Story
Credo
My name is Robin Hildisch and I am the founder of HiDDEN ACES. Since 2017 it has been my mission to manufacture jackets in a fair, sustainable and precisely fitting way, i.e. an all-round real product.
I have years of experience as a tailor and fashion designer, but in my time as a designer I noticed that the so-called “fashion circus” is a resource-destroying, unscrupulous industry with no respect for people and nature.
In the case of branded clothing, the customer often buys a marketing construct, while the clothing itself is often of little quality than a piece of clothing from the fashion chains.
The women's collections are particularly sad. Often cheaper than the men's collections, the manufacturers assume nothing else than that they prefer to stuff their bags with inferior scrap.
If you don't believe me: Take a random look at the labels of 10 women and 10 men’s items at a fashion chain. You will find that women’s clothes are much more often made of cheap polyester than men’s clothing.
That's why I make the HiDDEN ACES women's collection from the same high-quality materials as the men's collection. With their timeless design, high-quality workmanship and the associated long shelf life, they outlast trends and make you independent of this marketing spiral, which not only causes garbage, but constantly manipulates you.
For example, how would you meet someone who was constantly manipulating you?
You'd probably avoid this person at some point, right?
I am not someone who can do a pointless job. I love people and I always try to do them a favor with my jackets. Therefore HiDDEN ACES are my gift to you all.
Sustainability
Well, then organic, fair trade, recycling ...
And of course we Germans need seals and certificates for this.
A good seal that I trust is the GOTS or IVN Best Seal. I am happy to buy fabrics with this seal because the Ecocert organization behind it analyzes and evaluates the entire production process of a fabric. Furthermore, all of our materials are at least equipped with the BCI cotton seal or Ökotex Standard 100. And by the way: Cotton does NOT grow in Germany. So such control bodies are necessary to prevent humans and nature from being exploited.
Why is there no seal on my jackets?
Since I manage HiDDEN ACES all by myself, I neither have the time nor the financial means to get certified, because seals are expensive.
That is why my name guarantees that I choose the most sustainable raw materials for my jackets from the highest quality and most authentic raw materials.
If you have any questions about origin and sustainability, I am happy to answer your questions personally.
Our production
As a tailor, respect for human work has always been particularly important to me, which is why I now have my jackets made exclusively in Germany. I create individual orders, customizations and small series myself in my studio in Hückelhoven (NRW).
I am currently working with a sewing shop in Königsberg/Bavaria. Other German sewing workshops will follow, since the shortage of skilled workers is also being felt in this sector.
Luckily for the tailors, wages are rising in Germany, which unfortunately also means that I will have to raise prices in the near future because the jackets are very tightly priced, because I don't want to ask for luxury prices from the outset.
Transparency
My store partners get my goods at the purchase price and use their margin to pay for rent, personnel costs and their livelihood. That then gives the selling price. Of course, I can't go below this price and take away the customers. On the other hand, the purchase price is so tightly calculated that not much is stuck, so online business is also important for me to make ends meet myself. Nothing is "too expensive" here. Everyone wants a decent salary. And we admit that to everyone. Our producers, our fabric manufacturers, our dealers and of course ourselves. We must and will pass on price increases in production and material. We are all affected by inflation and material shortages and I want to guarantee that a HiDDEN ACES will always be of at least the same quality. Others don't? And whether. Instead of increasing prices, they often migrate to cheaper production countries, buy cheaper material or cut staff so that, as customers, they get less service and worse products for the same price.
Our fabrics
Waxed cotton
Our suppliers for waxed cotton are British Millerain from Rochester / England and Halley Stevensons from Dundee / Scotland. These two weaving mills are the market leaders in this segment and are traditional companies with over 150 years of experience. Since the two complement each other well, I order from one or the other depending on the color and taste.
Both weaving mills are part of the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI).
The wax is made from waste products from fuel production and is much more environmentally friendly and biodegradable than polyfluorocarbons, which are otherwise used to impregnate rain textiles. For several years, Halley Stevensons has increasingly been using specially developed waxes based on olive oil Everwax. These products can be re-waxed with this or conventional wax (we have everything online).
Good to know: light colors swell more than dark colors when wax is applied (Tekwax Evo, Chera, P270). Therefore, light colors of the same wax material are also more structured than dark ones.
Olmetex
Above all, Olmetex is our supplier for the trench coat fabric Bogart, which has been produced since the beginning of the company's history in 1954 and has significantly influenced the appearance of the trench coat itself. The masterful combination of polyester fibers on the top and a cotton fabric underneath results in a material that is physically breathable and water-repellent. If it still looks like it did back then, there are worlds between the old trench coat fabric and today's Bogart. The production of polyester and the extraction of cotton have changed, as has the sustainable generation of energy to power machines. In addition, Olmetex has become one of the leading weavers for sustainable and innovative outdoor fabrics, which I like to incorporate into the collection from time to time.
Tweed
For tweed fabrics, I like to use the suit fabrics from Mallalieus of Delph. Mallalieus was founded in Delph / England in 1863 and is still one of the last weaving mills to carry out every work step from shearing the sheep to the dispatch of the finished fabrics in their Valley Mill. Other tweed weavers may be better known, but certainly not better. The fabrics speak for themselves.
Wool
I get wool fabrics mainly from Albano Morgado. This Portuguese weaving mill was founded in Castanheira de Pera in 1927 and has a wide range of fabrics, meltons, loden, Shetlands, recycled wool and organic wool. The company is a reliable and open partner for new developments and always surprises with new patterns, mixtures and structures.
Brisbane & Moss
The Moss Brothers fled with several other weavers for fear of a dyeing monopoly to found the English Fustian Manufacturing Company in 1901 when the English Velvet Cord Dyeing Company was established in their district. The meaning of the word “Fustian” still stands for the core of the brand today: velvet and cord fabric. This is what Brisbane & Moss are world famous for today. Furthermore, they offer the same expertise in moleskin, panama, linen, twill and lining. The best you can get from workwear fabrics.
Cotonea
Our most sustainable partner Cotonea is a brand of the weaving mill Elmer & Zweifel from Bempflingen in Baden-Württemberg, founded in 1855. Cotonea stands for organic cotton and wool fabrics with the highest imaginable standards. Here the Swabians do not rely on Siegel but support the people who work in the organic fields and their families themselves and actively through fair wages and help for the community. We purchase GOTS and IVN Best cotton as well as KbT wool plush from Cotonea.
Courtney & Co.
Courtney & Co. was founded after England's last button factory, James Grove & Sons, had to close its doors in 2013. Andrea and David Courtney bought the last machines and tools from the factory and started with corozo and casein buttons. In painstaking development work, unique small and sustainable works of art were gradually created, which you can find on our jackets. Our buttons will soon also be available as horn buttons.
viscose
Frankenberger is our feed supplier from Aschaffenburg. The company was founded in 1950 and is responsible for our viscose and viscose cotton linings. Here they mainly process enka viscose, which is made where I spent my childhood. In Obernburg in Franconia.
Viscose is a regenerated fiber. This means that some kind of cellulose, be it made from fast-growing birch wood, bamboo or waste paper, is dissolved in a spinning bath and shaped into different shapes through different nozzles or by compression. The spin bath used to be toxic and a lot of toxic waste products were created. Today, however, thanks to other raw materials and modern filter systems, only fiber residues, Glauber's salt and water are produced as by-products. The water is biologically clarified, the Glauber's salt is used in the detergent industry and the fibers are processed into cotton pads, among other things.
