GRETCHEN

Anne Christin is based in Berlin, Germany. She studied at Life. Her collections are produced in Italy.

Anne Hofmann was born in 1981 into a family business of leather goods. She grew up surrounded by fine leather gloves in the family production, and throughout her school and university education (in business, not fashion) she has worked in leather goods. From selling handbags in a store in France, to visiting tanneries in Scandinavia, New Zealand, the UK; from presenting the collection at trade shows in Milan, and working as a designer to selling to professional accounts in London and Madrid Anne has taken in all aspects of the business. "I never wanted to study fashion… sure you can learn techniques about how to develop a collection… but you can’t 'learn' creativity. Either you have it, or you don’t." After having designed an estimated one thousand different glove designs Anne was looking for a new challenge, a new product: handbags.
Whilst for a glove the shape is predetermined and the design is all about the details, in her handbag creations Anne felt free to focus on different shapes and experiment with forms. The results are pure and precisely cut handbags in combination with a distinct, sculpture-like aesthetics. After completing her university degree she launched her own accessories brand Gretchen, with a range of handbags, belts and yes, of course also gloves.
"The base for all that I do today lies in the gloves. This tiny little accessory has taught me so much. I couldn’t have undergone a better school" says Anne-Christin.