Jan and Patrik: "We like to look good and it's great that we can borrow each other's clothes!"
Patrick and Jane, as a couple you were chosen for a photo shoot in collaboration with LUI magazine and Zalando. But how did you meet?
Patrick: Our acquaintance was such a long time ago. We ran into each other on Instagram. Honza liked some of my posts...
Jan: I don't really remember! But I heard it was like that (laughs).
Patrik: I didn't take it seriously either. Then we bumped into each other on dating apps, where we sometimes messaged each other, but it didn't go anywhere. Then Honza showed up at my work, we kind of knew about each other.
Jan: But I didn't know him!
Patrik: I knew who he was. After a year or so, we wrote to each other again, but then Honza disappeared, because he got engaged. And after another year we started writing again and finally arranged a meeting.
Jan: And especially the kidney!
Sorry, what kidney?
Patrick: We had a kidney with ducks and some writing on it in our shop. And Honza just texted me that he wanted one too. So I told him to come and get it, but Černý Most was far away for him (laughs)!
Jan: Patrik insisted that I come and get it and I said, " Oh no, I'm done with you!"
And I'm done!
Jan: And he brought the kidney to my date.
You're getting ahead of yourself! We were supposed to go for a walk through Prague, but it was raining, so we ended up going to the cinema. A horror movie. And I gave him the kidney as a parting gesture.
Butyou wanted to pay for it!
Patrik: You think so?
Jan: Yeah, but it was nice! And that was three years ago.
Patrik: And then we were dating, and then one day I get out of the shower and I see I'm tagged in a relationship on Facebook!
And you didn't dispute that?
Patrick: No! I confirmed the tag and went to do my friend's hair (laughs).
And now for the fashion. I suppose you, Patrik, have a great affinity for fashion, since you're in it professionally. Or is it the other way around that you go out and put on a faded T-shirt and sweatpants to get away from fashion?
Patrik: Of course I can dress in bad taste, but I can also dress with a lot of style. I don't really follow the world's fashion trends, but I can certainly dress very well. I like the feeling when I look at myself in the mirror and say, " Yeah, you did it!"
Jan: I'm much more modest! I wouldn't say that about myself (laughs). But I like it when I look good. I used to work in a hotel where I always wore a tie, a shirt, a waistcoat... When I changed jobs, I changed my wardrobe. I care about looking good. If I combine things that don't go together, my whole day is ruined. But I care more about how I feel in the clothes than what other people would say. For me, it depends on how I wake up in the morning. On Monday I want to be nicely dressed, on Tuesday I want to go to work in a pair of comfortable jeans and a faded sweatshirt. So I just go in my sweatshirt and I feel great.
You mentioned the formal wear that you had to wear every day. How do you feel about it now that you don't have to wear it anymore?
Jan: I have a real aversion to it! When I have to wear a jacket, it gives me hives.
How has your style changed since you met?
Jan: It's totally changed. Actually, we switched. The way I used to dress is the way Patrik dresses now.
Patrik: You came to your first date dressed like a homeless man!
Jan: That coat was already sold that way, it looked worn on purpose! So I mostly wore black, grey... I didn't wear colours at all. Since we've been together, it's been the other way around. Patrick now walks elegantly and I walk like a circus performer!
Do you ever steal each other's clothes?
Jan: Only me to him.
Patrik: I find out in Instagram stories. Because Honza leaves for work before me.
Jan: I'm grateful for that, that I can borrow things.
Patrik: And I borrowed one of your jackets for the first time yesterday.
Jan: Which one?
Patrik: The plaid one.
Jan: The one I got today? That's the one he gave me, I don't mind.
Otherwise, would it matter?
Jan: I think I have a few things that if he took, I'd probably be nervous.
Are there things that one of you likes to wear that the other one downright hates?
Jan: When we started dating, I told Patrick the three things I didn't want to see on him or it would be over. What was it? A white belt...
Patrick: I don't know now. White belt, dirty shirt...
Jan: I don't like holes and stains and stuff. And what was the third one? White shoes, I guess? White leather shoes? I don't know now. But some of his things make me downright unhappy? I don't think so.
Patrick: It may have been fashion hell before, but not anymore.
Jan: I guess it took a while to get used to it. Patrik is a master of combination. Sometimes I see him and I'm like, "Wow! But if he's good at it, why not! I admire it that he wears more color than I do. I especially like the black.
Do you guys ever match outfits when you go out together to parties and weddings and stuff?
Patrik: It depends on the event, but sometimes I do. When we were at a wedding reception recently, we wore the same jeans, same top.
Jan: We match for sure, but not 100%. For example, I have a bomber and a white shirt, he has a leather jacket and a white shirt. Yeah, I like that.
Patrik: So in some ways the same, but in some ways different. We're going to four weddings next year, so we're going to have a good time.
I 'll have to buy that jacket...
Patrik: And I'll get the whole suit.
But you had a jacket, right?
Patrik: Yes, but I can't fit into it anymore.
Jan: You wore that to the disco, didn't you? I know that (laughs).
Patrik: Yeah, that's what I used to wear. Plaid shirt and a jacket on top.
Did you, Patrik, used to follow a lot of current trends?
Patrik: Yeah, I did. You used to have to look at other people, not on social media, like today.
What would you never wear?
Jan: A white leather belt!
Patrick: A balaclava!
Jan: I would wear that.
And the white belt... Did you wear it, Patrick?
Patrik: I did! That was the Paul Frank era. There must have been monkeys everywhere. Then I wore another fake Armani that my parents brought me. But that's taboo now. Now I prefer to wear well-fitting jeans that don't fall down.
How's your shopping? Do you both like shopping or not?
Jan: He shops all the time because he's in it. I've gotten all colors from some of my jeans.
Patrik: It's a little different now. There have been four rounds of culling my wardrobe. We'll meet in like five. My girlfriends come over and they hold up "Yes" and "No" cards like in Sex and the City. And now it's like, if we buy something new, we have to throw something away.
Jan: That's true for him. It's not necessary for me. I don't buy much. But I'm happy when I find someone who makes clothes on Instagram, for example. If I see a guy sewing, I immediately text him what I want. That's kind of my hobby and at the same time supporting small Czech artists. But otherwise I don't have much. But once in a while I get in a sorting mood and I also discard. And we usually give the discarded stuff to someone who needs it.
Are you also interested in sustainability in the fashion industry?
Patrik: It's a topic at my work as well. I notice that different brands with that fast fashion are trying to go the way of more eco-friendly production. I also saw some documentary where somewhere in Bangladesh they are making clothes for most of the well-known brands for little money in appalling conditions.
Do you also use fashion to express yourself?
Jan: I think that every model is self-expression!
Patrik: Every one of your rainbow models is also self-expression!
Jan: No! It's true that I have a black shirt with a rainbow of sequins. I love that! But it's such a recession against my conservative colleagues at work who have been there 268 years and I wanted to show them, " Hey, we're here!"
Patrick: Like, I often use clothes to express my mood. When I'm cheerful, I wear colorful clothes. It doesn't mean that if I'm in all black today, I'm in a bad mood (laughs). I take black as universal.
Jan: I guess I feel the same way.
What's the craziest thing you've ever worn?
Patrick: A Scooby-Doo jumpsuit!
At home or in public?
Patrik: In public!
Jan: I can't think of anything. Either it wasn't crazy to me, or I wasn't wearing anything like that.
The interview with Jan and Patrik had to end because it was time for them to get dressed in the outfits the stylist had chosen for them.
Photo: Ivan Kašša
Make-up: Karla Skálová
Styling: Magda Žůrková
Production: Friendly Friends
