When you think of fritz-kola you naturally think of a crisp, cool refreshing soda on a hot summer day. What you may not know is that the independent fizz magnate has been up to some exciting bits recently.
This summer the brand joins forces with Mojo Store to deliver a fresh round of apparel featuring Hanseatic iconography. fritz-kola and Mojo dig into their Hamburg roots by featuring Nina Chuba and Gaius Okami as the faces of their campaign. Chuba and Okami are only a few of the fresh faces coming out of the creative Hamburg region, so we caught up with Andre from Mojo Store to find out more about the cross-collab and the design behind it all.
Can you tell us more about the design and symbols that we see being expressed in this collaboration?
We tend to use original symbols from our home, Hamburg, but in a more sketchy style. These symbols never get old when you know the city well so it just made sense, for example the plastic palm trees at Park Fiction, the fish from the Fischmarkt and the insane Köhlbrandbrücke.
This isn’t your first collaboration with fritz-kola. Can you tell us how this relationship initially came to be? What does this collaboration mean to you?
Partnering with local brands is part of our philosophy. A few years ago we started to collaborate with our neighbor Erika´s Eck, which is the most iconic restaurant in Hamburg and right after that we got in contact with fritz-kola. They have the same values as we do and I’m actually a huge fan of their products. After more than two years I can safely say that the connection to fritz-kola and some of their amazing employees is much more than a business relationship; we support each other as friends would do.
What does sustainability mean to you?
After painting every Mojo piece with a brush and textile colors for over seven years, we started to produce our limited styles in Portugal. The production site is a small factory with family structures which goes hand in hand with our ethos. All our collab products are made with 100% organic cotton and we try to keep this mindset in everything we do.
Both Mojo and fritz-kola, as well as the faces of your brand Nina Chuba and Gaius Okami have links to Hamburg – what is it that makes the Hanseatic region so special to you?
This is our hometown, it’s the place where we connect and support each other. In 10 years we have built up a family here so the city is very close to our hearts, especially the Sternschanze/St.Pauli district as it’s unique not only in Hamburg but all of Germany as well.
If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be?
I think more of a focus on the products and the style of lookbooks would be a good first step. For me, it is too heavy on how things appear on social media. It’s all too fast and every day I see a new brand or influencer who is going into fashion. We need to focus on good quality, small selections, sustainability, and a real story whilst supporting local brands.
The Mojo lifestyle is synonymous with travel and adventure seeking. Did you have any idea that the brand would take you so far from home when you started it up?
I couldn’t have dreamt it would be like this. Back in 2007, I started painting T-shirts in my student apartment to earn money for my beers during university time. I had no idea where it would take me and 15 years later here we are getting to celebrate our 15-year anniversary and looking back at so many unforgettable memories and friendships that have been made.
The collection will be available from 17.08 in the Mojo Store and from 18.08 in the fritz-Onlineshop.
