German clothing brands

What German clothing brands are popular around the world, including here? What do you wear in Germany, apart from well-known German sports brands, for everyday life or for office work? What is the German style like? Today we continue the topic of brands and you might be surprised at how many popular brands are of German origin.

Karl Lagerfeld, the German-born fashion designer and founder of the fashion house, used to say, “Fashion is a game to be played seriously.” You already have an idea of many German companies in the fields of engineering, sports, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Today, we will find out how Germans dress and which brands they prefer.

If you ask any of us which brands of clothing and footwear from Germany we know, the most common answers are probably Adidas and Puma. People in Germany love sports and trust these brands in part because the Dassler brothers’ merch is popular not only in their country, but around the world. It should be noted that both brands have been in the market for over 100 years. A tribute to the German brands is also paid by the Germans’ neighbours, the Austrians. If Adidas produces football equipment for the Bundesstim, the Austrians have been producing Puma football jerseys for over 30 years.

But leaving the topic of sport aside, a question arises: apart from well-known sports brands, what do Germans wear in everyday life or for office work? How can they dress in the German way, in a practical and uncluttered way? Today, we want to introduce you to German clothing and footwear brands. We don’t want to cover every single German textile company, as that would take too much time, but we will try to give you a flavour of how people dress in modern Germany and which German clothes and footwear brands they prefer in their everyday wardrobe.

German brands for women

“What do women want?” – Mel Gibson’s character in the film of the same name kept asking himself this question. To begin with, German fashion brands that cater primarily to a female audience are a good place to start. After all, men are known to be visual lovers, so they prefer those ladies whose image will be the most eye-catching and stunning. And as the wisdom says, the first is met the way they dress.

Tom Tailor

At first glance it would seem that Tom Tailor is named after the UK or the US. However, the brand was founded in Hamburg, Germany. The company has been in the fashion market for almost 60 years and has established itself as a manufacturer of relatively inexpensive but high-quality and beautiful clothes. Today the company has over 100 shops on the domestic market, more than 300 franchisees abroad and 3 online shops in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.

The company has a total of 5 product lines, and the main contingent of the brand’s wearers are young ladies from 16 to 35 years old. However, products for the stronger sex are also available from this manufacturer. Despite the fact that the younger generation prefers overseas brands, Tom Tailor is also in demand among teenagers.

A Kind of Guise.

The prices of this brand are often only affordable for the very well-to-do. Its main feature is to focus exclusively on the domestic (German) market.

Boulezar

This brand can rightly be called the “German Paris”. If a German woman wants to add a touch of French elegance to her look, she will certainly choose this brand. Chic + quality and the image of a meticulous hunter-girl is ready.

Escada

This women’s clothing brand was launched in 1978 and is famous for its colour combinations, patterns and elegant knitwear designs. Today it is one of the most popular clothing brands among the ladies, who have gained worldwide recognition.

Felina

If the life of a modern German woman is linked to sport, for example, she will certainly turn her attention to Felina. If a German woman’s life is linked to sport, for example, she will certainly look to Felina. The brand’s main products are swimwear, which is popular with females of all ages.

Bruno Banani

When people talk about German lingerie, almost everyone without exception calls out Beate Uhse and they’d be right. But the German lingerie world is not just about Beate Uhse. The Bruno Banani makers were previously known for their eau de toilette. Despite its Italian name, the brand is still German. Today, in addition to perfume, it also produces high quality and reasonably priced lingerie.

Alba Moda

In Latin albus means “white”, that is literally the name of the brand name can be translated as “white fashion. The name Alba Moda is a German brand that is so popular it is all about understated elegance without a hint of British swagger. It’s a classic, classic style that allows women to choose clothes for any age.

Other popular everyday and reasonably priced brands in Germany include Klingel, Gerry Weber, Olsen and Jil Sander (which are also German).

What teenagers in Germany should wear

Although German teenagers are strictly into overseas brands, Germany has its own answer to The Atlantic. The English-speaking brand New Yorker has a home-grown, offbeat appeal for ages 12 to 40. The company will be 50 years old in 2021. It is headquartered in Braunschweig and its first German shop has opened in Flensburg in Schleswig-Holstein.

Flensburg is Germany’s ‘gateway to Scandinavia’, near the Danish border. The longest motorway in Germany (A7), at 965 km, also starts here and ends in Füssen, home to the famous Neuschwanstein castle.

Today, the company has more than 1,000 branches in 40 countries and employs almost 20,000 people. It is also a sponsor of break-dance tournaments.

Men’s fashion in Germany

It is important to any lady that the man of her dreams corresponds to her ideas as clearly as possible and is respected in society. Of course, finding the perfect life partner is difficult. But German men also know how to dress and look, and are always capable of making a good impression. What brands do German men look for?

Camel Active

The history of this brand is not exactly “healthy”: earlier this brand was the face of tobacco products Camel, which many people recognized by the image of a camel on the package of cigarettes.

