Sandra‘s Closet

Sandra’s Closet is very proud to be the first one to announce the launch of the new Swiss based label “BRAND OF SISTERS“. The entire project is the brainchild of two visionaries, Martina Vondruska and Barbara Portaluri.

Martina Vondruska and Barbara Portaluri

The two brunettes had a fantastic idea, merging a fashion label with a social enterprise. The shared vision of the two founders is to combine the world of luxury together with the rough reality of most of the less fortunate «Sisters» around the world.

HALF OF EVERYTHING THEY MAKE GOES TO SUPPORT GIRLS AND WOMEN’S CAUSES AROUND THE WORLD. THAT IS 50 % STRAIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE AND THE PROMISE THEY MAKE.

Brand of Sisters‘ first non-governmental organization (NGO) partner is Girl Rising – a global campaign for the improvement of girl’s lives through the power of education. Let’s believe in sisterhood where giving back and making a difference and caring for each other all come together. Shopping and helping others in one, what could be better, ladies?! So let’s have a look at what Brand of Sisters has to offer.

The new label invites the most desirable established and emerging designers to produce beautiful, unique and highly covetable pieces for their collections, launching their line with an iconic debut scarves collection from Italian designer Gabriele Colangelo.

Gabriele Colangelo with me

Some of you might remember his innovative designs from a previous post when Gabriele came to Switzerland for the opening night of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Days Zurich 2013.

The first collection of 15 scarves is now available online HERE. Here are some of my favorites:

Scarf «Jason Martin»

Scarf «Fog in the Woods»

Scarf «City Lights»

Brand of Sisters believes in sisterhood where giving back and making a difference and caring for each other all come together. So let’s help them to make this great idea a huge success! Enjoy your virtual shopping spree and share their wonderful website and their powerful message.

Happy Thoughts Sisters!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Brands of Sisters/ © Daniel Reiter, © Sandra Bauknecht

Last Wednesday, the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Days Zurich 2013 officially started with the opening gala. More than 26 designers from America, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and Switzerland presented their collections from November 13 – 16, 2013 at the Schiffbau in Zurich.

I started the night with an event for American Express Centurion where I gave the exclusive clientele an insight into the world of fashion and catwalk shows. Before the runway presentations started, we enjoyed a gorgeous dinner in the VIP tent, prepared by no other than Frank Widmer from the Park Hyatt, one of the official partners of the MBFDZ.

The first designer to present that night was Gabriele Colangelo, who is said to probably succeed Jil Sander after her  recently-announced departure from her namesake label. The charming Italian, who had worked for Roberto Cavalli and Versace, has a minimalist aesthetic which could be quite a nice fit for Jil Sander. For this season, he was inspired by Japan, Samurai trousers and sandals. If you look close, his devotion to texture can be seen in many details.

Gabriele Colangelo with me backstage

The Swiss designers Eliane Diethelm and Joanna Skoczylas presented their bridal collection LBD White, romantic creations for the most beautiful day in your life.

Polish designer Maciej Zień launched his first collection at the age of 17 and has made a brilliant career during the last 15 years. In Zurich, he presented his S/S 2014 collection with interesting details that showed a lot of skin.

The German twins Daniela and Annette Felder who are based in London immersed the Swiss fashion crowd in a watery-themed S/S 2014 collection for their eponymous label Felder Felder. Models appeared on the runway with damp skin and slicked-back hair giving the impression they had just emerged from the waves.

The Felder twins with me and below with Lena Gercke.

It was a great night and I had a lot of fun. Stay tuned for the upcoming posts about the other three events.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht, © Mercedes-Benz Fashion Days Zurich,
A huge thank you to © Andrea Monica Hug and © David Biedert for those lovely pictures of me