Anyone who follows Willy Iffland on Instagram might think that his daily life revolves mainly around trainers, collaborations and the camera. However, when you meet him in person, it quickly becomes clear that this surface-level impression tells only a small part of his story.
Having grown up in Thuringia, near Jena, without a clear plan but with an early flair for media, aesthetics and pop culture, Willy’s career path developed organically into the creative industry. During his apprenticeship – at a time when he was still far removed from the creative scene – he started the lifestyle blog *Dressed Like Machines* out of boredom. With posts on streetwear, trainers, music and design, he struck a chord with the spirit of the times and soon became one of Germany’s most-read lifestyle bloggers. As Instagram grew in popularity, the blogger became an influencer: with his passion for trainers and street style, Willy built up a large community and collaborated with international brands for years. At the same time, he gained experience in the music industry, including at the online music channel TapeTV and for various labels, before setting up his own business as a content creator.
Willy now lives in Leipzig with his girlfriend. Together with close friends, he founded the creative agency Pitch This there and now finds himself on the other side of the influencer business. He’s still a creator, but that no longer plays the leading role in his life. Instead, he develops creative concepts, advises brands and implements campaigns – both professionally and personally, his focus is now less on reach and more on creativity.
His home, too, tells this story. It is neither a showroom nor a meticulously staged museum, but a place that has evolved over time: characterised by a sense of order, a keen eye for materials and quality, but also by vintage pieces and conscious choices. Anyone who follows Willy might expect picture-perfect images. Anyone who visits him will meet a down-to-earth chap who knows where he comes from – and who, for that very reason, allows himself to go his own way.
We visited Willy at his home in Leipzig and spoke to him about design classics, art and personal development.
smow: How do you combine your love of fashion with your interior design? Is that important?
Willy Iffland: Yeah, definitely. I’m someone who’s really into colours. My tattoos always feature loads of colour, and my clothes have always been very colourful too. Not so much understated, but really bold – and that was sort of my interior design style at the start as well. But I think the biggest parallels you can draw are with my shoes. Trainers have always been my passion; the shape and quality of the shoes have always been important to me, and you can actually apply that one-to-one to my approach to interior design. And at the end of the day, it’s all about feeling comfortable.And that’s just how it was with clothes, too. It’s generally a process that will never really end. I think we’re at a point right now where we’re really happy with how everything looks in our flat. There’ll always be changes – well, that’s life.
smow: How does your professional environment influence your taste or your interior design?
Willy Iffland: Not really, I don’t think. But I do notice now and then, of course, amongst my circle of friends, that people sometimes ask me for my opinion. So I do get the feeling that I might be influencing people a bit with what I do.
smow: That’s the influencer coming through.
Willy Iffland: Exactly, that’s where my old calling comes through again. But I draw my inspiration less from friends or my job, and more from things I see online – on a website or on Pinterest. I save anything I like, just in case I might be able to use it again somehow. If we ever have a child, I’ve already got a list of bookmarks with, I don’t know, 50 articles – things that aren’t your typical toys or children’s bits and bobs, but which still have a certain aesthetic appeal.
smow: There’s quite a lot of art on display in your home. How does art influence your interior design, or does your interior design influence your art, and what does that mean to you in general?
Willy Iffland: So, alongside interior design, I think art has become a really important pillar in my life, because it’s simply something you have forever, just like certain pieces of furniture. Which brings us to the subject of quality, and the same applies to art. I could hang up posters here too, which would certainly have its place, and that’s fine – perfectly legitimate. But I like individualism, and you only get that if you actually seek out artists. I have to be honest: with all the pictures hanging here in the flat, I’ve never really paid much attention to whether they might match in terms of colour. And yet they do fit – the one by Aichinger hanging in the bedroom, for instance, just goes well with the headboard. Of course, it’s primarily simply about the artist’s style. Take Mühlenbrink, for example – I just love that style. I like that blurred effect. And if you look at it closely, it looks as if some drops have run down. But it’s all just painted. And it’s so unique. It’s simply beautiful. These are all pieces of furniture that simply cost a certain amount of money. Still, at the end of the day, they’re everyday objects that are meant to be used.
smow: You did say that, of course, you have to be careful not to let a flat turn into a museum. How did you manage to turn it into a home?
Willy Iffland: Just find a colourful mix. I mean, you simply have to stop thinking of it all as furniture that costs a certain amount of money. It does. Even I, at the start, whenever someone sat on the lounge chair in jeans, would check to see if there were any buttons on them that might damage anything. Still, at the end of the day, they’re everyday objects that are meant to be used. And with certain things, a bit of wear and tear actually has its charm. And if there’s a little scratch here and there, well, that’s just the way it is. It’s bound to happen at some point anyway.
smow: How would you describe your interior design style?
