„The brand is gone but the community has stayed with me and is ready to explore the unknown waters with me.”

Returning to his roots in Poland, while maintaining his ties to Los Angeles, Pustul’s new brand promises responsible luxury, celebrating minimalism and quality over quantity. His pre-launch campaign, "I BELIEVE IN MARCELL," is a tribute to the unwavering support of his community, and a window into Pustul's personal healing journey.

Pustul's upcoming debut at next year's New York Fashion Week is already sending ripples of anticipation through the industry. To delve deeper into his transformative journey, his new brand, and what the future holds, we sat down for an exclusive interview with the visionary himself. Read on as Marcell Pustul invites us into his daring new world of fashion.

.designer talk
Marcell Pustul
speaks with
Alban E. Smajli

Alban E. Smajli //
MARCELL, YOU'VE TRANSITIONED FROM YOUR SUCCESSFUL MARCELL VON BERLIN BRAND TO THE LAUNCH OF YOUR LATEST VENTURE, MARCELL_. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR GREATEST LEARNING FROM THIS TRANSITION?
Marcell Pustul //
The greatest learning for me was to always make sure I keep the control of my own brand, and don't let others control it. I had given away 70% of MARCELL VON BERLIN, and this was a big mistake. However, I was just a young dreamer unable of seeing big picture. Suddenly, out of nowhere I have received an offer, sounded like an amazing opportunity, real game changer so I’ve taken it and it was my mistake to agree to give that much away. Definitely a huge learning for me. Also, the community and fan base is so important to me now, I learned it in the process of healing and rebuilding, without them I wouldn’t be where I am now. The brand is gone but the community has stayed with me and is ready to explore the unknown waters with me. Of course not everyone stayed, but this situation also showed me the value of real relationships, not those only based on power and money. My social circle has been limited significantly. Some people just disappeared, some I’ve had to cut to clean the space.

THE "I BELIEVE IN MARCELL" CAMPAIGN IS SUCH A POWERFUL MESSAGE OF COMMUNITY. HOW HAS THE CAMPAIGN HELPED SHAPE THE IDENTITY OF YOUR NEW BRAND?
I wanted to show that not only fashion matters, but real value lays in the people identifying personally with your vision. You create not only for the matter of art. You create for the people allocating trust in your products, the trust that you will help them to express themselves. It comes with responsibility, at least for me. Therefore, my new brand will be about and for the community, as they make you who you are. I would love to give a chance to others to express through my pieces, to open the brand to the evolution and influence of others. Let’s use it as a canvas and fill it with the emotions and ideas. 

The campaign itself is rather a result of my healing process. We were discussing one day with Pat, new Brand Director how to create the campaign out of nothing before the launch of the new Brand. It was literally nothing — we had almost no budget, almost no clothes, only good energy and friends we could call and convince if they would like to contribute. The idea appeared kind of naturally and you know what, production without money is actually less stressful and more fluid. No expectations, pure freedom and that is why results are so beautiful and natural. We portrayed the community as it is — without big styling and make ups. 

AS YOU'VE MOVED TOWARD A FOCUS ON NATURE, QUALITY, AND MINIMALISM, CAN YOU SHARE WHAT DESIGN PRINCIPLES YOU KEEP AT THE FOREFRONT OF YOUR WORK?
I will definitely focus on the quality, durability and more minimalistic approach. Bestselling suits are coming back perfected, more sophisticated and with new colorways. I will definitely explore further tailoring as a solid base of our wardrobe. We are adding some inclusive bodycon dresses, western boots in new shapes, and working on a new bag design and first sunglasses line. 

What is extremely important to me know now is to avoid an overproduction therefore we will produce less and react to demand. Also, the idea of seasonlessness will stay as principle. We would love to introduce new innovative shapes and be able to re-imagine them with seasons by adding new colorways and fabrics. With the new brand you will not find a lot of prints. Less is more now. 

YOU'VE EMPHASIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR SUPPORTERS AND COMMUNITY THROUGHOUT YOUR BRAND. HOW DO YOU SEE THIS COLLECTIVE GROUP'S ROLE EVOLVING IN THE FUTURE OF MARCELL_?
So many of my supporters are people from the creative industry and most of them worked with me when I was building MVB, we became friends therefore they decided to help me in this very difficult time. I listen to their feedback and take all important critics to make sure the new brand will be better and more in line with real needs of customers. 

