SABOTAGE ESPIONAGE

Sabotage was a fashion brand from Waghäusel/Mannheim, formed mid 80s by the 2 Dannroth brothers. I call it German Engineering on steroids. Sabotage relentlessly warped what was known and possible, and like flames, it burnt very, very bright. Destroyed sweaters, jackets made of metal, ceramic fibres, boiled wool… it was all about pushing boundaries. Sabotage was expensive. Sabotage was elite. Sabotage was super chic. 

Sabotage was art, beauty and emotion. So seldom have I seen a brand, which awakes and instantly whips up such excitement. Everyone's favourite song is playing. The dancefloor is packed. 

After realising there was practically zero documentation of the brand, I started the Instagram account "SABOTAGEESPIONAGE" in 2022. Through a mutual friend, I was finally introduced, to the director of the label Michael Dannroth and given an ok to unofficially document it all. Since then, I have been in touch and met everyone from (almost all) ex-designers to the hardcore fans. The account does not strive to be optically beautiful, but to simply amass information, join the dots and throw it all together in a maniacs scrapbook.

The account focuses on the so-called disruptive years 1989-95. This was where the magic was made. All the glory before the business became a problem. And just as selfish as fashion is, I want to focus on beauty, not politics. It is also just basically my typical pisces obsessiveness once again gone wild.

I purchased my distressed hooded sweater in beautiful chocolate in Hamburg in 1994/5. It is so beautiful but mildly unwearable. It was also costly for a bunch of holes with an awesome logo. The Hussein Chalayan wooden mask has many parallels. It is, of course, not sooo expensive to make, but trees take years to grow. And ideas are either free of charge or very expensive.

The account has become my little side gig, I have met some amazing people, the archive is growing and I am lucky to have added to my collection since. Lets us see what it will become!

Check out the account here
Preorder your book here

And hey… offer/show/send/sell me your gear, pleeeaaase.

Here after is Meret Becker wearing my hooded distressed sweater in front of the former Palast der Republik in Berlin in 1995. The photo by Marcus Bassler, appeared in a the 2nd issue of Sense - the short lived fashion magazine from Frontpage.