profile

Born in Salzburg/ Austria, Edwina Hörl is a self-taught fashion designer.

In 1990 she was the first recipient of the award for experimental fashion design, presented by the Austrian Ministry of Cultural Affairs. Edwina Hörl worked for Yohji Yamamoto in Tokyo from 1990 to 1993, before launching her eponymous unisex label in Vienna in 1996.

In 2000 she moved her studio to Tokyo, and from 2004 started working with graphic design studio so+ba, creating artistic projects around complex conceptual collections.

Hörl creates fashion collections on specific themes, drawn from discussions about different cultures and societies, as well as sociopolitical discourses. This approach offers a strong message on what fashion is able to discuss, provoke and disrupt. These themes are presented in the publications of each collection, which include essays from various authors, to encourage deeper reflection.

Coupled with this artistic approach is Edwina Hörl´s philosophy on fashion design and craftsmanship. Her insistence on high quality materials and workmanship comes with the constant search for the perfect fit. For Hörl, this fit is genderless, ageless and sizeless. It is about developing contemporary and fluid shapes and silhouettes and also always optimizing a pleasant-to-wear sensation, which is unobtrusive yet strongly influenced by the specific mood of each collection.

In 2020, Edwina Hörl examined her own manufacturing processes and divided her collection into a group of standard, timeless models, and a group of exploratory models for the future: dauerbrenner «classics» and Edwina Hörl «brand new».

The collections and projects evolve with the help of her team.