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Clothing Label Finds Success in Selling Items Made by OffendersFashion trends weren't on Stephan Bohle's mind as a guard patted him down for his first visit to Germany's largest prison last year.
The inmates there were making tables, chairs and mirrors, and the wardens were wondering if the inmates could make some extra money for the prison by selling the products.
"I brought my team back into the prison, and everyone had the same reaction. They jumped. We all knew it could be interesting."
Thus was born the fashion world's latest killer label. By last summer, Bohle was offering prison shirts and pants online. When "people bought the hell out of them," he knew it was time to bust out.
He decided to sell not knockoff prison wear, but clothes that were designed, cut and sewn by murderers, rapists and thieves.
By December, Bohle and his group had come up with a label, Haeftling (it means "inmate" in German) and an advertising campaign that included mug shots of former inmates holding booking placards that say, for instance, "Shirt 32.50 Euro."
They even decided to join "Design May," a fashion event in which designers open temporary storefronts in Berlin to show off their new lines to customers and reviewers.
more: www.centredaily.com/mld/centredai... (99)
15/6/2004 | Viewed 18,125 time(s)
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