“To be, or not to be, that is the question”.
Hamlet, Act III, Scene 1. The tragic story of the prince of Denmark, narrated by William Shakespeare, well represents the strong and determined nature of the Scandinavian people. It is the same nature I could appreciate during my second visit to Aarhus for the HEADSTART FASHION.
HEADSTART FASHION was born with the intention of being the fashion new pole of attraction in the central Jutland region and a concrete tool to promote and support the local industry abroad.
To meet common goals and ambitions, HEADSTART FASHION has partnered with a number of Danish leading organizations such as Dansk Mode & Textil.
This year I met three emerging designers, three young brands, three different points of view. I asked them three simple questions. Thanks to them, I solved the Hamletic doubt “To be, or not to be”: its solution stays in the conscious certainty that being matters more than anything else, even in fashion.
TWELVEPIECES
What is fashion for you and what is fashion in Denmark today?
I think of fashion as something that describes you & your lifestyle – Maybe in a certain phase of your life or who you strives to be – As for me, I could take a look and get a pretty good indication of what appeals to a person. But Danish fashion is quite minimalistic. If you look at people around in the streets of Denmark you will see white, grey and black, which is a minimalistic trend. And the Danish aesthetics appears in my brand Twelvepieces in combination with a middle eastern touch.
Tell us something about Twelvepieces.
Twelvepieces is not only a clothing brand – it’s a lifestyle.
It’s a unique concept that only creates Twelve of each product. Every collection contains 12 styles or 12 pieces. Every piece is numbered from 1/12 to 12/12.
The name Twelvepieces actually comes from an old drawing I found some years ago and this drawing was one of the first collection I draw when I was younger.
It was written in Danish as “12 stykker” (12 pieces in English), that was actually the name; from there I made my own concept.
Twelvepieces capsule collections are built upon storytelling with new iconic silhouettes characterized by a street & minimalistic approach. The capsule collections always try to emphasize a new actual issue from our world.
The history behind the first capsule collection “The Spring” is staying true to the cultural heritage of the brand. It’s a story about the Arabic Spring and all the anarchy in the Middle East which resulted in a rebellious outtake in a natural toned palette and bold graphical prints.
My next collection is called ’Roots’ and it is the story of where I come from – Cairo, Egypt. This collection will still have the Arabic calligraphy with words like freedom, brotherhood etc. but unlike the rebellions values from ‘The Spring’, this collection will also represent a more peaceful and beautiful side of Egypt, mainly inspired from my childhood when I used to visit my family for 2 months every year until the beginning of the revolution in 2011. I think it is very important to represent and showcase both sides of Egypt. Although the country has been suffering because of various dictators and corrupt politicians for years, I think it is important to stay positive and showcase Egypt and our culture on a larger scale than just my 23 years in this world.
The pyramids, camelbacks and hieroglyphs are among the things I find beautiful and inspiring. Not only they represent a time when Egypt was a frontier for the future modern society, they also helps me visualize the culture and tell the story of Egypt and – of course – my Roots.
Why to take part in HEADSTART FASHION?
We attended HSF because we heard good things about the event.
It’s the first time we have attended something like this – but we got a lot of new friends & media covered after attending HSF! So it was worth.
ACKITE
What is fashion for you and what is fashion in Denmark today?
Fashion for me is a way to evolve and gather differences in the world. The perfection and details in a design are what makes it unique. The time and effort, which have been put into a design, are what gives the fashion industry meaning. Regarding the Danish Fashion industry, there have been a massive change over the past couple of years. Denmark has begun to evolve, giving new fashion brands the opportunity to be noticed in the rest of the world. This evolution is a huge opportunity for young designers like myself.
Tell us something about ACKITE.
ACKITE was created to inform people about the differences we are facing every day. ACKITE is a unisex brand which gives both women and men a common interest. The diversity of the collection that I created with the collaboration of a well-known blogger – was created to break the barrier of the negativity about being different. ACKITE is a combination of the words BL(ACK) & WH(ITE) which our entire collection consists in. We aim to open our first store in 2018 which will consist in a line of different ideas and thoughts, able to bring people together giving them a community feeling. Our new AW-collection is arriving next September. This collection is inspired by the use of technical fabrics.
Why to take part in HEADSTART FASHION?
When I first heard about HEADSTART FASHION I wasn’t sure this was the right way for me to go. I did a lot of thinking and eventually I decided to join the Press Delegation of 2017. This was an event where 7 selected brands got to show their collection to some of the fashion industries biggest magazines. This was also where ACKITE did come into contact with F.Y. Magazine. Joining the Press Delegation gave us a lot of drive to be even better. HEADSTART FASHION has definitely been a massive turn up for ACKITE, and I hope it will be the same for others as well.
DANSK
What is fashion for you and what is fashion in Denmark today?
Fashion is true innovation. Fashion is all about deciding your style and creating an atmosphere around it. To many people today focus on what the market is telling them to wear that is why brands like Supreme are succeeding. To me fashion is more on matching the style to your personality, I see too many people wearing Adidas Yeezys just because of the market is telling to do it, in my opinion fashion becomes true and great when it fits your personality.
Danish fashion has trough the latest 4-5 years gotten a more international perspective. The consumer is focusing more on quality than on quantity. This has made a gap in the market where brands like ours can grow. People are focusing more on small brands like ours in order to create individual fashion. The bigger chains and brands are suffering from sales setback because the consumer is turning to more individual fashion.
Tell us something about DANSK.
Dansk is an innovative print driven brand. All prints are designed by ourselves and the company was founded by me and my mom. The brand is growing rapidly. We want to expand to foreign markets such as Spain and Italy and are currently looking for agencies there.
Why to take part in HEADSTART FASHION?
We attend THE HEADSTART FASHION event because when you are a small brand it is very important to get exposure. Whenever we meet the press we get great feedback and usually a lot of editorials. But getting the attention of the media is usually hard. HEADSTART FASHION is a great organization for making the link between small fashion companies and the consumer as well as the media.
