The world is a dirty pool. But Ramona Erb is stirring up the murky waters and, with her label RAMONAERB, is drawing attention to the problems that we prefer to turn a blind eye to. Thanks to their colorful prints and cheeky designs, they are so much fun to look at that we take the first step alongside them.
FACES: Your fall collection is called “Orang-Nutan”. Why?
Ramona Erb: My 2018 fall collection is about the extinction of orangutans in Borneo/Sumatra. They are hunted, isolated and killed. Half of their habitat has been destroyed by the globalized palm oil industry. The name “Orang-Nutan” is made up of the animal component on the one hand and the Ferrero product Nutella on the other. Ferrero has often been negatively associated with palm oil in the press. Especially in connection with the production of Nutella. This inspired me to create a satirical print that says “orangutan” on a jar of chocolate spread.
Q: What is the biggest problem with palm oil?
RE: The biggest problem with palm oil is that it is difficult or impossible to substitute palm oil. Replacing it with coconut, soybean, sunflower and rapeseed oil would require much more land and increase greenhouse emissions. This in turn endangers animal and plant species. Palm oil is found in every second supermarket product, making it hard to imagine the food industry without it. However, attention should also be paid to the cultivation and production conditions under which palm oil was produced. Preference should be given to sustainable production sites that are not merely geared towards monocultures. Moreover, 50 percent of all palm oil production is used for biofuel. I can well imagine that it could be completely replaced in this industry.
Q: Do you consistently avoid palm oil in your everyday life?
RE: It is very difficult to consistently avoid palm oil with children. I try to strictly avoid it in my own consumption. This also meant that I had to banish my beloved Lindt chocolate from my kitchen cupboard. I attach great importance to the ingredients used in the production of chocolate. However, it is more difficult with the chocolate spread. Even in organic stores, there is only one product that does not contain palm oil.
Q: Apart from the orangutan, who is particularly close to your heart?
RE: In terms of my own work, people who have experienced suffering or pain, such as refugee children or women who have been victims of violence, are close to my heart. The fact that our wealthy society should finally take more care of others and the weaker members of society is something that is close to my heart!
Q: Why is it so important – now more than ever – to consume consciously?
RE: I think conscious consumption has to do with education and interest. We live in a globalized world that is characterized by large-scale mass production. This applies to the food industry as well as the cosmetics sector and the fashion and textile industry. Sewing is a very strenuous activity. When I imagine that certain seamstresses work 20 hours a day and receive just a few cents for it, I have to say that something is fundamentally wrong in our economic and social system. We are all part of this system somewhere and support and accept it through our consumer behavior. I therefore pay a lot of attention to what and how I consume, and I think this awareness can also be expressed through my collections. You should think more about and pay more attention to what you wear and how you actually walk around every day.
Q: How do you define sustainability for yourself?
RE: For me, sustainability doesn’t just mean looking at sustainably produced fabrics, but also at where the fabrics come from and whether the working conditions are right. Wages here in Berlin are poor. For me, work must be worthwhile and good work must be remunerated accordingly. I also pay attention to this when paying my seamstress.
Q: Where do you cheat when it comes to sustainability?
RE: My fashion is not 100 percent sustainable either. Some of the fabrics are made from organic cotton. I try to achieve a good mix of sustainable and normal fabrics. My fabrics also come from Germany and Holland.
Q: The production of fashion is controversial because it is difficult for consumers to understand exactly where and by whom it was produced. Do you have any tips on how to look better?
RE: It is very difficult for a layman to get an overview. In general, you can avoid collections from Lidl, Aldi and Kik. You can pay attention to this and buy the Conscious line at H&M, for example. This collection uses sustainable fabrics, is produced in an environmentally friendly way and pays attention to working conditions. Zara has also launched the Join Life Sustainable Collection after being criticized by Greenpeace. There is now a wide range of sustainable fashion that you can buy online, such as Grundstoff.net or Hess Natur. If you have a little more money to spend, you should support up-and-coming fashion labels. It doesn’t always have to be Louis Vuitton and Gucci. Small fashion labels pay attention to the origin of the fabrics and process them by hand into great, long-lasting garments.
Q: Your fashion lives from prints. How do you design them?
RE: There are social and political messages behind my prints. I find my inspiration from press reports and documentaries. If a topic grabs me or has already been decided, I do further research by reading other press articles on the topic and collecting images and film sequences. I then create collages from the inspirational motifs and use Photoshop to create my prints.
Q: Where do you produce?
RE: I design, construct the patterns and sew everything myself at home in my studio. Except for my silk blouses, which I pass on to my dear seamstress Natalja.
Q: What is the worst mess in fashion?
RE: The exploitation of workers in low-wage countries.
Q: At 29, you are a mother, a designer and also socially committed. How do you manage to reconcile everything?
