Heicho: "Handcraft​ed is in"

INTERVIEW_ On our quest for unusual, innovative brands, FashionUnited came across a company based in Bern, Switzerland that banks on individuality. And Heicho is not your average Swiss business because instead of mass market products, you'll find affordable pieces here that are one of a kind. After all, 'everybody is unique and thus deserves to get something unique as well' is Heicho's motto. In addition, the company wants to bring the production of fashion items and accessoires back to Switzerland.

 

Upcycling and bespoke jeans made in Switzerland

The cozy store in Bern - a basement boutique so typical of the city - thus offers made-to-measure jeans and handbags made of a variety of materials (e.g. cycle or tractor tires) accessories and gifts that come straight from the heart – Heicho means 'coming home' in Swiss German. "Our customers are supposed to feel comfortable," explains CEO Mike Carton in an interview with FashionUnited. "We address most of them by name. Heicho is not a big company but a nice, quaint store that is a platform for Swiss designers and cute products."

The brand with the smiling giraffe logo (built out of the different letters) initially produced in Asia but switched after a few (frustrating) years to domestic production to achieve the right kind of quality and quantity. In December of 2013/early 2014, Heicho was looking for its own tailor and soon found someone so that now, everything is 'gmacht z' Bärn' (made in Bern).

"Christine, our tailer, loves her work because she is involved in the whole process. For now, we're fine with one tailor because we want to grow organically. What is the point of growing quickly when one can't keep up any more in a few years time? We have a different growth strategy for 2015," says Mike.

Heicho supports Swiss design and products

And part of this growth strategy is to continue supporting products "made in Switzerland". "We are planning how to implement this because it is not easy to establish in Switzerland. The whole industry is migrating and we are swimming against the tide. But: the production in Switzerland is very creative and through our work, we want to create a butterfly effect and boost Switzerland as a manufacturing location," states Mike.

"Our products have to be handmade, so we thought 'why not do this across different regions' and approached Swiss designers. Ninety percent responded by saying 'super, super, super' and showed us their wares. We don't charge them for displaying their merchandise; the retail space is free and we only charge a fee once an article has been sold. Pascale who is part of the Heicho team recently had another idea, so two weeks ago we announced a prize for creative design and now we're getting one or two parcels with exciting creations almost every day."

Looks like Christmas arrived early for Heicho this year? "Exactly" laughs Mike. "We're getting the whole spectrum - from tiny creations to antiques that got a new lease of life. Even here, we're swimming against the tide as the trend is often to throw away instead of getting something fixed."

Unfortunately, this is even true in the fashion industry where consumers prefer to buy new (and cheap) clothes for variety sake even if they fall apart after wearing them only once rather than investing in lasting pieces.

"Made in Europe" is becoming a trend

"There is a trend to bring manufacturing back to Europe, which is a start. For me, there are two sides to it: production and the end consumer. Production is becoming cheaper and cheaper because customers constantly expect discounts. On the other hand, the quality suffers and customers actually pay more in the long run because they have to keep buying new things. So actually they are taken for a ride without realizing it. Other than maybe the media uncovering certain practices."

Mike explains Heicho's production process for their jeans: "We use organic cotton that has to be certified. There are agencies out there that monitor this. We are setting a high standard and we want to maintain it. Our cotton comes from Turkey, India and China as cotton is not (yet) cultivated in Switzerland. We deliberately picked more than one source because we did not want to depend on only one supplier. "

The jeans are 100 percent made at the location at Marktgasse in Bern. After meeting the customer, Christine, the tailor, gets to work and creates the jeans according to a template. In the future, Heicho plans to experiments with different materials as well.

"There are other guidelines according to which one can use hemp or linen as well. We have contacted a company in Zurich, Gebrüder Freitag, who make these kinds of jeans. So far, we've only sold one pair of hemp pants as people want jeans made out of 'real' denim. But that doesn't matter, somebody has to start the rethinking process."

Rethinking and creativity are key for Heicho

And rethinking is what led to the foundation of Heicho: The initial idea was to open a basement boutique for fashion, light and art. "Back then, we just started with jeans and homemade lamps. Initially, we didn't know how huge the jeans market is but then we focused on jeans, fashion, accessories and bags," remembers Mike.

And Heicho did not want to produce any kind of jeans but those that fit really well. Thus, the idea of bespoke jeans was born and Heicho had them made by two suppliers in Asia. But Mike wasn't happy with the kind of quality he was getting at a price of 149 Swiss francs (around 154 US dollars) and decided on the current model after some research. Today, a tailormade pair of jeans costs 250 Swiss francs (around 258 US dollars) and includes individual fit and intricate detailing. "We wanted to try something new that can be sold at a fair price", says Mike.

Do the end consumers really care where their clothes come from? "At the moment, Swiss consumers only care when it comes to jeans and food. Here, they prefer to buy regional products, especially meat, fruits and vegetables, and are ready to spend more on them. A certain amount of rethinking has already happened, if only to a small extent."

Mike points to the roots of the current dilemma that lets customers constantly ask for discounts and sales, namely the liberalization of sales in 1995. Before that, sales periods were limited by law to twice a year for 14 days, when seasons changed to clear old stock. This law was abolished and since then it's been all downhill according to Mike. "Customers expect discounts and retailers make everything more expensive at first to be able to offer discounts later," he explains a popular method.

What is his answer to customers who come into the Heicho store, commenting that everything is 'too expensive'? "I refer to the legal minimum wage that we pay our tailor and that stops the questions for a while," he says. "Then I add that the customers earn more than the legal minimum wage and thus could afford to buy the products but that they're not ready to spend more."

Customers accept that articles can be out of stock at Heicho. After all, they know that they're buying one-of-a-kind items that may come in again or may not because they're made out of old books, recycled leather or old canvas covers.

The personal touch is imporant for Heicho and visitors to the website can see that when watching the videos where staff members introduce themselves in Swiss German. "The feedback has been great. We want to stir emotions and customers like that", explains Mike.

And just like in fast fashion stores, customers peek in every two weeks to see what's new. The difference is though that here, everything is lovingly made by hand by local crafsmen and -women, often from recycled materials. "Handcrafted is no longer oldfashioned but absolutely in!" confirms Mike. Plus, the designers determine what's part of the program and Heicho makes sure that it's a healthy mix of different things. And that's a really innovative concept.

Photos: courtesy of Heicho and Hansueli Schärer Fotografie