van Laack

Van Laack was founded in Berlin in 1881 by Heinrich van Laack, who set out, by the company's own account, to manufacture the best shirt achievable at the time. One of his lasting contributions was the brand's three-hole button, cut from the shell of the Trochacea deep-sea snail and attached with a button shank designed to add durability beyond a standard flat button; the design was refined further in the 1930s using improved shell material. The Second World War interrupted the Berlin-based operation, and afterward Heinrich Hoffmann acquired the van Laack brand and relocated production to Mönchengladbach in 1953, establishing the city as the company's long-term home and manufacturing base, the same city listed as its production origin today. The company has continued to position itself around precision shirtmaking, marketed under its 'Meisterwerk' line as an emphasis on craftsmanship and fit rather than mass production. Over more than 140 years, the brand has kept its identity tied to two specific, verifiable details: a distinctive natural-shell button and a single, named German manufacturing city that has remained constant since the 1950s.