A CONSTRUCTOR RATHER THAN A STYLIST: LEON EMANUEL BLANCK

Leon Emanuel Blanck launched his label in Germany in 2012 and presented his first archive collection, Anfractuous Distortion, for Autumn/Winter 2013. More than twenty-five seasons later, that name still describes his method: clothing that is bent, twisted and rebuilt until it follows the body rather than a flat pattern.

His references sit far from the usual fashion moodboard. Blanck has named H.R. Giger, whose work he first encountered through Alien as a child, and the designer Luigi Colani among his early influences. Both share an interest in organic, almost biological form, and both can be felt in the way his garments curve around the body.

ANFRACTUOUS DISTORTION: PATTERNS CUT FROM THE BODY

Blanck's method starts with fabric, not paper. Cloth is wrapped around a body and shaped through movement; the resulting body cast is then cut open along its seams to become the pattern, and refined through fittings on his own body. Because no body is symmetrical, he works on the whole figure rather than mirroring one half.

As his studio puts it, the final piece can only be created through the destruction of the original body cast. The result is tailoring with curved seams, rotated panels and asymmetries that feel natural once worn.

FROM THE MAIN LINE TO LEB

Over the years the work has branched into several lines. Forced Perspective simplifies the ideas of the main line, and LEB, created with artistic direction by Illya Goldman Gubin, translates the language of Leon Emanuel Blanck into a wardrobe for every day.

LEB is released as numbered collections, from Kollektion Eins to the current Kollektion Drei. The garments are handcrafted in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, with stone-washed Italian cotton denim and wool felt among the key materials.

LEB X TRIPPEN: THE SOLSTICE BOOT

Footwear is developed with the German shoemaker Trippen. The LEB x Trippen Solstice boot is made in Germany from calf leather on a Trippen platform sole, and closes with curved, asymmetric zips that mirror each other from the left foot to the right.

It follows an earlier project, the Christo boot from Leon Emanuel Blanck for Trippen, inspired by Christo's wrapped Arc de Triomphe, in which the leather extends past the sole so the boot appears to float.

LEB AT ORIMONO

Orimono carries LEB, and in September 2026 we celebrated the launch of Kollektion Drei at our Berlin store on Linienstrasse. Our selection includes:

• Tevere denim worker jacket, trench coat and worker pants
• wool felt aviator jacket and double-breasted coat
• heavy lyocell twill high-collar shirt and wool crepe zip sweater
• cotton canvas fold pants and slim stretch twill pants
• the LEB x Trippen Solstice calf leather boots
• pieces that pair with Rick Owens DRKSHDW, Julius_7, Y-3 and Guidi

Read more about another German maker in Werkstatt München, or explore LEB Leon Emanuel Blanck at Orimono.