Lucie Koldová (CZ) at Wilhelm Jungmann & Neffe

Tradition, pride, quality, remaining true to one’s principles, cultural heritage, a family legacy, aristocracy, passion, devotion – these are only a few of the general terms that occurred to the young Prague designer Lucie Koldová upon her first visit here to the tradition-conscious fine fabric shop Wilhelm Jungmann & Neffe. Founded in 1836 and located with an almost unaltered interior on Albertinaplatz since 1881, these imperial and royal suppliers outfitted the entire monarchy, from Vienna to Lviv, with exclusive fashions. Their expertise and exquisite selection continues to this day to make this family business the address internationally for the finest of fabrics – an Eldorado for the discriminating wearers of custom-made clothing. And there must surely be a reason why Italian makers of fine apparel travel to Vienna, of all places, in order to buy Italian woollen cloth! Bearing this in mind and without further ado, Lucie Koldová, the designer from Prague, has designed a throne for the emperor and king of fine woolen fabric, or more precisely, for the manager of the firm. And she has done so with amazingly little irony, but instead, by meeting the demands of functionality and harmony with the interior and with her customary modern formal language – and in the consciousness of knowing that the wonderful traditional Viennese businesses still exude an aura of social distinction.