THE IDEA OF T-SHIRTS REFLECTING YOUR INTERNAL JOURNEY OF HEALING IS QUITE STRIKING. COULD YOU DELVE DEEPER INTO THIS CONCEPT?
When my business partner suddenly passed away, I was standing in front of the choice: to just give up or get a job at another brand or to stand up and fight for my future and immediately start over again. I was lucky enough to meet my Life Coach Vivace Maxvictor, who changed my life and point of view, and instead of being a victim I’ve programmed myself to be the winner in this situation. 

And then the idea of t-shirts was born, it's kind of personal cleansing from the past, because it is crucial to not to look back when you are in the process of rebuilding and healing. You have to summarise the past and draw conclusions but don’t stay there too long. So I’ve sort of written messages on t-shirts for myself. By sharing them with the wider audience (you can get one here) I want share with the others the power to be brave and never give up. 

AS YOU DEBUT YOUR COLLECTION NEXT YEAR AT NEW YORK FASHION WEEK, WHAT EMOTIONS OR IMPRESSIONS DO YOU HOPE TO EVOKE FROM ATTENDEES?
I want people who will be part of the show to see the strength and the power I have to recreate and reborn. And it will be my promise that I will never stop doing this. With a tragedy in the background, I have received the most meaningful messages from my spirits. The first show will be a very simple venue, and will be the final cleansing of the past and the first big step to a brighter future. I can't say too much as I want to surprise. But definitely this will be an immersion in love, hope and joy. 

YOU'VE APPOINTED PATRYCJA SZKLARCZYK AS THE NEW BRAND DIRECTOR. HOW IS THIS COLLABORATION SHAPING THE FUTURE OF MARCELL_?
Patrycja was already working for my previous brand as a Business Development Director. She has a wide experience in the industry and represents this rare kind of people with 360 approach and taking everything with an open mind, as I do — always ready to roll the sleeves and do whatever is needed to be done, also quickly adapting to the dynamically changing reality of the fashion industry. After I lost my company, I was still in touch with Pat, and she has been helping me with a new brand building process. I’ve decided to offer her the Brand Director position as she is not only one of my biggest supporters but also understands me and my vision. She has a fantastic taste herself and very often strong opinion, but knows how the industry works and always offers solutions. I really appreciate the sense of freedom while working together, she gives me the space to be who I am as an artist, great human with a beautiful soul. Our goal is to be the next big brand built on solid and good values, I couldn't make it without her. 

YOUR MOVE BACK TO POLAND TO SET UP AN ATELIER AND DESIGN STUDIO IS A SIGNIFICANT SHIFT. WHAT IMPACT HAS THIS CHANGE OF SCENERY HAD ON YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS?
The decision was kind of natural move as first and foremost - I am Polish :) And I’ve been already producing most of my samples and small productions in Poland. Only shoes and bags are made in Italy. Patrycja is part time in Poland, my Pattern Making Manager and her team are based there too. Nowadays you can do everything over zoom calls, emails and I’ve learned to work this way during pandemic when I got stuck in Los Angeles for almost two years. I also definitely will spend more time in Poland on developing collections (Mom, lucky you!), but also we are planning to open a small design studio in Los Angeles or NYC next year. 

YOUR NEW BRAND EMPHASIZES A DIRECTION OF RESPONSIBLE LUXURY. COULD YOU EXPLAIN MORE ABOUT WHAT "RESPONSIBLE LUXURY" MEANS TO YOU, AND HOW IT'S REFLECTED IN YOUR DESIGNS?
With the new brand, I want to make sure we work only with factories having safe and responsible work environment and every person is treated with respect, receiving fair wage. I will visit all the factories personally. 
Mental health balance is now extremely important to me and we aim to create well-balanced work environment for the new team. Fashion sector is one of the most dynamic and stressful ones and we all experienced it at some point in our careers so we would love to disenchant this belief and create a healthy, safe structure.  

We will also be taking more responsibility for fabric choices and aim to avoid an overproduction by reacting to the real market demand. There will be some pieces in the new collection which will be made out from recycled products and we are considering seriously upcycling models for tailoring. 

HOW ARE YOU PLANNING TO BALANCE THE TIMELESSNESS OF YOUR DESIGNS WITH THE DESIRE TO REMAIN FRESH AND INNOVATIVE IN THE EVER-EVOLVING FASHION LANDSCAPE?
I believe that you can be successful without being fresh and innovative every season. Actually, for me wearing timeless pieces is now fresh and innovative, especially when the market is drowning in new products. Timelessness with a bit of a fresh twist that is my focus. These days you can have everything, that's why I believe in having less pieces but really feeling their value. The attention span is so short nowadays and it gives really poor chances to build a sort of connection with the product.