1. Who is David Henze?
Originally from Berlin, where I spend my childhood growing up in the communist east part of the city, I came to London in the mid-2000s to study for a business degree. After working for several years in various jobs in fashion show production and fashion sales, I made the decision to study pattern cutting.
My design influences are coming from the vibrant art and music scene that Berlin and London have to offer. In particular, the counter-culture of the electronic music and fetish clubs. Therefore the style of Dhenze is more on the darker pallet and almost Goth one could say.
2. Why did you decide to become a Designer and, in particular, what means DHENZE for you?
On the back of my mind, I always wanted to design fashion and from an early age on expressed myself through the way I dressed.
Not being brave enough to follow my instinct right away and study for a degree in fashion, I felt the need to gain experience in other areas first, but eventually took the first steps to set up Dhenze.
3. What are the inspirations for the Kollektion 4?
Dhenze always tries to push boundaries in designing pieces that won’t go “out of fashion” in just 6 months. For Kollektion 04, one of the main influences is the 90s techno scene in Berlin where I spend my teen-hood sneaking into clubs at the age of just 16 years and dancing all night to the heavy beats blasting out of big speakers.
The opening scene of the now infamous film Blade was a huge driver and part of the mood board in our studio. The aim was to create pieces that are easily wearable and have durability.
We used fabrics such as traditional waxed cotton from a mill in Northern Ireland which has been operating for over 200 years, but also more futuristic fabrics such as transparent PVC along with jerseys and mesh.
Through the fabrics and colours we used along with the designs of each piece I wanted to express the current mood and political climate that is felt when absorbing the news and social media. The German word “Weltschmerz” describes this best.
Weltschmerz, a term denoting the kind of feeling experienced by someone who believes that physical reality can never satisfy the demands of the mind.
DHENZE presents: Weltschmerz
A film by Artem Krasnikov for Kollektion 04
4. What is the future of fashion for you?
To me the future of fashion lies in preserving craftsmanship while pushing forward technology and innovation further to create sustainable and unique pieces that won’t go out of fashion easily and be enjoyed by the wearer for many years to come.
This of course is only possible if we as society change our consumer behavior and buy more consciously rather than mass consume.
5. Where you see the brand in the next 5 years?
Over the next years we would like to expand the collections accessories’ offering for shoes and bags and expanding the network of retailers we sell our collections through. Eventually setting up a the first Dhenze store.
