Pop-up at the Karstadt in Giessen: unworn eighties fashion and unique decorative items

DA young woman with brown curls and a shiny gold top takes a sky blue top off the rack, throws a floaty berry-red jacket over it and says with a laugh, “It looks great.” one possibility would be someone wearing a shirt that is advertised as sexy. Other: The item is old, from the eighties, but not worn. So unlike regular vintage fashion, it’s not second-hand, which is something Natalie Malik appreciates. She sells only eighties clothing, including thick lumberjack shirts, red fedoras and neon-colored suspenders, but especially shirts, blouses and trousers in the wild style of the era.

In fact, Malik makes money as a freelance singer, shuttling between Frankfurt and Cologne. But vintage fashion is, so to speak, in her blood. Her father ran a business and created things himself. After the store closed, the parts were packed and stored in the basement. Now she is offering her daughter again in Karstadt in Giessen, where the department store restaurant used to be. In collaboration with the cultural cooperative Raumstation3539, the management of Karstadt created an action area known in modern German as a pop-up store. The comrades approached dealers and artists and recruited them to participate in the project. They promise “special products from local creative professionals, surprise offers and services.” The whole thing operates under the name “Kaufhaus der Experimenten” and is initially limited until the end of the year.

Generation Z and the Eighties

“What Malik proposes is going well,” says Anna Waldorf. Generation Z loves the 80s. A few meters away from the eighties fashions displayed in the center of the square, an aspiring jeweler tends to the gold jewelry she and her boss Ilona Herbst have on display. silver and other materials. Your Werkladen19 is one of the few professional stores using a pop-up window. He only offers his own creations. In addition to the unique pieces they create themselves, jewelers also produce custom jewelry. “It still has some work to do,” Waldorf says. However, customers have already placed several orders and purchased the products.

Natalie Malik, on the other hand, says the pop-up store has been better received than expected. Tanja Herring goes even further: “Things are going very well for me,” says the Frankfurt-based tailor, who has already made a name for herself in the region as a “denim healer.” However, she also works at the Giessen City Theater. Repairing damaged clothes is part of their daily routine. Healing jeans fits well in the fair trade town of Giessen, where there are half a dozen sewing machines and an ironing board, she says. She offers upcycling and custom tailoring, remakes items based on customer requests, and offers unique backpacks for sale.

Backpack at customer’s request

While she explains her concept, the client wants to know more about the backpacks and how they are made. “You can also bring me your old jeans and sew a Stones tongue on them,” Herring says. “Wonderful,” the middle-aged woman replies and says goodbye. This may lead to an order. Herring already has other orders: all made to order.

Jewelry designer Nancy Castronovo from Herborn also wants to attract customers with unique pieces. What’s special: She makes jewelry from Westerwald wood, such as scraps. She saws them into slices, with nature being part of the design. A cut of a sycamore branch surprises with its leopard pattern, and the ice ash has waves. Upon entering the pop-up, Castronovo shows her making jewelry and her fashion video plays on the tablet. “I’m doing great,” she says.

But there are also complainers. The pensioner misses the restaurant. But a meeting point with culinary delights is approaching. A small temporary cafe and cocktail bar will open soon.