Willy Iffland: [laughs]
smow: I’m sure you’ve been waiting for that question...
Willy Iffland: [continues laughing] Yes, in a way. It’s hard to describe in a single word. Sarah and Willy – we’re both a bit loco in the head, in a way, but on the other hand we also get on really well together, and that sums up our interior design style: a colourful mix of thoughts and ideas we both have in our heads, paired with a bit of madness. Individuality is important to us. I’m not someone who has an in-depth knowledge of all these different eras of design either. I’m interested in it, of course, and I know quite a lot, but I’d say my knowledge of interior design and furniture history is perhaps 5–10 per cent of what there is to know. Sure, I’ve got some stylish books lying about here – by Dieter Rams, for example, and of course the smow catalogues – but I’m the last person who’d claim to know all that much about it.
smow: What do you think makes a piece of furniture good?
Willy Iffland: First and foremost, it has to suit the style of the flat. Then it simply has to be well made. And it has to be unique; I don’t like furniture that’s run-of-the-mill, and you always come across that sort of thing – you can’t avoid it – a kitchen just looks like a kitchen, after all. I like this table, for example; you don’t see one like it very often.
Willy Iffland: What was important to us here was that the chairs aren’t all the same. We just wanted a bit of a mix, and it’s important to me that they complement the other things in the flat well, that ideally they’re in a colour rather than just black or white, and that they’re of a certain quality.
smow: Is there a room or a corner in your home that really reflects who you are?
Willy Iffland: Yes, the bedroom. It’s exactly how I imagine the perfect bedroom for myself, in terms of the colour scheme and the wardrobe. These are all things I’ve always wanted, for as long as I can remember.
smow: How do you stay true to yourself?
Willy Iffland: A lovely flat generally goes down well on social media. But certain design classics – such as USM furniture – are also real audience magnets. When you work as an influencer, you automatically keep these dynamics in mind. At some point, when we moved house, I realised that my things simply no longer reflected what I actually like. So we got rid of a lot of stuff. I’m doing this for myself now – that’s the difference. Yes, you just get older [laughs]. We live here in a 130-square-metre flat. These days, it really is a privilege to live in a flat like this and to be able to buy furniture that’s a bit more expensive. If my parents knew that I was buying, say, a paper lamp for 700 euros, they’d have said: ‘Have you gone mad?’ It’s a different generation – different generation, different interests. Different income, too. And a different background.
smow: For a lot of people, especially those who aren’t familiar with the subject, it’s quite unusual…
Willy Iffland: Of course, it’s still a bubble. Anyone scrolling through Instagram quickly finds themselves comparing themselves to what’s on display there – and that can create pressure. At the same time, beautiful spaces can also inspire and provide ideas. I know that, as a creator, I’m part of this dynamic. Nevertheless, I’m proud of what we’ve created here, because it didn’t just happen overnight; it’s grown over the years and we’ve built it all up ourselves.
smow: The great thing is that the furniture stays.
Willy Iffland: Yes, a chair like that will still be there in 20 years’ time, at the very least. It’s just like art. It’s an investment.
smow: If you could make one wish at smow right now, for example, which design classic would you like to add to the collection, or is it already here?
Willy Iffland: Yes, the Eames Lounge Chair is already here… I suppose it’s sort of my holy grail. No matter what happens, it’ll always be there. And if, at some point, I’ve got absolutely nothing left, I’ll sleep on it. The one thing I’d still like to have is the Noguchi Table.
The doorbell rings unexpectedly. What’s the first thing you say? Hello.
Rechargeable torch or one with a cable? Rechargeable torch – I don’t like cables.
A break in style or all part of the same whole? A break in style, definitely.
High-end or Swedish furniture brand? High-end.
Safety or risk? Risk, I think.
Living room or dressing room? As I no longer have a dressing room, it’s definitely the living room now.
Trainers or slippers? Actually, slippers these days, because felt slippers are the best. We wear our felt slippers when it’s cold. And the great thing is, with felt slippers you can always slide about, just like in *Home Alone*. It might come as a surprise, because I’m from the trainers world [laughs].
Online shop or smow store? I’m always Team Online Shop.
The best place for art? Spinnerei.
The coolest café? 292.
The best bread? Backstein.
Your favourite club? SV Schleusig.
What’s your favourite spot in the city? Fockeberg.
smow: Thank you very much!
