At home in the studioMarion Strehlow

Marion Strehlow never planned her life as a fashion designer. "It just happened that way," says the 46-year-old. Then she tilts her head a little, thinks for a moment and finally adds: "But how it really happened, I don't really remember." One thing led to another: A-levels, training as a seamstress, fashion school - and then the step towards self-employment was taken. The self-confident woman founded her own label strehlow 18 years ago and has been developing her collections ever since. But without ever being finished. "Because a collection is always a snapshot of where I am at the moment."

It is still cold and grey outside when DeinNRW visits Marion Strehlow for the first time in her studio in the Oberbilk district of Düsseldorf, an unassuming ground floor flat in one of the many spacious old buildings here. The first thing we do is warm up with hot tea. Dozens of varieties with names such as "Be Happy", "Good Morning", "Keep Calm", lime & ginger are lined up on the narrow shelf above the small kitchenette. Or would you prefer coffee? Not from the machine. Marion brews it fresh. So we get to choose before we take a seat between the four large clothes racks with their unusual trousers, blouses and coats in her cosy eat-in kitchen. At first glance, everything here seems a little improvised. No. Wrong. Uncomplicated is more like it. And above all warm. Just like Marion Strehlow herself.

At the moment, the woman dressed all in black is a little nervous. After all, it is currently being decided whether "The NRW Design Issue" (TNRWDI) will be continued next year and continue to be funded by the state. "That would be a huge opportunity for us," says Marion Strehlow, and you can see in her alert eyes how passionately she fights for her industry. At the end of January, TNRWDI offered six fashion designers from North Rhine-Westphalia the opportunity to present their collections to a broad public. The Düsseldorf-based designer was one of them. And she would like to see "more happening in this direction and better support for young talent". After all, it works really well in the art scene, while "hardly any of the fashion school graduates stay in the state".

During our first visit, she literally gushes. At the time, she was thinking aloud about what the tour could look like. Which of her colleagues who have recently settled in the city with their small, fine fashion labels could be there and open their studios to the guests? "There's a really great hat designer in Düsseldorf. That would also be a great address," she says spontaneously. The two know each other well and like each other. Because the cohesion in the scene ("unfortunately there are only very few designers with their own label in Düsseldorf") is great, the interaction with each other is characterised by cordiality instead of competition.

"Behind the Scene" is therefore not only an experiment for everyone involved, but above all a huge opportunity.

Marion already has an unusual venue in mind for the evening dinner. "But perhaps we could also include an exhibition in the programme." And so it goes on and on. The plan matures - until it is actually put into practice for the first time just a few months later. With success. Because from the very beginning, the most important thing for the bustling Düsseldorf native was that people would get to talk to each other, that they would get to know her craft and that she could pass on a little of her own enthusiasm for her profession to others. And by the way, anyone who spontaneously falls in love with a designer piece on the tour can of course buy it straight away and take it home with them. That's exactly how it happened.

Marion lives for her profession. The tremendous enthusiasm with which she goes about her work in her studio can be felt in almost every sentence. At the large cutting table in the workshop, with piles of fabric and seemingly disorganised patterns and designs lying around, she remembers her beginnings. During her studies, she was given the opportunity to sell her collection at ELA selected ("an international luminary") in Düsseldorf.

"I almost earned more money back then than I do now," she says and has to laugh herself. Suddenly, she remembers the story of a customer she met in a shoe shop back then who wanted the dress Strehlow was wearing. "But it only happened that one time," she says today, amused by her panic at the time. "I didn't know what to say." So she simply quoted a price (which was quite high for her at the time) - and the customer paid. The lady has remained loyal to Strehlow to this day. Just like most of the customers who come to one of her fashion shows or visit her at the ladies' salon, which takes place "at regular intervals" in her studio. "It's a bit like a birthday party," Marion enthuses. And it's not hard to imagine how a nice group of people get chatting here in her cosy "living room kitchen" between the clothes racks and sewing machines, a bottle or two of champagne is opened and the small hallway is quickly converted into a changing room.

One person who is always there when Marion Strehlow presents her fashion not in the studio but at public appearances, such as recently at the Fashion Düsseldorf platform as part of the TNRWDI_ CATWALK, is her best friend. The handsome hairdresser Marc Booten then models for her, "because male models aren't usually booked for the shows," regrets the designer, whose collection largely includes unisex pieces. Such as the high-cut, black and brown trousers with the double waistband, which are currently Marion's absolute favourite. But overalls, dresses with playful ruffles and blouses with innovative cutting techniques and dark, earthy colours are also part of the strehlow label, which the eponym herself sets the highest standards for. All the pieces in her collection must not only be wearable, but must also be able to be worn often and for a long time. And that is why no trousers, blouse, coat or bag leaves the studio in Oberbilk unless the designer has already worn her design herself. But how does a design come about? "It usually happens very quickly at the beginning," says Marion, pointing to her drawings once again. Patterns then have to be worked out and fabrics cut before the trained seamstress finally sits down at the sewing machine and is happy to let people look over her shoulder. "Behind the scene", in other words.