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Designed For Life & Travel

Luxembourg – where Europe celebrates diversity

LOOKBOOK WINTER COLLECTION 2021

People from 170 nations live in “D’Stad”, Luxembourger’s name for their capital city. A co-existence that’s open to the world. The city is diversified in a natural way. It’s multicultural and creative, colourful and full of variety. A town where every spot has stories to tell.

A TIP: PUT ON HEADPHONES to enjoy this LOOKBOOK ACOUSTICALLY as well:)

Luxembourg City has already been the European Capital of Culture twice. Now this honour is going to the small country in the heart of our continent for the third time. Esch-sur-Alzette, a community only 30 km away from “D’Stad”, bears the title in 2022. For those who love diversity, going to Luxembourg is a must. This petite nation with its vibrant centres is the perfect spot for presenting the new Winter Collection from KATHARINA HOVMAN.

BONNEWEG

THE GRAACE HOTEL

The Graace – an inner-city oasis. Just step inside and all the noise and hectic are instantly forgotten. The thick stone walls of the former factory won’t allow anything to disrupt this feeling of well-being: “We are good hands here.”

Maili, our hair & makeup artist from Strasbourg, roams through the hotel and shows us its loveliest nooks and crannies. Like everywhere in Luxembourg: steel plays a special role in the architecture. Yet natural and sustainable materials are what breathe its “soul” into this boutique hotel. They create the perfect balance between old and new, and make the time spent at this location memorable.

Carlo and Priscilla got to know each other on our photo tour of Naples. Simply a good team, these two. In the hotel’s own Bedouin tent they seem like a pair of cosmopolitans just passing through. Laid back, easy-going. The perfect surroundings for KATHARINA HOVMAN Design for Life and Travel.

A FLORAL STUDIO ON THE ROOF

The spiral stairway in the hotel courtyard leads straight to INFIIORATA’s floral studio beneath the clouds. The young Luxembourger with the unusual name is a florist. She is reinterpreting traditional floristry with her objects composed of seasonal blossoms and grasses. In our fuchsia-coloured POLKA BLOUSE she sets a gorgeous accent in the midst of all her flowers.

Maili is delighted by this urban rooftop garden where the plants grow in chests. Behind my camera it occurs to me just how true the mantra from KATHARINA HOVMAN is: Dressed-up or dressed-down – Maili’s outfit in the colour code BALSAMICO can be worn with no fuss in the daytime, and elegantly in the evening.

Grund, Clausen and Pfaffenthal

DOWN BELOW IN GRUND

Completely different from elegant Oberstadt with its many representative buildings, the nearly hamlet-like lower neighbourhoods of Grund, Clausen and Pfaffenthal where people already lived in the days of yore range along the banks of the Alzette. Above all craftsmen settled down here. They used the river’s water to practise their professions.

Upper and lower, ancient and ultramodern architecture – it’s the contrasts that make this city so intriguing. What’s more, at 30 % of Luxembourg’s population the Portuguese percentage makes a refreshing contribution to the lively diversity – and we run into steel everywhere. Steel made its mark on the history of Luxembourg City and remains a characterising element of the town to this day.

Contrasting is a way to describe the effect of Monica’s soap-bubble game, too. Gentle, swaying motions in front of the hard, frigid steel wall. Allegorical for this city. This woman from Luxembourg with Brazilian roots personally embodies the contradictory facets. As an independent director she is in the coolly unemotional world of global commerce at home, writes poetry and runs her own exclusive yoga studio in Grund.

VINS FINS

THE LOVELIEST TERRACE

It’s not about the look. Not about any special location, either – it’s about an attitude towards life. On the terrace of Fins & Vins, Priscilla, Monica and Sabine enjoy the lightheartedness at this one-of-a-kind spot. The best aperitif rendezvous in town! Maybe it has something to do with Francoise, too. The owner of this small, comfy-cosy wine bar is a typical Luxembourger – uncomplicated and extremely hospitable. Cosmopolitan-style sincere. Like nearly everyone in this city.

LIMPERTSBERG

THE CHICHE! IS A HIT!

We meet up with Marianne Donven at CHICHE!. This Luxembourger devotes all her strength and energy to integrating people who had to flee their homelands. CHICHE! is one of the three “social” restaurants run by Marianne Donven. The work and cooking here are performed exclusively by refugees. It’s a major success. No table without a reservation. The atmosphere in CHICHE! fascinates us. Vintage in its purest form. From the glass to the sofa – nearly everything’s donated. A motley mix, plain yet eye-catching. Just like the gold-coloured KATHARINA HOVMAN blouse that Marianne Donven wears today.

LUXEMBURG STADT

AT THE GRAND THÉÂTRE

The grand theatre – not only a special place every time the curtain rises. The foyer on the first floor always offers an outstanding performance. Suffused with light, its 100 windows give it a magical effect the way they fit together like a mosaic. Our models Priscilla and Carlo turn into veritable actresses at this location.

In the theatre’s ballet hall we meet up with Cathy Krier, a highly promising concert pianist and professor for piano at the Conservatoire de la Ville de Luxembourg. Barefoot, all in black with black & white charming unfolding double collar and cuffs, she enchants us with her playing and shows: the classic KATHARINA HOVMAN style fits well on the world’s stages, too.

KIRCHBERG

GLAS, STEEL & GOLD

The business quarter of Luxembourg City as financial metropolis. But it’s been a long time since only banks graced the Kirchberg heights. The European Court of Justice, the European Court of Auditors and the entire administration of the EU Parliament are also located here. Diverse institutes of higher education and the gleaming white Philharmonie are equally at home on the Kirchberg plateau.

The same applies to the new corporate headquarters of KPMG, a global business consultancy, with its rusted-looking, easily remembered steel construction built by François Valentiny. We receive the privilege there to be welcome in the building’s golden atrium.

The MUDAM is just around the corner. Here lovers of contemporary art get their money's worth. Brilliant, the Musée d’Art Moderne, MUDAM for short. Its spacious rooms full of light are inspiring.

Esch-sur-Alzette

THE BLAST FURNACES OF BELVAL

Belval to the west of Esch-sur-Alzette was once Luxembourg’s largest steelworks. Many of the old industrial buildings have been integrated into the newly designed living environment. A tourism highlight: the two remaining blast furnaces. Anyone who climbs up the 180 steps at Blast Furnace A is rewarded with a breathtaking view. Nowadays Belval is an “in” university district. Priscilla, Carlo and Monica bring life into a surroundings that often seem almost artificial. The three of them in the cool colour code BLACK/FLOUR in front of a red wall. In my mind’s eye I reword the title from a well-known TV series: “Katharina’s Angels”.

LUXEMBOURG

PHILINES TRAVEL TIPS

GRAACE HOTEL – Design Boutique Hotel, Bonneweg

INFIIORATA Florist, Instagram/Infiiorata – contemporary flower and plant installations

CHICHE! – Social Restaurant, Limpertsberg

PANORAMA AUFZUG, Pfaffenthal

VINS FINS – WINE BAR & SHOP, Grund

GRAND THÉÂTRE, Luxembourg Stadt

MUDAM – Museum for Contemporary Art, Kirchberg

CATHY KRIER, Pianist

CREDITS: PHOTOGRAPHY: Philine von Sell, STYLING: Finja Brügmann, HAIR & MAKE UP
ARTIST: Maili Ngyuen, PRODUCTION: Circle of Values Communication GmbH