Plein are brands born in Bavaria?
I don’t think people from Munich especially are fashion minded and I don’t mind it. More than the newest trends, I am interested in how fashion affects our daily life, how you can link it to the culture of a country. That is the very reason I am writing my blog Incognito.
I am French, NOT FROM PARIS PLEASE, but from the beautiful Bordeaux, but I also have cameroonian origins. Though I spent most of my life in France, I cannot deny my roots. I definitely think having a cameroonian mom and living in Africa during my childhood influenced my vision of fashion. Indeed, I believe my wearing turbans, huge jewels or my love for colourful pieces of clothing is due to this. In Cameroon, you don’t have a Zara or an H&M at every corner of a street, so usually you go to the tailor to have your clothes made. Hence why as a child I was used to wearing a lot tailor-made clothes. Back to France, I got used to ready-to-wear brands and left some of my tailored clothes in my closet.
Flying to Asia definitely had an influence on my vision of the world, but also on my approach to fashion. I could have never guessed that a simple piece of clothing could have helped me understand better a mindset, a language and of course fashion until I got to wear a kimono in Japan. Whilst in Korea I got surprised by how trends came and went so rapidly, how the customer was treated and above all I was totally mesmerized by their marketing strategies.
All in all, it is really difficult for me to only speak about my town and my being French since I feel like I am from everywhere. But if there is one thing I know is that fashion and languages are the most interesting tools for me to discover a new culture and connect with the people.
Shug Avery – Incognito