RE: Sometimes it’s quite a lot! I have a lot of energy, ambition and stamina. I used to play competitive tennis. I would say that I am super organized. With three children, you don’t have time to spend a month on designs. I had my collection in my head and on paper within a week. I think about what and how when I’m traveling by car or public transport. Sometimes even at night, so that I know exactly what I have to do the next day. It has happened and still happens that I work late into the night. Everyone asks me how I manage with children. It’s all a question of
organization and the will.
Q: Do you find it easier to live like this in Berlin than in Switzerland?
RE: Eight years ago, I just wanted to get away – away from the boring village to the big city. As a Swiss, everything was cheap in Berlin. I was able to live here on my savings for four years without a job. In the meantime, food has become much more expensive and rents have risen rapidly. What is much better in Berlin is the state-funded childcare and family support. If I had stayed in Switzerland, I wouldn’t have any children now. I have to admit that there is a lot to be done in Switzerland in this respect.
Q: What do you miss about your old home?
RE: Many things… That’s also the reason why I’m moving back to Switzerland this year. The friendliness of the people. The good air and the much better weather. The winter months in Berlin are tough. Sometimes the sky is only gray for months and the sun doesn’t show up at all. Of course, I also miss Swiss foods such as cheese, dairy products and chocolate. What I also really missed was Swiss television. I am a sports enthusiast and a fanatical Roger Federer fan, but unfortunately I was unable to watch almost any of it on German TV.
Q: What do you struggle with most in Berlin as a Swiss woman?
RE: With the Berlin snout. There are so many unfriendly and ill-mannered people who don’t even bother to stand up when you’re heavily pregnant on the subway.
Q: What does Berlin have that cities in Switzerland don’t?
RE: The always moving subway. (laughs) Berlin has an incredibly large and varied cultural offering, great museums and the so-called YORCK cinemas. Many movies that are broadcast there are never shown in Switzerland. What’s more, the nightlife here is truly unique. No city in Switzerland can compete with that.
Q: What do you want to achieve with your label?
RE: I want to promote conscious consumption with my label. My label should give people the feeling that they are doing good by buying fashion. My aim is to be able to donate a sum through the sale of my collection and thus support a charity organization.
Q: How does the fashion industry challenge you?
RE: I have a hard time with fast fashion. For me, the fashion cycles don’t really make sense. At the end of the winter collection, designs for the summer collection are already being drawn. Spring collections are already being delivered in January. At this time of year in freezing cold Berlin, I’m thinking about buying a warmer winter jacket to wear until May. The winter collection is sent out in August or September. This time difference and the large amount of advance production cause me problems. I don’t want to conform to fast fashion. One collection per year, covering summer and winter, is enough.
Q: What is the best thing about being a designer? And the hardest part?
RE: The job as a designer is very varied and exciting. Every season, you get new inspiration and develop something new. There is no monotony. At the end of the day, I can see what I have created – be it designs or a finished garment. The difficult thing is that the job involves a lot of overtime, which is also unpaid. Many people don’t understand how many hours of work go into a collection. It’s also difficult to switch off as a designer. You think about the collection day and night, seven days a week.
Q: What fashion do you wear yourself?
RE: I would describe my style as sporty and elegant with slightly rebellious tendencies. I often combine different Lala Berlin pieces, be it colorful printed blouses, knitted sweaters or coats with basic garments such as jeans.
Q: Is it even possible to dress fashionably without having a guilty conscience?
RE: That’s a difficult question. The layman often does not know how much effort and cost is behind an item of clothing. Many people simply don’t even think about the conditions under which a bargain was produced for 5 euros. If I were to shop at Primark with my knowledge, it would not be ethically justifiable for me. That’s why I call on you to simply take a conscious look at what you actually consume every day. It’s better to spend more money and support quality and honest work. Flea markets can also be an option for small budgets. There are always hidden treasures of long-lasting, good quality clothing. At the end of the day, however, everyone has to agree with their own conscience how they want to dress.
Q: What gives you sleepless nights?
RE: Sick children give me sleepless nights. But working on a new collection can also cause sleepless nights. I often come up with new ideas in my sleep, which I wake up and think about for a few hours. Dream ideas are usually the best. But when a collection is finished, I sleep like a rock.
Q: How do you save the world?
RE: Unfortunately, I alone cannot save the world. However, I would like to make a contribution to ensuring that we act more consciously again and treat our planet more sustainably and respectfully.
Q: What are we doing wrong?
RE: We are too often only concerned with ourselves and are not interested in how others are doing. In Switzerland and Germany in particular, there is a certain self-image of prosperity in which many things that happen and prevail in the world are simply ignored.
Q: What should the future look like?
RE: In my opinion, there should be a rethink in the fashion industry, as in many other sectors. In the fashion world, away from fast fashion and mass wastage of clothes towards sustainable production that is ethically justifiable. In addition, large fashion companies should take responsibility, set an example and reinvest the millions in sales in a meaningful way, more frequently and more strongly in the form of donations, involvement in social projects or quite simply by creating good and fair working conditions.
