This trainer manufacturer has a wonderful story, and ilmia is one of the reasons for my blog. Time for a chat with designer Christian Gafner.
LM: How did you come across ilmia?
CG: It was back in 2004; I was delighted to find something on the internet that was not being marketed. It felt like I was the first person to discover it – it gave me the feeling I could be different from everyone else. I ordered a pair, wore them a long time, then ordered another pair, then another.
LM: How does someone get to be a trainer manufacturer?
CG: I don’t make the ilmias myself – they’re handcrafted in Germany. But my technical know-how as an industrial designer really helps. That said, I had to learn a lot about how trainers are made. Like the wristwatches I’ve been involved in (the MIH watch and Porsche Design), the ilmias need a whole lot of individual components that have to be developed and ordered from the right people. Maybe I have a shoe gene – my grandfather made footwear, too.
LM: What’s the most important thing for you when you’re designing?
CG: The challenge of product design is how to achieve reduction. It’s harder to cut something out than to overload a product. When it comes to creating something that endures, function and quality are just as much part of the equation as the choice of materials.
LM: How do you see ilmia going forward?
CG: I hope to make a contribution to the ilmia story by continuing to design authentic and distinctive products.
The Thing I like: wearing my brown and white pairs with my wide-legged jeans and my blazer from Tatjane.