Interview by Martin Rybak

Josef Lazo and Andreas Schmidl founded their brand Lazoschmidl in 2014 working as the creative duo behind the colorful collections that have been shown as part of the official Paris Fashion Week calendar twice. Melting the new and the old which creates a kind of futuristic nostalgia, the brand has their own ultra-recognizable style.

What are the benefits working as a team of two in fashion instead of alone and what is the creative process of working on a collection together?

The advantage of Lazoschmidl finds its ground in two educational and cultural backgrounds that combine and fulfill each other. Knowing each other for many years gives us a synced understanding and combined vocabulary on how to express ourselves and also go beyond ourselves. Intuitively we are aligned on decisions and questions of design direction and the reflection of the times we live in.

Once more you were on the official calendar of the Paris Fashion Week. What does this mean to you and your brand Lazoschmidl to be part of this important calendar?

For us it is THE fashion week so it means a lot to us emotionally to have achieved something with pure dedication and hard work.

How important is the aspect of authenticity for you and your designs when it comes to incorporating topics such as queer culture in your collections without making it just a marketing tool?

We always avoid the topic because we do what we do because of who we are and what we believe in and who we admire. A lot of brands jump on a topic but we are living the topic. We are topping the topic.

The AW23 collection is called "Fruit, Flowers, Fluoride". What was the idea behind the collection and what was the inspiration behind?

This time we let loose and wanted to experiment with new design tools such as AI. At the same time we looked back at our archive and ideas we had stored and now brought to life. It’s a melting of decades like the 1950s and 2020s, nostalgia and futurism.

Do you feel there is a different way of how people live fashion in Paris, where you presented your collection compared to where you are based in Sweden and Germany? How does Paris itself inspire you and why is it a good place to show your fashion?

Friends said after seeing the show that the guests arriving are already a fashion show itself. So I think there is more freedom to dress up and be extravagant. Whereas in Sweden the term ‘lagom’ describes a way of existing in the middle, fitting in but not taking a risk in expression. In Germany, I guess fashion disappeared in the 90s.

Is there anything you want to add?

We are very thankful to have each other and express our vision for an alternative, open-minded society of all genders to express themselves and taste the forbidden fruit. We have the sexiest fans.