Embracing Change, Staying True to Himself

At 30, Julian Brandt is playing abroad for the first time – and, away from football, building a project with his brother that brings together music, clothing and people. Why staying open to new things matters to him, and what it means to stay true to himself.

Along the way, Jannis takes photos of his brother. He is a big part of why Julian is interested in photography and videography himself. Jannis works as a photographer and creative director, and the two of them work together on À CE SOIR.

Julian is wearing a dark brown beanie and a greyish-brown zip-up knit cardigan over a cream long-sleeve top, with wide olive trousers, white trainers and sunglasses with a translucent brownish frame. “You have to like that, definitely. But I like it when clothes hang loose and don’t have to fit your body to the centimetre – when they’re allowed to be a bit baggy. That just feels comfortable.”

“I wouldn’t call myself a big fashionista.” He spots things on other people, in pictures or in shops, and if he likes something, he buys it. “I haven’t taken a crash course in fashion.” Ten years ago, he says, he looked completely different.

À CE SOIR began with the idea of putting on events and parties – “just chatting, as you do”. There have already been nights in Cologne, Berlin and Nuremberg, alongside a series of DJ mixes. But the brothers never wanted the project to stop there.

“For me, À CE SOIR is a playground where Jannis and I can express ourselves,” he says. “It’s a fun project, and in the end it’s meant to bring together the good things in life: joy and emotion through music, through clothing, through people connecting over coffee at two o’clock on a Sunday afternoon.”

The range now runs from shirts and hats to espresso cups and a coffee blend of their own. “I think it’s brilliant when ideas turn into a product you can hold in your hand or actually see somewhere.”

He also thinks a lot about how to get the brothers’ ideas across. “And expressing certain emotions through the language of images and video – that really excites me.” He’s equally interested in how people respond: “Just because I like something doesn’t mean my neighbour has to like it too.”

The work regularly takes him into unfamiliar territory: “It involves things I’m not much of an expert in myself, where I’m gaining experience and maybe doing things I’d do differently further down the line.”

He doesn’t name a single role model. He is interested in the biographies of artists, politicians and historical figures – and just as much in people who aren’t famous. “I like to look around, I’m happy to be taught and to learn from others – but I don’t rely too heavily on other people for inspiration.”

Julian would like to bring the different sides of À CE SOIR together in a pop-up. “Just a little space for a few hours, where people who are up for it come along and feel at ease.”