The first 12, 10 years on
In 2016 we made 12 pieces in a Copenhagen basement. All 12 are still in the range. What changed in them, and what we refused to change.
By Mette Holm2 min read
Jonas and I started with a rule: a piece only joins the collection if we would still want to wear it in 10 years. In 2016 that was a guess. This summer it is a fact we can check. All 12 of the first pieces are still in the range, and still made by the atelier that first sewed them.
What changed
The cloth, mostly. The first Breton top was a cotton we could afford, not the one we wanted. Today it is a heavier organic jersey that holds its shape after 100 washes. The oxford shirt gained 2 cm in the back, after customers told us it rode up when they cycled. The overcoat lost a pocket nobody used.
What did not
The shapes. Every year someone suggests making the jeans slimmer, or the overcoat shorter, or the T-shirt boxier, because that is what is selling. We say no. A shape that is in fashion is, by definition, one that will be out of it.
The best compliment we get is a customer who cannot remember when they bought it.
What we got wrong
We thought 12 pieces would be enough for a whole wardrobe. It was not. People need more than one kind of trouser, and a sweater that is not navy. The range grew. But the rule never changed, and it has cost us more good ideas than we can count.
If you own one of the first 12, we would love to see it. Bring it to Bredgade. We will mend whatever needs mending, and we might ask to take its picture.
