The Berlin label Zodiaque Studios opened its first store in the German capital last week.
Designer Emily Renk began working on Zodiaque in 2020 while studying at the renowned Central Saint Martins University in London. A year later she founded the label and in the summer of 2022 she presented the first silk underwear collection during Fashion Week in Paris. The first Zodiaque store has now opened in Berlin Prenzlauer Berg, and the first swimwear and loungewear collections will follow in the course of the year.
The main focus of the label is on silk underwear that combines the aspects of comfort, sustainability and sexiness: “We have a holistic view of comfort – both with the aesthetics, the timeless design and the materials,” explains the founder in an interview with FashionUnited. “I worked on the pattern for two years with a designer from New York.”
The entire lingerie collection is made from Korean silk and produced by family businesses in Europe. For the upcoming swimwear line, the label is working with a green producer from Bali. The parts of the collection, named after the goddesses Venus and Athens, are characterized by a minimalist and elegant design – a ‘new sexiness’which attaches great importance to the interplay of comfort and sensuality.
Young label with big plans
Renk used to work as an art curator after studying art history and was most recently employed at the König Gallery in Berlin. Through her work in the fields of art, design and film, her designs are “particularly influenced by paintings and the muses of art history and contemporary art,” according to the opening statement.
“I never found underwear that I wanted to wear myself because it was either sustainable but not sexy, or the other way around. I wanted to change that and then combined it with art,” says Renk. “My muses and inspirations are the women I have around me every day and the ones I meet on the street”.
With a view to the future, the founder has big plans and wants to go beyond the German borders. Renk emphasizes that there is demand from Switzerland, France, Italy and the Scandinavian countries. “We definitely plan to open more stores, especially in Europe. At the moment we are also in a lot of talks with the USA, Asia and Arab countries. Let’s see which store will be next!”, says the founder about the further projects that she wants to carry out with her own funds.
According to experience, the label’s target group is women between 25 and 35 years of age. The price of the briefs starts at 80 euros, the non-wired bralette is available from 160 euros and the underwired bra from 180 euros.