Am Anfang war ein Kissenüberzug: Als die Modedesignerin Elsa Kuhn vor 23 Jahren in Paris einen kleinen Laden für Kindermode eröffnete, wollte sie einen Hingucker, irgendein Objekt, das die Aufmerksamkeit der Passanten wecken könnte.
Und dieses Objekt war ein selbst genähter Kissenbezug, den ein stilisiertes Gesicht in Form einer Sonne zierte. Das war nicht irgendein Motiv, sondern jenes, das der Londoner Künstler Paul Cannell für das 1991 veröffentlichte, bahnbrechende Album „Screamadelica“ der britischen Band Primal Scream geschaffen hatte.
„Unter meinen ersten Kunden war dann auch gleich jemand, der sich nicht etwa für Kinderkleidung interessierte, sondern fragte, ob denn auch die Nachbildung des Plattencovers zu kaufen ist“, erinnert sich Elsa Kuhn an den Impuls, der viele Jahre später zu einem Projekt werden sollte, dem mittlerweile auch Ausstellungen gefolgt sind: Unter dem Namen „In Felt We Trust“ gestaltet und näht Kuhn mit Wollfilz und Faden berühmte Schallplattencover nach.
A selection of these works can now be admired outside of France for the first time: around 30 of these unique pieces currently adorn a wall in the Frankfurt record store Hoppigaloppi on Berger Straße.
Its operator Matthias Westerweller, also known as DJ Weller, became aware of the designer through Kuhn's posts on Instagram and then wrote to her asking if she would like to present a selection of her work on the Main.
Kuhn immediately agreed to an exhibition in a record store, as the world of analogue recordings has been a great passion since her school days, when she even started a fanzine, one of those magazines with which fans, in her case of indie rock and punk, to other fans.
However, Kuhn studied fashion design and, after initial experience with her own shop, founded the Eva Koshka label in 2007, with which she specialized in children's and baby clothing. Here, too, there are references to pop culture in her designs, but for a long time her involvement with the artistic design of album covers was more of a hobby.
It was the joy of sewing she learned from her grandmother, the joy of embroidery she taught herself, and the joy of the motifs she found on beloved records, whether Wire's “Pink Flag.” “Bandwagonesque” by Teenage Fanclub.
“These motifs weren’t terribly difficult to recreate. At that time I still used a sewing machine, which was relatively quick. Some of the felt covers I made for myself, others as gifts for friends. And such a gift really got the project going. The singer of a band that I had sewn a cover of asked me if I could sew him a replica too. It was like an assignment,” recalls Kuhn.
She has so far made around 300 cover replicas out of wool felt, around half of them with motifs from her own record collection, the other half based on customer requests. She now sews and embroiders all of her works by hand, some taking her an afternoon, others days or even weeks, such as “Pet Sounds” by the Beach Boys.
Such a unique piece costs between 150 and 300 euros, depending on the effort involved. She now receives inquiries from all over the world. The cover version of a cover also has the potential to be a hit.
“In Felt We Trust” can be seen at the Hoppigaloppi record store, Berger Straße 56, in Frankfurt until the beginning of January 2025.
