Just 23,000 inhabitants small and yet world-famous: Metzingen has established a name for itself in an international fashion that few other cities have achieved. Today, a large selection of premium and luxury brands attracts fashion lovers from all over the world to Outletcity. How this success story unfolded has been on display since the 25th of June in The Museum at Ka-nalstraße 6, which is also the originating location for Outletcity Metzingen, and can be discovered, explored and experienced there. It is a museum which Outletcity Metzingen presents as a piece of the city’s history and the mutual relationship between the destination and the city.
Outletcity Metzingen: the city of textiles, home to many and also where the world-renowned Hugo Boss company resides, In-side, the museum sheds light on the history from three different perspectives. The exhibition can be experienced through various senses and is addressed to a wide audience. The information is presented on several levels. “The multidimensional modes of interaction reflect the diversity of Metzingen. The guests can look forward to discovering new knowledge and diving deep into the emotions of exciting stories,” said Regine Schöllkopf-Pinakidis, COO of Outletcity AG.
The Building’s Meaning
The Museum is housed in a building constructed in 1877 that later became the Hugo Boss factory, which also housed the Boss and Holy family. In the 1970s, the first Hugo Boss factory outlet in Germany opened and gained fame beyond the city’s boundary. “Still today, my favourite place at Outletcity is the old factory on Ka-nalstraße. Here is where the deepest stories are rooted, and the changes to the city and Outletcity can be best seen. There it is palpable, how much the city has changed. That is why I was particularly happy about our realising The Museum. The building itself is by far not the largest or architecturally the most demanding, but for me, it is the most unusual and most valuable in terms of overall development,” said Wolfgang Bauer, CEO of Outletcity AG.
Museum Concept
In cooperation with the agency, Goldman-nart from Berlin, the creative team planned and realised the museum exhibition. The concept is very interactive, for example so-called “audio showers” tell the stories and personal thoughts on the different threads of history from the perspective of various Metzingen personalities like Uwe Holy (grandson of Hugo Boss) and Wolfgang Bauer. The city’s chronology is broken down into milestones that help to define the three threads of history selectively and forcefully depicted in three colours. The history of Metzingen and Outletcity can be experienced through large format pictures and small details, quotes, headlines of old newspaper articles and an interactive media table which also shows a time warp of the city layout.
Renovation
The planning for the building renovations began as soon as the Hugo Boss Outlet stores moved to Hugo Boas Platz in late 2019. The floor area of the complete building is 1,398m2, spread over three floors. In cooperation with the renowned blocher partners architectural firm, the plans for the building’s redesign were laid and the renovation took 15 months. “Because the building was in unexpectedly poor condition after 124 years, the list-worthy building needed to have some of its parts replaced or reinforced,” said Wolfgang Bauer. Almost all of the companies involved in the project are located nearby.
The Gallery
Parallel to the Museum’s kick-off, the Gallery, located in the same building, is showing an exhibition by the artist Romulo Kuranyi until June 29″. His works are impressive and immediately recognisable thanks to his unique style.
