ODEUR started out as an experiment and, before long, grew to become a firm Chasseur favourite. A reliable purveyor of intelligent, innovative design and minimalist chic based in the ‘safe haven’ of Stockholm – somewhat distanced from fashion’s more notorious capitals – the label focuses on possibilities of individual expression in immaculately crafted garments. While the SS15 collection circles various tradeshows, we spoke with the brand’s creative directors, Gorjan Lauseger and Petter Hollström, to find out more about their unique conceptual approach to fashion.
Where did you study? How did that inform your approach to fashion design?
Petter: Well, I studied Graphic Design at the University in Umeå where I come from originally and then I continued my studies at Bergh’s School of Communication in Stockholm.
Gorjan: I actually went to Halmstad for my studies in Marketing and Communication, so neither of us has a traditional fashion education. Our approach to fashion is probably shaped by our education in a way – we might have a slightly different approach in creating our collections. It is a different creative process altogether.
What are your thoughts on fashion in Sweden, given that much of the industry often restricts its parameters to New York, Paris, Milan and London?
Both: Sweden is a really nice place to run the brand. In a way, it is a safe haven, where we can concentrate on what we want to bring out in terms of collections and projects and we can easily maintain our focus. Of course, this would be possible living in some of the cities you mention as well, but now we get the luxury of travelling to these cities often. We would like to think that it means that we always feel inspired visiting these cities and it never becomes a part of everyday life to us. Therefore, travelling broadens our minds, which we use in our work at our Stockholm studio.
I believe that you have been quoted as saying that each new collection is a continuation of the ODEUR aesthetic. Do you prefer not to ‘reboot’ entirely each season, as some designers/brands do?
Both: We do feel the need to reboot for each collection. Each time we prefer to start from a blank sheet and allow our work to grow into something we like. In terms of the aesthetics, we have discovered that even if we try to step outside of our comfort areas in terms of cuttings and materials, it still feels that the result has to embrace our Odeur soul. So it is really more about the fact that the Odeur aesthetic develops through each collection organically. You could say that every new blank sheet leads to the development of the Odeur universe altogether.
How important to you is it that the cerebral work behind the garments you produce carries through to the customer?
Both: Of course, we have ideas and opinions that we use as inspiration for our collections. However, we always feel that the wearer of our garments should be able to create their own relation to the collections. This is also why we never like to be too overtly obvious in our creations. Fashion is really something that belongs to the wearer, and we would hate to limit them. We rather like to inspire, that is why we think the emotional and physical experience of our collections are just as or even more important. However, we would like to think that these often are in line with each other and comfortably united.
Where did the idea to mark your brand with a scent come from?
Petter: Odeur was developed from the idea of creating the somewhat contradictory concept of a non-visual brand. It was really an experiment from the start, trying to investigate if it was possible to replace the traditional word-based logotype with a scent that is infused in the garments. The more conceptual idea would be that it is important for you to know what you are wearing and why, but it is not important for you to show it to others. Expression comes from within for us.
Is everything (your daily work, your duty as designers, the company you have created) what you thought it would be? How have your ideas of these things changed as you have steadily built a brand?
Petter: In a way it is; running your own company and creating your own product brings many great things that you really should feel humble about, and I think we are. But then of course there is always a driving force that wants you to push forward in order to evolve the brand and company. From the start, it was difficult to imagine the amount of work and time you have to put into this. Over the years, the ideas of what it is – and what it should be – have developed further, and this process continues. At the moment we have a lot of focus on the more corporate parts, getting a nice structure in the company to be able to grow the brand and initiate new projects.
Can you tell us anything about the SS15 collection?
Gorjan: The new collection, currently showing in selected trade shows and in our international showrooms, is named ’Zenith’. The inspiration springs from the perception of what should be a person’s ‘prime’ time in life. The balance of the collection is perhaps a bit more daring than previous collections, with cut-out fabrics and sharper cuts than what we have done before. This time we created a collection for a person that knows who they are and at what time in life they find themselves.