Zalando has been the "Chleiderchäschtli"* of Switzerland for ten years

Birthday celebrations include a big anniversary campaign

September 24, 2021
Company
Nemo and KT Gorique on a boat in the sunshine
  • To celebrate Zalando’s 10th birthday, the fashion brand is teaming up with singer Nemo and rapper KT Gorique to release a love song about the Swiss wardrobe.
  • The song will be accompanied by a six-week 360° campaign throughout Switzerland.
  • The music video was recorded in Zurich and produced by the Swiss independent label Bakara Music.

BERLIN, SEPTEMBER 24th 2021 // Zalando, Europe's leading online platform for fashion and lifestyle, has been bringing stylish diversity to the Swiss ‘Chleiderchäschtli’ for ten years. To celebrate the Swiss anniversary in a fitting manner, singer Nemo and rapper KT Gorique are dedicating the song ‘Chleiderchäschtli’ to Zalando, and it will be heard and seen as part of a 360° campaign in Switzerland over the next six weeks. Based on the Swiss-German term ‘Chuchichäschtli’, meaning kitchen cupboard, the song is both a homage and a thank-you to Zalando's Swiss customers. The song, which can be heard on all streaming platforms and radio stations as of today, will have its release supported by influencer marketing, Zalando's Facebook page and Zalando’s YouTube channel, as well as a TV campaign from September 27th and an out of home campaign in 20 Swiss cities from October 4th.

Five-time Swiss Music Award winner Nemo was thrilled by the idea of creating a song about the ‘Chleiderchäschtli’, marking his first musical return to the Swiss German dialect in more than two years. "Fashion has become more and more important to me in recent years. I sometimes experiment with tulle skirts or painting my fingernails. I’ve witnessed the rise of Zalando from its very beginnings, and I was delighted to be able to write the anniversary song for the campaign." The 22-year-old from Biel embodies Zalando’s values: he doesn't let himself be restricted by social conventions when it comes to fashion; he likes to shop online and has an eye for more sustainably produced fashion.

The French-speaking Swiss rapper KT Gorique has written a verse for the song as a feature artist. Her inimitable style blends reggae with a contemporary hip-hop sound. "Switzerland, with its multilingualism, is not an easy place for a French-speaking artist, so I am all the more grateful to Zalando for allowing me to give French-speaking Switzerland a voice in the song. Producing a Swiss-German-French track together with Nemo was a great experience," says KT Gorique. The rapper from Valais with Ivory Coast roots and Nemo, who does not conform to any of fashion’s gender rules, both represent the diversity of Switzerland. The zalando.ch range – with over half a million items available online in the categories of fashion, beauty, sports fashion, children's fashion and designer clothing – allows the Swiss to express their diversity through their sense of style too.

Florian Jodl, Zalando’s General Manager for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, says: "Switzerland is one of our most important markets. The 94% brand awareness level demonstrates that almost every Swiss person knows about Zalando. We are an emotional brand for our Swiss customers and are proud to have been the Swiss ‘Chleiderchäschtli’ for ten years. This anniversary song by Nemo and KT Gorique is our way of saying thank you to our Swiss Zalando customers for their trust in us.

The story of Zalando's success began in 2008 when it began shipping flip-flops within Germany. Deliveries to Switzerland began in October 2011. Just like the new anniversary campaign, back then a particularly Helvetian advertising slogan was used: «Schueh und Fashion online poschte» [Swiss-German: “Shop for shoes and fashion online”]. In the meantime, the online platform has become the number one in Swiss online retail. More information on the history of Zalando in Switzerland is available here.

*‘Chleiderchäschtli’ (Swiss-German dialect, noun): wardrobe.

‘Chleiderchäschtli’ is now available on all streaming platforms and radio stations. The campaign’s TV spot will be broadcast in Switzerland fromSeptember 27th and supported by an out of home campaign in 20 Swiss cities from October 4th.

Directed by Stini Röhrs
Photography: Diana Pfammatter
Styling: Anouck Mutsaerts
Make-up: Helve Leal
Filming location: Zürich

About Nemo

With a performance as a 16-year-old at the Virus Bounce Cypher 2016, the musician Nemo from Biel suddenly became known throughout Switzerland. In the same year he released the EP "Momänt-Kids", and in the following year the EP "Fundbüro". With songs like "Himalaya", "Ke Bock" or "Du" he has already written several Swiss dialect hits. A previous highlight of his still young career was the Swiss Music Awards 2018, where Nemo won no less than four of the prestigious ‘Concrete Blocks’ – a first in the history of the national music award. Since the summer of 2020, Nemo, now 22, has released various songs in English.

 

About KT Gorique

KT was born in Abidjan in 1991 to an Italian father and Ivorian mother and spent most of her childhood on the Ivory Coast. Inspired by African music, gospel and dance, she began writing poetry at the age of eight. When she arrived in Switzerland at the age of eleven, she threw herself into hip-hop culture, listening to artists like The Fugees, Notorious BIG, and Wu-Tang Clan. Inspired by the hip-hop rhythms, she initially turned to dance. Only a few years later, KT expressed  her lyrics on rap instrumentals. In September 2018, she was voted "SRF 3 Best Talent."

Zalando SE Boiler Plate EN

About Zalando

Founded in Berlin in 2008, Zalando is building the leading pan-European ecosystem for fashion and lifestyle e-commerce around two growth vectors: Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B). In B2C, we offer an inspiring and quality multi-brand shopping experience for fashion and lifestyle products to about 50 million active customers in 25 markets. In B2B, we are using our logistic infrastructure, software and service capabilities to help brands and retailers run and scale their entire e-commerce business, on or off Zalando. As an ecosystem, Zalando aims to enable positive change for the fashion and lifestyle industry.