It is a heart project of the Munich designers Adrian Runhof and Johnny Talbot.

A project they stuck to despite the difficult two years of the pandemic for the couture label.

"These were not easy times for us and for our employees," says Adrian Runhof.

"We are all the happier that we were able to realize the great result of two years of work."

Runhof and Talbot set up a sewing workshop with the Munich residential and cultural center "Bellevue di Monaco" - a social cooperative in Munich - in which refugee women sewed patchwork dresses from leftover fabric from the collection and found work in this way.

Patron is Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth.

“Fashion is much more than a piece of clothing.

It is a statement that connects people with different histories and origins and is a contribution to how our society should be: colorful, diverse and beautiful," says the Green politician.

The collection includes 40 models, each of which is elaborately made: gathered, patterned, embroidered and made from up to hundreds of small fabric rectangles.

Costume designer Kissi Baumann, who is in charge of the project, thought about how the leftover fabric could be arranged beforehand. The cuts came from Talbot Runhof's studio, and the models were tailored by the refugees Mariam Monga and Sedique Mousawi.

"I would not have believed that I would actually be able to see the clothes," says Mariam Monga at the presentation of the clothes, visibly touched.

The two women will soon have reinforcements in the sewing workshop: a Ukrainian will expand the “Bellevue Couture” team.

Talbot Runhof, who employ the seamstresses part-time, would like to gradually expand the project and hope that the individual pieces will sell well.

They will be available from May 12th at Talbot Runhof's Munich flagship store on Theatinerstrasse.

The models, which are available in sizes 32 to 46, cost between 1,300 and 10,000 euros.

“These are all handcrafted, unique items that take between two and four weeks to complete,” says Adrian Runhof, justifying the price.

In addition, the individual pieces are 100 percent sustainable, because an average of ten percent of the fabrics are left over per collection,

The continuation of the collaboration between Talbot Runhof and Bellevue Couture has already been secured: the Munich luxury label is taking on the stage design for the ballet piece "Giselle" at the Gärtnerplatztheater in Munich, which premieres in November.