Luxury fashion designer
The “Cashmere Queen”: Iris von Arnim celebrates her 80th birthday
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As a designer of elegant, casual knitwear, Iris von Arnim has been internationally successful for decades. Now she is 80 years old – but she doesn’t want to retire completely for a long time.
In fashion-interested circles it is a legend: out of boredom, the Munich woman Iris von Arnim knitted a casual sweater in rainbow colors when she was in the hospital for months after a car accident. With the model, which captured the unconventional zeitgeist of the 1970s, she was so well received by friends and acquaintances that she was asked to manage a boutique in Kampen on Sylt.
The young woman – a landowner’s daughter born in Silesia, rather poor and often living like a hippie – accepted. Under the condition that she can also offer her own creations there, which she has now had made at home. On January 25th, Iris von Arnim will be 80 years old – and can look back on a great career.
“Wild, crazy and creative”
The entrepreneur, who originally trained as a travel agent, founded her own shop in Hamburg in 1976. This soon evolved into something thanks to her knitting designs. Women’s clothing and later a men’s line, one of the few leading German fashion brands in the international luxury segment.
The noblewoman, also known as the “Cashmere Queen”, has been running the label with her son Valentin von Arnim (45) since 2009. The economist once described his mother as “wild, crazy and creative” in an interview with the “Hamburger Abendblatt”.
However, on her 80th birthday, the woman with the clear facial features and the striking mane of light hair will hand over her share of management. A successor has already been found.
Work and private life are closely linked
How does she feel about this – had there been repeated talk of plans to withdraw? “It’s not about withdrawing. I’m gradually moving from decision-maker to advisor, and I’m looking forward to that,” said von Arnim in an interview with the German Press Agency.
And adds: “Is it really possible to completely let go of something that you’ve been passionate about all your life? The company has been part of my life for 50 years. For me, work and private life are closely intertwined.” She already lived behind the sales floor in her first store on Hamburg’s Großneumarkt. “Carpet rolls were converted into shelves; people made do with what they had,” she describes her beginnings.
Today the founder still lives in her company’s house, in an airy apartment under the roof near the Outer Alster. “In the morning I take the elevator down one floor and stand in the middle of my design team, the knitters and the clothing department,” says von Arnim.
Due to the enormous change in commercial and social structures worldwide since she started, the still independent entrepreneur has had and still has to overcome considerable challenges.
“The fashion market has changed significantly since the 1980s. The competition has constantly grown and the influences of globalization have become stronger,” says von Arnim. “The number of my customers who sell luxury fashion in their own specialty stores has become smaller.” In her high-quality and durable collection, which she has made in Italy, “concentration and perfection” are becoming increasingly important.
Von Arnim is unlikely to be bored in the future either. In a dpa interview on her 70th birthday, she spoke of her joy in literature and music, meeting friends and social engagement in her free time – and of her favorite island, Sylt.
Shortly before her 80th, the designer doesn’t sound as if she primarily wants to pursue hobbies. “There are still goals and wishes that I would like to implement,” she says. “Tasks keep me young, I’m happy to be able to work with young people every day. I can pass on my experiences and learn different perspectives from my employees. I’m not planning anything beyond that yet. Everything in its own time.”
dpa
Source: Stern

I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.