JUST FOR KICKS: When Diane von Furstenberg swept through Brussels earlier this year for an exhibition at its Fashion & Lace Museum, she offered visitors to her interview suite a bracing glass of Gimber.
Turns out the organic and alcohol-free ginger concentrate is Belgian, like von Furstenberg, and a collaboration was in the works.
“I am a huge fan of ginger so I wanted to try Gimber,” von Furstenberg said, noting she met the founders while she was in town for the exhibition opening and other festivities. “I loved it so we designed the label.”
Her sleeve design adds a cheerful, designer touch with the highly recognizable prints found on her signature wrap dresses, an integral element of the Brussels retrospective.
A bottle of Gimber, the sleeve dressed by Diane von Furstenberg.
Bram Tack
The bottles launched recently on Gimber.com and at fine food and concept stores in Belgium, the Netherlands and France.
Dimitri Oosterlynck and Sylvie Schollier founded Gimber five years ago in their kitchen in Tubize, eager to provide an alternative in a world where there are social pressures to gather around alcohol.
“I love ginger because it’s a root,” von Furstenberg enthused. “It is pungent, provocative and healthy. I personally love to drink it with hot water…also with cold sparking water.”
Gimber characterized the “surprising collaboration as the result of a meeting between two strong women with the same positive mindset. Sylvie and Diane share the same ambition to make a difference, each in her own field.”
“Her unparalleled vitality is truly impressive,” Schollier said of von Furstenberg. “However, it is her sharpness, resourcefulness and kindness that set her apart from the rest.”
Asked about her indefatigable nature, the designer mused: “My energy? Not sure where I get it. Love for life? Honoring life?”
Source: WWD