Merz b. Schwanen

Merz b. Schwanen designs and crafts original, consciously made clothing. Driven by steadfast values of heritage, integrity and sustainability, our family-run, Berlin-based business is a quiet antidote to the world’s feverish pace and mercurial trends. Much like a centenarian loop wheeler, Merz b. Schwanen moves with purpose, patience and a penchant for timelessness. It started with a single garment – a 90-year-old Henley unearthed at a Berlin flea market in 2010. Fashion designers Gitta and Peter Plotnicki instantly recognized the Henley’s quality as unique and markedly rare. In fact, the impeccably preserved piece was an authentic workers' shirt from 1911. Tracing the Henley’s provenance led the pair to Germany’s Swabian Alps. Once a thriving hub of textile manufacturing, the region’s factories fell quiet decades ago with the twentieth-century race toward mass production, automation, and ubiquity. There, Gitta and Peter discovered a trove of dust-covered treasures—original loopwheeler machines, some over a century old. These relics of industry, capable of producing fabric unlike anything the pair had encountered before, were captivating signposts of the past; unknown to the couple at the time, the machines would also guide their future. Today, Merz b. Schwanen is proud to continue manufacturing garments in the same region, using these rare machines to create textiles of unmatched character, quality, and comfort, while enhancing local communities and breathing life back into the area’s rich textile heritage. Merz b. Schwanen’s hope is simple, heartfelt, and effort-filled. We strive to leave an indelible positive impact on our industry by increasing appreciation for textiles and driving positive change through human-focused, environmentally conscious actions. Merz b. Schwanen – the good basic!