Adidas’ Debut Jewellery Line with Perbandt x Marquardt

For a Berlin Exclusive collaboration, Adidas has teamed up with Esther Perbandt and Sven Marquardt, for whom Berlin is a term too small to grasp their artistic outlet but still, no one else could embody the city in all of its facets better than this duo. Both born in Berlin, in the east and west part respectively, they’ve always had their own approach to the sneaker brand, reinterpreting sportswear and mixing it with their personal style. This translates to tracksuit pants paired with cowboy boots and long shoe laces tied up to the knees. As a way for their personalities to come alive in the collaboration, the Berlin Exclusive collection consists of jewellery, something that is already deeply rooted in both their identities and is now creating a symbiosis of Adidas’s, Perbandt’s and Marquardt’s worlds.

SLEEK: Jewellery has a deeply rooted meaning in different cultures. When looking at you both, one immediately can detect the importance of accessorising your bodies. What meaning does jewellery hold for you?

Esther Perbandt: I always say that jewellery is almost like my second skin and every time I’m not wearing any, I feel naked. Like clothing, it is a way to express my identity and the way I want more from life. As part of my own culture, a piece of jewellery taken away from me is like a piece of my identity being gone.

Sven Marquardt: In a way, jewellery can also be armour or just something you want to present to the outer world. Throughout history, it continuously changed its meaning around the context. When people today ask me where my rings are from, I realize, with all my silver jewellery, you can see the traces of usage during time and some bracelets won’t even come off anymore. I’m fascinated by the timeless concept of adding new jewellery to my already existing pieces that I’ve had for years.

S: Do you have a specific jewellery piece that has a special story to it?

SM: I think that all pieces have something protective to them. There’s the kind of ritual of putting them on every day.

EP: Generally, all pieces have a story, most of my jewellery I just got myself. But now that you’ve mentioned the protective sentiment of jewellery, I have this one bat necklace that you can barely see. I always have it on me, even at night as it is kind of like a lucky charm to me. My best friend and her partner gifted it to me at the beginning of my crazy story with Making the Cut and since then it just feels weird to take it off.

SM: This anecdote can be transferred to so many personal relationships with jewellery. The model at our fitting had her grandmother’s necklace that she looked for in full panic after the shoot which proofs that everyone, even those who only wear little jewellery, have their own story to something they wear.

S: Now, you both have a collaboration with Adidas which incorporates jewellery. How much of your own DNA is part of this creative symbiosis?

EP: At first, we both got the inquiry from Adidas separately and were excited but at that point we didn’t know yet where this collaboration will be heading to. We looked at something that could be a compromise between our design languages and was able to stand on its own. Since Adidas has never done jewellery before, it seemed like a good choice. 

S: What did the whole creative and design process behind the collaboration look like?

SM: We met a couple of times starting in April this year but then also parted ways in our creative process. I am not a designer and Esther isn’t a photographer, we brainstormed a lot in which direction the collaboration can head to. Esther started with her own team and I was thinking about where to shoot. Earlier on this year I was in Iceland, walking by the volcano landscapes which immediately reminded me of Esther’s designs, so I held on to the idea of shooting the jewellery there.

EP: It was clear from the beginning that Sven and I had our own spaces, he does his own photography and I am not getting in the way of that. Still, it is our joined project. While designing, I kept in mind that it had to be heavy jewellery since we both only wear statement pieces. But having been in the business for a while, I also learned to design something for a broader audience and not only the heavy pieces I like.

SM:  Everything was a process. When Esther added the knot in her designs of the jewellery, the two brands could be connected; it all made sense and created a beautiful picture.

S: When working together or being together, what do you cherish about one another?

EP: We are both very strong characters who know what we want. What I cherish about Sven, is that he is the biggest fashionista that I know. He is always the first one who knows about all of the shows and which designer did what, kind of like my eyes to the outer world. I really admire his sense for knowing trends and seeing them. Of course, also his photography which is so timeless and has something mystical about it.

SM: For my part, I admire Esther leading her own business and the development of it throughout the years. Even in the beginning, her designs were androgynous and breaking up traditional gender norms, being ahead of her time. Recently, I could see how fittings go with Esther and everything that went into that has made me appreciate her work in a new way. On that evening, I texted her that she leads her business so beautifully, always maintaining a nice environment even in stressful situations.

S: If there was a main theme for this collaboration with Adidas, what would that be called?

EP: I guess it would just be Berlin. We were both born in Berlin but grew up in different countries, since Sven is from the East and I was raised in the West. But we both also work very internationally and it feels like everyone everywhere is pulling us away from Berlin.

SM: We both were worried in the beginning that this project wouldn’t be as free as we wanted to but with Laura who lead this project from Adidas’ side, it all felt very free. But I think that Berlin as a topic for our collaboration is already kind of boring and worn off. Also this East-West topic feels out of place for this collaboration, even though reminding of history is still important.

S: What evokes feelings of happiness for you?

SM: Projects and everything that is born from my ideas is filling me with happiness. Every time when I am on travels, it all has something to do with pictures, even just me simply laying an eye on something. Moments like these make me happy.

EP: I am also feeling the same. Just now, I received the financial support for the Berlin Fashion Week for which I have to be creating something in a six weeks time. Sometimes, I start questioning myself on why I do such things that take up so much of my energy but I just have to do these projects because touching other people and inspiring them is truly a moment of happiness for me.

The limited adidas x Perbandt x Marquardt jewellery collection will be available from the 10th of December at Adidas Originals Flagship Store Berlin, Münzstraße 13-15.