© Nina Peter. Photo; Mato Johannik

Nina Peter

“Fits you like a glove” must have been on the mind of designers Nina Peter and Gregor Pirouzi (a former creative consultant at Versace, Vivienne Westwood and Helmut Lang) when they launched NINA PETER in 2003. The glove label’s rapidly growing fan following certainly lays witness to the fact that what the world still needs are perfectly fitting gloves made of beautiful leather and pepped up with a stud or two. The fact that Nina’s family runs a business with over 150 years of glove-manufacturing experience Handschuhpeter Wien certainly helped in bringing together contemporary design and the skills of a very demanding craft. Collaborations with Agent Provocateur and Superfine are another proof (if needed) of the international recognition of NINA PETER.

© Florian Ladstätter

Florian Ladstätter

With a university degree in Advanced Metal Design and another one in philosophy, Florian Ladstätter was probably bound to come up with something very special. A fashion jewellery line, it was to be. His good reputation has led to collaborations with Hussein Chalayan or Elizabeth Arden and purchases by the Victoria & Albert Museum. Even though people may find it a bit hard to pin down the essence of continuity in his work, the designs by Florian Jewellery are always a result of Ladstätter’s reflection about the ontological potential of adornment. A generous use of beads and pearls, ropes and resin characterises his approach of jewellery design (even though he has been heard saying that turning to more precious materials is a viable option for the imminent future).

© Mühlbauer

Mühlbauer

You can leave your hat on – but make it a Mühlbauer. At least that’s what siblings Klaus and Marlies Mühlbauer will tell you, who continue a great milliner’s tradition based in Vienna and revamped their parents’ business which they took over in 2000. Since then, Mühlbauer headwear has turned into the must-have of the fashion-crowd and is, we hear, a frequent appearance on the streets of Tokyo just as well as New York. Traditional millinery skilles combined with a decidedly witty approach may well be at the source of the great success that Mühlbauer has been experiencing since their internationally acclaimed fall 2003 collection. Six years on, the formula still is “stylish without exaggerated seriosity”, and indeed a lot of these hats will need a courageously forward-thinking head underneath. But it would seem that there are enough of them around.

All images show the fall 2009 collections. Photos courtesy of the labels and © Mato Johannik/Nina Peter, Manfred Veigl/Rosa Mosa, David Auner/Sonja Bischur