Best Wardrobes in Britain: Christie and Rosanna Wollenberg

It’s not often that instead of getting to look inside just one exceptional wardrobe, we get to explore two, but not only do sisters Christie and Rosanna Wollenberg work together as the brains behind jewellery brand Otiumberg, but they’re next-door neighbours too. For the Wollenbergs, life and business are a family affair, growing up mere streets away from their current adjacent houses (where their parents are still only a walk around the corner), and it isn’t unusual to find Christie’s husband pitching in at Otiumberg HQ or her cat Chico curled up in Rosanna’s kitchen.

For those who had thought that Otiumberg was their surname, you’re half right—there is a familial connection, but there’s also more behind the title. “It took us a long time to come up with the name,” recalls eldest sister Christie. “We didn’t want it to be a namesake brand, but wanted to incorporate the “berg” as we’re sisters.” So it makes sense to preface it with “Otium” from the Latin meaning “leisure time devoted to an artistic endeavours and enjoyment”, given just how much time the duo have devoted to building the brand from the ground up, with the sole purpose of creating a conscious approach to jewellery design that the sisters both highly value. While both had 9-to-5 jobs in luxury fashion and branding, evenings and weekends were spent conceptualising Otiumberg as a new approach to demi-fine jewellery, and now they get to reap the rewards. With major stockists like MATCHESFASHION and Liberty, collaborations with Camilla and Marc, and some seriously A-list clients under their belts, you might think that 2024 will be the year that the sisters get to sit back, but instead they have plans for growth.

We catch Christie and Rosanna on a Monday morning post school-run and before heading out to strategy meetings to ask them not only about the contents of their jewellery boxes, but their wardrobes too. (And hint: both share the same effortlessly elegant aesthetic that manages to be both anti-trend and up-to-date, so be prepared to take notes). Keep scrolling to find out the sister’s favourite fashion icons, approach to feel-good dressing and why keeping it in the family is so important.

After living in different countries and travelling the world, you chose London as the home of Otiumberg. How has returning to the capital setting up a brand and influenced your style?

Christie: London for us has always been such a great source of inspiration, from the friends that surround the brand, to the women we pass on the street. There is such a diversity and unique blend of social influences that will forever keep us energised. I guess that’s what always drew us back to the city after having both lived internationally in our twenties.