Yannik Zamboni, maison blanche
Yannik Zamboni holds a Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Design from the FHNW Academy of Art and Design in Basel. Growing up as a queer person in a small Swiss town with only 700 inhabitants, he was forced to march to the beat of his own drum from an early age. When you are almost two meters tall and restless, there is no such thing as “inconspicuous.” Well acquainted with the oppressive constraints of the status quo, Yannik felt attacked on all sides in his identity and developed an early desire to work towards a future in which all people can develop freely.
Before founding his own label, Yannik began his professional career with a commercial apprenticeship. He then worked as a model for several years before continuing his education with a marketing degree and working in that field. Despite a well-paid job, he ultimately made a conscious decision to give up this security in order to follow his creativity and realize his dream of working in fashion.
Yannik is proof that you don’t have to limit yourself to a single ideal. Fair working conditions, inclusion, conscious and circular fashion, socio-political ideologies – all of these can coexist and at the same time create a high-quality world that meets the highest standards.
This aspiration gave rise to maison blanche: a tireless pursuit of a world in which no goal is too far away and in which our livelihoods do not have to be sacrificed to fashion. From the outset, serving neither the broken luxury fashion industry nor the unstable conditions of the fast fashion arena was an option. Amidst the turmoil of Covid-19 closures and graduation from the FHNW Basel, maison blanche was founded out of pure survival instinct.
At the beginning of his fashion career, Yannik applied for funding from nine different institutions and took part in competitions to promote his label – without success. It was only on his tenth attempt that he made his breakthrough: by participating in and winning the international design competition show Making the Cut. The victory not only brought prize money, but also a distribution contract for maison blanche’s very first production.
Yannik invested all of the prize money in building the world of maison blanche—a world in which what was previously considered “impossible” becomes reality and in which justice, advocacy, and responsibility are central pillars. In a clear commitment to these values, maison blanche deliberately parted ways with Amazon, despite having previously entered into a partnership with Amazon Studios to bring the vision of the first collection to a wider audience. Although the collaboration gave the label its first international visibility, the fundamental values proved incompatible. Control over its own production processes and the uncompromising adherence to its own principles took precedence.
The label understands fashion as a conceptual means of expression that highlights socio-political issues and deliberately addresses taboos. The brand’s subversive approach is reflected in deconstructed designs that aim to expand and challenge existing rules, power structures, and behavioral norms.
Yannik and maison blanche pursue a holistic understanding of sustainability, which is divided into four inseparable spheres: ethical-moral, socio-political, ecological, and economic. All four dimensions must be respected equally and implemented consistently.
Just as uncompromising as Yannik once was with himself in the small Swiss village, he still upholds the same rebellious principles today—and uses them to continually challenge the existing production standards of the fashion industry.