Eva Gronbach


Eva Gronbach is a German fashion designer.

Life and career

Gronbach grew up in Germany‘s Rhineland, between Cologne and Bonn. After High-School she started out as a trainee ladies' tailor at Elly-Heuss-Knapp Schule in Düsseldorf before she studied at the Institut supérieur des arts visuels La Cambre in Brussels, Belgium. In 2000, Gronbach received a diploma in "Stylisme et Création de la Mode". As an exchange student at the Paris Institut Français de la Mode she received the Master of Arts. Gronbach lives in Berlin.

Engagement and Commissioned Work

During her studies, Gronbach worked for various designers like Stephen Jones, Yohji Yamamoto, John Galliano and Hermès. For the soccer World Cup 2006 she produced the official fan shirt on behalf of the initiative Deutschland – Land der Ideen, initiated by the Bundesregierung and the German industry, represented by the Federation of German Industries. In the same year, Gronbach designed a shoe collection for the sport shoe producer Möbus. In 2008, the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung contracted her for the design of accessories for the theater festival "ECHT! - Politik im freien Theater". At the same time, Gronbach was commissioned to design uniforms for the international hotel chain Novotel. She also created the "KölnShirt" in cooperation with Köln Tourismus, which is made of bio cotton and shows the cathedral in Cologne before nightfall.

Labels and Collections

Gronbach's collections with mostly linear cut and clear forms address current political and social issues such as national identity, femininity, and sustainability. Her work is sold in Europe, Asia, and the USA.
Gronbach has founded the labels "Eva Gronbach" and "german jeans". "german jeans" is a basic collection for women and men, offered next to her Couture collection "Eva Gronbach". "german jeans" is inspired by coal miners. The clothes are produced of used coal miners' work wear, which is grey-beige and has obvious stains. The brand mark of Gronbach is a stylized eagle, which is stamped with her name on many of her pieces.
The designer first gained international recognition in 2000 with her collection "Déclaration d’amour à l’Allemagne". The motif of the stylized eagle, the use of the Germany's national colors black, red and gold and of the letter "D" caused a sensation and evoked heated debates.

Exhibitions and Fashion Shows

Gronbach's work is presented internationally. Her fashion is shown at museums, fashion weeks, exhibitions, and public institutions. The designer has also worked as a curator for various institutions.
In 2003, she worked as guest curator for the exhibition "In. Femme Fashion – 1780-2004" at the Museum of Applied Arts Cologne. The subject was the modeling of femininity over time. Afterwards the museum decided to buy some pieces of Gronbach's collection.
In 2004, Gronbach presented her work at the Goethe-Institut in Berlin. A year later, she curated the exhibition "The Fashion Generation" for the Stadtmuseum Düsseldorf. For this exhibition Gronbach travelled to the world's most renowned art schools in over thirty countries and chose from fifty schools the most interesting ideas. The designer visited schools in Tokyo, New York, Paris, and London, but also schools in upcoming fashion cities like Ulan Bator in Mongolia, Tashkent in Uzbekistan, Cape Town, Dakar, Kingston in Jamaika, Caracas, Reykjavik, Shanghai, Auckland etc.
From 2008-2010, Gronbach had opened a fashion store in Cologne's hip Belgian quarter. In 2009, young Belgian designers were invited to present their work at this store for a few weeks. The goal of this event, organized together with the Belgian House in Cologne, was to deepen the relationship between Brussels and Cologne.
Single pieces of Gronbach's collection were bought by the Haus der Geschichte. They are presented at the museum in Bonn. The Museum of Industry in Dortmund bought some pieces of Gronbach's "german jeans" collection. In 2011, the Jewish Museum Berlin invited the artist to show her work from the past ten years at the exhibition "how german is it?". In 2012, Gronbach participated in the MANIFESTA 09 European Art Biennale.
In September 2015, Gronbach presents her work of the past 15 years at the show "Relight - Best of Eva Gronbach" in the context of the Futur25 Festival. The Futur25 Festival is organized by the Federal Agency for Civic Education and the Federal Ministry of the Interior in celebration of the 25th jubilee of the German unity. It takes place at Radialysystem V in Berlin.

Fashion Classes at Schools and Universities

Gronbach works with children and young adults. She initiates and teaches fashion design classes at schools in Germany. She also gives presentations at conferences, e.g. at the Berlin Academy of Arts and at "Kinder zum Olymp!" and participates in TV shows. Since May 2008, Gronbach is a guest lecturer at the Köln International School of Design. Focusing on transformation processes in fashion design she discusses the meaning of fashion with her students. In 2009, she led the designer workshops for students in the Ruhr area, sponsored by the region North Rhine-Westphalia. The developed designs were presented at RUHR.2010. Since 2014, Gronbach works as a lecturer at the international fashion school in Berlin.

Awards

In 2004, Gronbach received the "T-com inspire!" award for her collection "Déclaration d'amour à l'Allemagne".
In 2010, Gronbach's video was awarded with the GERMAN FASHION FILM AWARD in the category men's fashion.

Collections (excerpt)