The company later shifted its focus to clothing in order to move away from getting people hooked on bad habits. This included hats, shirts, jackets and retro military-style rucksacks. Natural fabrics, sufficiently deep pockets and non-marking sandy colours were the hallmarks of the brand. The clothes were so well established that they became part of the modern German’s lifestyle and over time became muss haben.

“Mein Name ist Boss. Hugo Boss!”

Arguably the most famous and popular German clothing brand amongst both men and the fairer sex. If ‘Agent 007’ had been born German, we could probably hear a completely different phrase from our TV screens.

Company founder Hugo Boss became notorious for joining the NSDAP and sewing uniforms for the SS and Wehrmacht with the hands of concentration camp prisoners. Despite such a sinister past, the company is now firmly established in the German and global markets, and will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2023!

In addition to branded merchandise, the manufacturer also produces name-brand perfumes ‘for him and for her’.

Falke

The hero of Leo Tolstoy’s novel War and Peace, Platon Karataev, always referred to soldiers in the Russian army as “Sokol”. “Sokol” – this is how the name of the brand, which has been sewing socks for men for over 100 years, is translated from German. Despite the rather high quality of the material, the price tag for Falcon socks ranges from $15 to $20 on the market. Now the competition for this brand is the American Burlington, the characteristic feature of which is the diamond pattern.

Bugatti

Although the first thing that comes to mind when mentioning this brand is related to the car industry, the clothing brand with the same name has nothing to do with it. The brand mostly features smart collections in keeping with German style and taste. Gore-Tex membrane jackets are very popular.

Eterna

“Eterna” is the Latin translation of the name of this German clothing brand. The brand is Europe’s largest producer of shirts based on Swiss materials. It has an annual circulation of over 3 million pieces. It is also very popular in Slovakia.

Schiesser

An uninformed person would probably read the name of the brand in English, which would cause a laugh from the German audience in the next moment, leading to a reference to one of the popular swear words in the German language. “Shooter”, not “asshole”, is the translation of the name of this brand of clothing in demand among both men and women in modern Germany. And you can read about German swear words in our other article.

The brand dates back to 1875, and for nearly a century and a half wearers have prized the brand for its simplicity, quality and ease of use.

Van Laack

As with Eterna, the Van Laack brand is all about making shirts. In terms of quality they are no worse than the other brands, but you should pay special attention to the buttons with three holes – a distinctive detail of this particular model.

Arqueonautas

The name of this brand is very consonant with the word “Argonautas”, which is derived from Greek mythology. The nautical theme has been the basis of the style since the very beginning. The brand has a distinctive nautical design, both in terms of colours and details. Hollywood actor Kevin Costner has been one of the faces of the company for years. The company donates €1 from each sale to a foundation dedicated to the preservation of the underwater world’s heritage.

Marc O´Polo

The roots of this German brand do not come from Italy but from Sweden, although associations with the name of the famous Italian navigator do beg to be mentioned. However, the brand’s headquarters and production facilities are located in Germany, where it has accounted for almost ¾ of all sales.

Digel

This brand is one of the most recognisable for its stylish and practical men’s suits.

Wellensteyn

Given Germany’s access to the sea, designing the right clothes for people working offshore, for example in the fishing industry, is important and much sought-after. Over 60 years ago, Adolf Wuttke, the brand’s founder, decided to make tailor-made clothing for the offshore sector which was both durable and multifunctional. The fabric for the jackets was heavy waxed canvas and was designed to withstand the rigours of the seas.

Today Wellensteyn has successfully established itself as a manufacturer of jackets that are in high demand by the general public. So if you suddenly decide to take a boat trip up north, Wellensteyn is the right choice. The brand is headquartered in Hamburg.

German footwear labels

Finally we would like to mention a couple of German footwear brands.

Salamander

The brainchild of shoemaker Jacob Siegle has been a fixture in the German footwear market for over 135 years. The company makes over 8m pairs of shoes a year, with turnover of almost $1bn. Apart from shoes, the brand also makes “shoe cosmetics” and develops PVC systems for windows and doors.

Rieker

One of the oldest shoe manufacturers dates back to 1874, founded by Karl Seitz and Heinrich Rieker. Since the brand originated in the Black Forest region on the border of Switzerland, the shoes were originally supplied to Switzerland and Italy for the Italian bourgeoisie. It’s worth noting that to this day the firm is still run by descendants of its founders. It was 50 years ago when the company changed its registered address in the Black Forest and settled in Switzerland. Today the company employs over 20,000 staff.

Instead of a conclusion

You’d probably like to hear more about German clothing and footwear brands, but we think we gave you a pretty good sense of what it’s all about. Among clothing brands, we can separately highlight couturiers like Dorothea Schumacher, Karl Lagerfeld, Eduard Dressler and others, and among shoe manufacturers, Thomas Münz, Marc Jacobs, Lloyd, Meindl and others.

And what brands other than the aforementioned do you know or maybe wear? Share in the comments!