About Us

ALEXANDER WILHELM CORSTEN · Düren, Germany

A wet winter, not a savage one

ALEXANDER WILHELM CORSTEN started in a Düren workroom with a question that sounds simple and is not: what does anyone actually wear between October and March in western Germany? The answer became four layers and four tops. Two brushed hoodies and a hooded cardigan cover the cold mornings; a textured slim sweater does the days that need a collar; four tops sit underneath without bunching, from a striped off-shoulder tee to a buttery fitted long sleeve. Eight pieces, one rail, and a rule that nothing joins it unless it can be worn twice in a week and washed without a second thought.

Cotton, modal and brushed fleece

The fabrics are chosen for how they feel after a wash, not in the shop. Cotton jersey is a compact yarn with a little elastane so a neckline keeps its shape through a season of wear. Brushed fleece is checked for pilling under the arm, where a hoodie actually rubs. Modal blends are used where a top has to fall rather than cling, and they are pre-shrunk so the length a customer receives is exactly the length we measured. Stripes are yarn-dyed rather than printed, so a black-and-white line stays black-and-white after twenty washes instead of fading quietly into grey.

The wash test

Every fabric is washed five times before it is approved, in the way the care card will tell a customer to wash it. We look at three things: whether the colour moves, whether the surface pills, and whether the shape changes. A hoodie that grows two centimetres at the hem is recut. A tee whose neckline ripples after the third wash is dropped. Seams are pulled along the stitch line, hems are checked for a clean twin needle, and drawcords are tested with the hood up, and anything that fails goes back to the machine and is washed again before it is listed. It is slow work, and it is the reason the rail is short.

From a workroom in Düren

Parcels are packed by hand in the Düren studio, one at a time, by the same people who check the stock. Each piece is steamed, inspected and folded with tissue and a care card that names the fabric and gives the washing temperature in plain numbers. Because the region is damp for much of the year, knitwear travels with a moisture sachet and anything pale is wrapped in unbleached tissue paper. Tracking is sent as soon as the label is printed. Returns come back to the same door, are inspected within two business days, and are refunded to the original payment method once they pass.