Fashion
understand the history behind
UMASAN. First I was curious about
the name UMASAN. The brand
name is defined as, “The
deeper meaning of “UMASAN”
is coming from UMA – mother
of life/divine mother (the
Great Goddess of Indian
mythology) and SAN –
is the meaning of unity
and respect.”
When asked about the
history of how they got
started on their careers in
fashion, this is what Sandra
had to say, “We are twins,
so we do everything
together. We are identical
twins who are identically
fascinated with the world of
art, literature, eastern
philosophy, traditional yoga and
a higher consciousness. Anja went
on to study Fashion Design at the
AMD Munich at the age of 23 with
vision to become a designer in the
high end avant-garde world of
fashion, working successfully for
Strenesse, Wunderkind and most
impressively Yohji Yamamoto in
Paris and Tokyo. I decided to
follow my passion for visual
Art and Media and became a
well-known photographer
(published in Vogue, Gala,
Bunte and many more)
working as an artistic/
creative director for
many forward thinking
global projects.
I was so close to her that I became
part of it as well. We always
worked together. Anja first started
a label with another partner, but
that didn’t work out, so we
gravitated back to each other.
We have a deeper trust and
understanding, which makes
everything easier.”
Twins have unique
relationships and I was
curious to understand how
they work together. Here is
what Sandra said about her
and Anja’s working
relationship, “Working with
my twin sister... it’s quite
special but really easy at the
same time. We can totally
trust each other, understand
and more over communicate
without words. We have a call
maybe five times a day, if we do
not see each other, but actually
we are always in the mind of
the other. We enjoy working
together but it’s not so easy
for our team... they do not
understand what’s the matter when
we communicate without words.
We have a clear definition of what is
the part of Anja’s and my work. Anja
is doing the Design and Production
Management and myself doing
Marketing/PR and Sales, but Anja
would never bring out one style
without my commitment.
Finally we are so happy to have each
other and to be working together.”
What matters to them most is
their message. “We have something
to say and fashion is for us the tool
to communicate this message.
Don’t think we are artists, we are
speakers.” When it comes to their
long-term goals as fashion designers
Sandra says, “We don’t want to
be just a niche label, and hope to
communicate our message globally
and inspire others to follow in
our footsteps when it comes to
sustainability.” To aspiring fashion
designers she says, “Believe in your
dreams... your dreams can come
true, if you have the courage to
pursue them.”
Here are some of the highlights
from the rest of our interview:
Sherrie: What does fashion
mean to you?
Sandra: Our demand and at the
same time our motivation was
to create something new which
goes far beyond the production
of clothing and establishment of
a fashion brand. As innovation in
the fashion industry also means
to correct luxury mistakes, to
re-define collective values and
to increase individual values. This
was reason enough for us to found
UMASAN in 2010.
Sherrie: How would you define
your (and Anja’s) personal style?
Sandra: Connection of western
modernism with the traditional
wisdom of the Far East. Aiming
at no style or trend as well as no
category to fit in... just to unfold
an own dynamic and aesthetic. We
like to break through boundaries
of beauty dogmas and invites our
followers to a shift in paradigm, social
responsibility and true individuality.
Sherrie: How would you define
Berlin’s fashion scene?
Sandra: A little like the 80s I would
say. Colorful, individual and maybe
kind of shrill.
Sherrie: Tell us about your design
process. How long does it usually
take you to construct a piece? Do