About us

Between Origin and Zeitgeist

True to our motto, we offer you fashion between origin and zeitgeist. Our designs are inspired by tradition while following the latest trends.

The combination of the old and the new, the familiar and the modern, the traditional and the trendy creates our unmistakable and unique Mothwurf esthetic!

Mothwurf stands for sustainability and our heritage as well as attention to detail, clear lines and strong colors.

Ein Stück von Mothwurf ist mehr als nur Kleidung. Es hat eine Geschichte, wird Ihnen lange Freude bereiten und unterstreicht Ihre Einzigartigkeit!

The ordinary gives the world its existence, the extraordinary its value.
Oscar Wilde

Tradition Since 1770

The first records of weavers in our family date back to 1770. Almost exactly 100 years later, great-grandfather Emil Mothwurf expanded the weaving mill business and opened the first textile store. This first store was at the location of today’s Café Sacher, a prominent location on Herrengasse in Graz. Mothwurf, a one-man business at the time, was well-known in Graz and beyond national borders for its folk costumes and traditional garments, the “Tracht”. Ernst Mothwurf, grandfather of today’s managing director Helmut Schramke, worked with the renowned folklorist Viktor von Geramb among others in the field of traditional costumes.
In 1959, the business was passed on to Elisabeth Schramke, Helmut Schramke’s mother. She assisted Prof. Hanns Koren, founder of the international festival of contemporary art in Styria called “Steirischer Herbst”, in the creation of a historical paper documenting traditional Styrian garments. She also founded a sewing workshop for dirndl dresses in Graz. Today, the Mothwurf Store Graz is located directly across from where said workshop used to be.

In 1988, the passion and joy of working with textiles ultimately inspired Helmut Schramke and his wife Stefanie to found their own company in this segment, the „Mothwurf Design and Sales GmbH”. This marked the birth of the first Mothwurf collection. From now on, the entrepreneurial couple could give free rein to their creativity and express themselves through their fashion.

All three of Helmut and Stefanie’s children, Dominik, Anna-Katharina and Mathis, have been involved in the marketing and design departments of the family business since 2008.