Philipp Plein - from nothing to multimillionaire

He never completed his law degree. Instead, he designed dog beds and slept in a hotel by the hour because he couldn't afford more expensive accommodation. And now he is the most successful German fashion designer. A multi-millionaire who owns villas in Cannes and Bel-Air, who flies around the world in a private jet - and makes clothes for the rich and super-rich.

Who is he? Philipp Plein. The 45-year-old from Munich, who grew up in Nuremberg, reaches fans all over the world with his designs that exude sex and rock'n'roll. His company holding based in Lugano, of which he is the sole shareholder, generates a turnover of more than 200 million euros.

Plein is one of the very few remaining independent designers in the 350 billion euro luxury market. This market is otherwise dominated by giants such as LVMH, Kering and Richemont, which own brands such as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Cartier and Montblanc. It faces tough competition - and has been holding its own for 25 years.

From underdog to fashion czar

School? University? Not really his thing. "You learn a lot at school, but you don't learn anything about life. Learning by doing. That's what made me who I am today," says Plein in his recently published biography, which traces his path from underdog to head of his fashion empire. "I always had to teach myself everything, right from the start."

Plein's life could have come straight out of a Hollywood screenplay. His biological father was a doctor who drank too much and beat his mother. She separated from him when the boy was three years old and then remarried a doctor. Plein's childhood was sheltered. But there was always a rebel in him who swam against the tide. He wore his hair shoulder-length, ended up on the cover of "Bravo Girl" and wiped out the ashtrays in the "Mach 1" nightclub in Nuremberg at the weekend. After graduating from high school, Plein set off on a trip to America, where he kissed Miss California and maxed out his parents' credit card.

Le Corbusier sofa as a dog bed

His mother gave him his first business idea. She and her husband had two hunting dogs. They regularly chewed up Ikea straw baskets. His mother asked her son: "Can you come up with something?" Plein discovered a Le Corbusier sofa in a car dealership in Nuremberg and recreated it in miniature: as a dog bed. Purchase price depending on size: 1,600 or 1,700 Deutschmarks. Plein was ridiculed. But Jennifer Lopez and Antonio Banderas loved the dog bed. It became a bestseller. The designer went on to create a wealth of other furniture, including lamps.

His entry into fashion was a coincidence. To promote a stainless steel dressing system at a design fair in Paris, Plein hung up an old German army jacket that his sister Gloria had decorated. She had made animals out of leather remnants, with pink and yellow bows on the hips that could be tied at the front. The piggy soon gave way to a skull and crossbones made of Swarovski stones on the back of the army jacket, accompanied by the phrase: "Rich Pirates by Philipp Plein." It became a bestseller. Fashion stores all over Germany scrambled to stock the jacket. One of the first major customers was Claudia Carpendale, the ex-wife of pop singer Howard Carpendale, who sold whole truckloads of Plein clothing in her store on Mittestraße in Cologne.

Plein's recipe for success is also his motto: you either have to be better or different. "I wasn't better, I was different. I didn't study fashion or design. I did everything differently by nature - and that's what made me successful." Turning weaknesses into strengths was his thing. "I'm a world champion at that." Also in inventing fashion that catches the eye and sparkles. Plein loves it when it sparkles. His products were always overloaded with Swarovski and embroidery. "If I had stood at the trade fair wearing a black T-shirt or cashmere sweater, I wouldn't have sold anything. The product simply had to be strong and loud."

Fashion show in the ghost train

But strong design alone is not enough. Plein knows how to attract attention. At his first trade fair appearances, he put on an Elvis impersonator. In Berlin at Bread & Butter, he presented a ghost train that he had obtained from a showman. He put a black Plein leather jacket on the Dracula, who stood up from a coffin.

He remains true to the principle of spectacle to this day. His fashion shows in Milan and New York are public festivals. He rolled over cars in monster trucks, plowed through the water on jet skis and made a chain carousel spin. Once he set up a UFO, which Irina Shayk stepped out of. Outside, she was greeted by a giant robot that handed her its gripper arm.

Plein spends a lot of money on his shows and events. But he saves money elsewhere. He is a master of guerrilla marketing. A posse with Ferrari is famous in the scene. In 2019, the German put his sneakers on the hood of his green Ferrari, which he had parked in front of a fountain. He sprayed the car with a garden hose and two women in bikinis soaped it up in a provocative pose. Ferrari was horrified and took legal action.

Plein, who shared the dispute with his social media community, ended up having to pay Ferrari 300,000 euros in damages. But in return, he had secured huge media attention. "Every canal worker in Mexico knows about it," says one of Plein's advisors in the book.

Always new opportunities

While most brands spend huge sums on influencers, Plein himself is the most important brand ambassador for his fashion empire. He has three million followers on Instagram, who he keeps up to date with his luxury lifestyle on an hourly basis. He films his villas with his cell phone camera, shows off his partner and cuddles his sons.

If you measure it by the turnover of his companies, you have to say: his success proves him right. And what's next? "I don't know. I wish I knew. I'm looking for an exit. So far, I haven't found it. But I'm always discovering opportunities."

Philipp Plein, the 'Rich Pirates' designer, continues to cater to the super-rich market with his extravagant fashion line, featuring Swarovski crystals and embroidery, further cementing his status as a multimillionaire.
Despite his lavish lifestyle, which includes villas in Cannes and Bel-Air and private jet travel, Plein remains grounded, often sharing glimpses of his daily life on Instagram, connecting with his three million followers.
Born into a challenging background, Plein, a self-made fashion magnate, has transformed himself from a dog bed designer searching for opportunities, to a global fashion icon who dresses the rich and the super-rich.

Source: www.ntv.de