Boris Herrmann: Now the sailor also designs fashion

Mister Herrmann, you have an exciting year of sailing ahead of you, including the non-stop regatta “Vendée Globe”. How excited are you about this?
An exciting year lies ahead for me and my team with three solo races: two Atlantic crossings in the spring and the Vendée Globe, which starts in November. Even as a teenager I had the dream of taking part.

What does the “Vendée Globe” particularly?
The regatta is considered the Everest of the seas: alone and non-stop around the world. It’s an enormous strain to struggle with storms, repairs and loneliness for months. But that’s precisely why it’s a unique adventure. This will be my second Vendée Globe, although during the last race I vowed never to take part again. But I am a competitor, I want to overcome challenges and do our best with my team. We’ve built a new boat with this race in mind, we’ve already sailed around the world twice in less than two years and now I can’t wait to set sail in the Southern Ocean again.

Recently they have also been sailing in other waters, namely the Fashion. You have designed a collection together with the Olymp brand. How did that happen?
The partnership began through our shared passion for sustainability. The owner Mark Bezner is an athlete himself. We got along well straight away. This gave rise to the idea of ​​developing a fashion collection that, from the fabric to the buttons, consists exclusively of natural materials and also corresponds to my style.

The collection only includes seven pieces. Why so few?
It is a capsule collection, i.e. a line of just a few pieces with neutral colors, all of which can be easily combined, are timeless and will be used for as long as possible. I like this because it is sustainable and corresponds to my principles, namely: making a lot out of a little.

Fashion is a way to express yourself, aesthetically but also politically.

Your sailing clothing is usually highly functional, it has to withstand all weather conditions. Why did you design fashion from natural fibers?
We want to show that it is possible to use natural materials, produce sustainably and still have high-performance products. When we built our racing yacht, we decided to replace certain parts of the boat with natural fibers such as flax. This means we have around 100 kilograms of natural material on board: the hatch covers, engine cover and even the floor panels. That’s only a small proportion, but you have to start with small steps, just like in fashion. There, too, there are still many stages in the production chain that could be made more sustainable. But if everyone takes small steps, the change will be big.

You spend a lot of time on the high seas. How do you experience ocean pollution?
I don’t sail through vast areas of trash, even though microplastics are widespread in the world’s oceans. Nevertheless, the consequences of the climate crisis are felt everywhere, even in the distant Southern Ocean. On board our racing yacht, we use a mini laboratory to measure, among other things, the CO2 content of the ocean. This helps researchers better understand how the ocean is threatening to lose its function as the Earth’s air conditioning system due to man-made CO2.

The fashion industry is considered one of the dirtiest in the world. How can you still make a statement for more sustainability with clothing?
Fashion is a way to express yourself, aesthetically but also politically. Every day you send a message with the clothes you wear. Some express it through the materials or production, others through slogans on their clothing, such as “There’s no Planet B” or “Act Now”. As Team Malizia, we carry our message on the sails of our racing yacht: “A Race We Must Win – Climate Action Now!” and the logo of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the United Nations’ sustainability goals. Both are signals for climate protection and the health of the ocean.

What is the most practical piece of clothing for a circumnavigation?
Sailing around the world means enduring all kinds of weather conditions. From the ice-cold Southern Ocean to the almost unbearable heat in the tropics, as well as facing the waves when changing a sail or checking something on deck. High-quality heavy-weather clothing is essential, such as my red oilskins.

Which items of clothing are essential for you – privately or professionally?
An overshirt! A shirt jacket made from slightly thicker material that looks smart and is very comfortable at the same time. I have one of these in dark blue and it accompanies me on every trip.