Bless

Brand created in 1995 by Desirée Heiss and Inez Haag in Paris. Heiss graduated from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. Kaag, born in Berlin, studied at the University of Art and Design in Hannover. They met in Paris and decided to establish a company to produce objects-clothes and accessories which the two designers manufacture both for themselves and for other designers. They recently worked on some “pieces” (a metallic string with pliers at each end to use as a belt or suspenders) for the Italian firm New York Industrie. During the course of their career they created recycled fur wigs for Martin Margiela, “to-be-personalized” shoes for New Balance and Charles Jourdan, a make-up case filled with small pieces of fabric to apply to the face, and a series of bags which can be transformed into blouses, trousers and skirts. Bless products are updated every three months, can be purchased on the Internet, and are all in limited editions. The two designers say: “We sell ideas, not Collections.” Given that their activity cuts across fashion, design, cosmetics, and accessories, it is not an accident that a weekly magazine gave them a very special nickname: “The Unibombers of Chic.”