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Traditionally Modern The luxury Iabei Meindl- known for fine, handmade Ieder­hosen- and its CEO, Markus Meindl, deftly move between

alpine costumes and fashion, between city and country,

between tradition and modernity.

woRos Sonja Ragaller

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W hen he was only eight years old, Markus Meindl stitched hirnself a leather satchel for school. In alllikelihood, the result was extraordinary and

made the young lad stand out among his classmates. To­day, at age forty-four, the head of Meindl Fashions contin­ues to stand for new ideas, for modernism, for innovation, although or perhaps because he works - aml Jives - for one of Germany's best-known companies of tradition.

The urban country home Meindl built for his family near the Austrian border reftects his desire to blend modern and traditional. The minimalist house primarily makes use of natural materials, such as wood and leather, but also a Iot of glass and concrete, contrasring with the row of pictur­esque houses across the River Salzach, on the Austrian side.

The man's fervent passion for craftsmanship and natural materials is also at the core of the Meindl brand. Along with its traditional Iederhosen, the Bavarian family enter­prise has long built a multifacered portfolio of well-crafted leather garments.

The First Meindl Lederhosen

It all began when Lukas Meindl, a local cobbler in the idyl­lic village of Kirchanschöring in Upper Bavaria, tailored his first pair of Zederhosen in 1935. Even then, uncompro­mising quality and the highest form ofhandcraft were par­amount, an art form. The name Meindl dates back even farther, to the year 1683, when Petrus Meindl was officially documented as shoemaker. Markus Meindl is particularly proud of the long family tradition. After he graduated from high school, trained as garment engineer, and apprenticed as couturier, young Meindl didn't have to be asked twice to join the family company. On the contrary. "That has always been the matter of course for me," Meindl says. "I practically grew up in the company and have developed a passion for leather material and leather garments at a young age." His zeal for creating somcthing new comes from deep

within. He has always wanted to develop products he loved himself. Father Hannes Meindl gave Markus the creative freedom and the space to Iet his youthful zest ftourish. "lf I've learned one thing from him, it's his free-spiritedness. His honesty in working with the product. But also his hon­esty in leading his employees," Meindl says of his father.

At age seventy-four, Hannes is still actively involved in the company wherever an extra hand is needed, whether that's in sales, in production, or in design. The tradition­al embroidery, however, is Hannes's favorite component. Meindl Fashions is famous for its chamois-tanned buck­skin Iederhosen with lavish hand-embroidered motifs, espe­cially in the Alps, in Austria and southern Germany with their !arge festivals, such as the Oktoberfest in Munich. Up to sixty hours of manuallabor go into handcrafting a pair of Meindl Iederhosen. The work is partially done onsite by Meindl's 120 employees and partially at production sites in nearby European countries, such as Hungary or Croatia. "Every product is designed by us; the know-how all resides in-house," Markus Meindl says. "We have the most talent­ed team here, the most expensive equipment, and, most importantly, the shortest distances."

The advantages of in-house, local production are partic­ularly valuable in the developmcnt of new products. The Meindl company has long expanded from singularly spe­cializing in Zederhosen - albeit traditional alpine costumes are currently experiencing a revival among all ages. "Leder­hosen are not a trendy piece of fashion. They span the sea­sons and are not merely worn to folk festivals and special occasions," Meindl says. "Lederhosen afford reliability and a sense of security. They risc above time and represent a symbol against calamitous mass production and the con­sumer society."

The New Alpine Lifestyle

Meindl Fashions, with Meindl Jr. at the heim, embodies that pinpoint propensity for this sensibility, the Ionging for

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"Ciothing has to work for a meeting in the city but also be functional in the mountains and in the woods."

- Markus Memdl

tradition, and for significance. Markus has helped estab­lish the term "alpine Iifestyle" in tbe European Alps; at tbe very least be bas fueled it witb products tbat can be worn on tbe mountain and in tbe city: bigb-quality leatber jackets, blazers, sports coats, knickers. Twenty-four years old at tbe time, Meindl got bis breaktbrougb in 1994 witb tbe creation of a collection for tbe rebel folk singer- song­writer Hubert von Goisern. It cbarged tbe Iabel, tbe entire fasbion industry. A new, modern style conquered the world of traditional alpine garments and found a home at fasbion shows like Bread & Butter in Berlin. Meindl calls bis style "authentic Juxury" - his own language of design tbat de­rives from tbe combination of craftsmanship and tradition with modern fits and cuts. "Our products are autbentic yet also luxurious, because they can never be mass-pro­duced," says Meindl, wbo was on bis way to Florence to present bis new collection for tbe first time. After Flor­ence, be planned to introduce the fall collection in Berlin. "Out of season" is Meindl's motto. Transeending tbe sea­sons, Meindl garments can be worn in winter or on a cool summer nigbt, adding value to each piece.

His message rings true in a fashion world that increasingly appreciates value, sustainability, and timelessness.

Nevertheless, few people really know how multifacered Markus Meindl truly is. For instance, be designs and pro­duces functional and innovative motorsports clotbing in very limited editiom for RMW. His Jenher joclhpurs are worn at the Spanish Riding School as well as by mounted police in Germany. His cousins run tbe local shoe manu­factory, which makes quality mountain footwear and tra­ditional costume shoes. A diverse product portfolio has always been the brand's strengtb.

Country Refuge for an Urban Mountain Man

Quality Stands above all. Timelessness, longevity - and Meindl sought to embody tbese values in the design

and construction of his private home. "I've tbought long and bard about how I want to design tbe bouse," he says. "It was supposed to wirbstand time and still be as attrac­tive twenty years from now as it is today."

His friend Robert Blascbke of Raumbau Architekten in Salzburg, Austria, realized tbe project. Wood wberever you Iook, heated Swedish oak ftoors. Ceilings and walls are covered in 300-year-old oak wood reclaimed from Ba­varian barns. The 3.9-meter-bigh (almost 13 feet) ceiling in the living room and tbe ceiling in tbe spa are lined in wooden cubes. The same element serves as armoire and sbelving units in tbe living room and along the facade. The Jengtb of tbe pool - 16.83 meters (55 feet) - reflects tbe year the Meindl company was born; a wbimsical reference to tradition interrupted by modern elements. Tradition, lived modernly - that is Meindl's philosopby. "I grew up bere in the mountains. I respect the traditional way of life. I Iove simplicity, the value of things," Meindl says. "But I am not a conservative man. You bave to continue to de­velop tbings further, keep playing with things. Tbat's the only way tradition stands a chance of surviving over time."

Markus Meindl regards hirnself an "urban mountain man" wbo lives between the antithetical realms of an urban and a bucolic world. You work in the city du ring the week. And on weekends, you live in tbe mountains, where you go ski­ing, go biking. "Clotbing has to work for a meeting in tbe ciry bur also be functional in tbe mountains and in the woods. In all of life's circumstances. That's the language Meindl speaks most clearly." ~

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