During the summer of
2013 Sven embarked on a four month motorbike trip around Scandinavia, to meet up
with some of the regions most exciting fashion labels. He spent his time
interviewing the head designers, documenting their work place and shooting their
AW'13 collections.
Sven met up with the
Swedish fashion brand VELOUR by Nostalgi and talked with Per Andersson, creative
director, about the brand’s origins,
inspirations and plans for upcoming seasons.
An Interview With Per Andersson by Sven Eselgroth
How did you become
interested in fashion?
Back in 1997 I rummaged through the store of my ancestors
old ready-to-wear shop, which closed in the mid-eighties after 50 years
of business. I decided to make use of the asset and opened the
store Nostalgi together with a friend.
The shop sold dead stock
clothes together with re-makes art and design and became a forum for the
Gothenburg, Sweden independent scene. Back in 2002 Nostalgi´s
creative customers inspired me and a friend to start designing our
own clothes under the brand name VELOUR by Nostalgi. The first VELOUR
by Nostalgi collection was launched in 2005. This is how I
became interested in fashion.
You design all the
collections at Velour, how would you describe the look of Velour designs?
Some say that VELOUR by Nostalgi is all about Nostalgia
preppy/subculture style & personality. Maybe this is true? I guess
this is derived from the Nostalgi store period. We always end up
cooperating with interesting people and authentic brands etc. We
target the chino & shirt personality rather than the jeans &
t-shirt personality and this influence the look of course.
Is there a common theme
you keep in mind when you are designing a new collection?
No, not particularly. But i tend to go back to
the Nostalgi store period and its creative customers like musicians,
artists etc.
What other interests do
you have as well as design?
I like music, read biographies, running and playing golf.
What made you choose
the name 'Velour’?
It is a sort of anti name to the Swedish Velour-man
or Velour-dad phenomenon. Back in the seventies the Velour-dad was a
slightly derogatory term for what is perceived as a "soft" one,
in contrast to a more traditional masculinity father. This may be
reflected in his involvement in household and child care but also in his
approach to conflict resolution.
The term arose in the 1970s when the soft
velour fabric was popular in a particular type of unisex fashion. The
appellation is part of man's softer approach, partly to the
typical velour-dad used to wear velour-clothes. The word is not used
today.
You started the brand
with two other friends, but you now run the business solo. How are you
liking being the sole decision maker?
Actually I started the company with one friend and we
were five partners at most. For the past four years I have been the only working
partner but my employees and me make the most important
decisions together. Velour by Nostalgi is not a one man show.
How else has the brand
evolved since its beginning?
Velour by Nostalgi is today selling to around 150 stores
in 25 countries and is distributed by several of the best
independent stores in the world such as Soto Berlin, Opening Ceremony, LA
and N.Y, French trotters, Paris, American Rag, LA etc. We have one
flagship store in Gothenburg, Sweden and one in Amsterdam, Holland.
Product development is a key factor for our success and especially our
chino program called the Adan chino family. This is the corner
stone in our business and look.
How much does your
personal dress style influence the collections, or do you keep your
personal tastes separate from the business?
We are still part of our target group and the target
group is derived all the way back to the Nostalgi Store period at the end
of the nineties. I was part of that period so my personal taste is still
very much the VELOUR by Nostalgi look.
We know that you named
your collections after the names of islands in Sweden. Is there anywhere
else you would like to live that you feel could inspire you in the same
way?
I think that you can get inspired by many things but the
core look will be the same. I have lived in Gothenburg more than fifteen years
and I still enjoy and get inspired by the city its people and its
DIY ethic.
What kind of music do
you like and does that have any influence on your designs?
I like a wide variety of music but one of my old time
favourite is the Manic Street Preachers. Yes I can get inspired by the
music scene, for example when I designed our SS'14 men´s collection I was
inspired by a typical Dexy Midnight Runners, don’t stand me
down and the reissue the directors
cut look.
Recently you made a
portrait of musician-José González, how did that come about? Are you
friends?
I actually met him in our store in Gothenburg when he was
buying some shirts from the SS'12 collection. I started talking to him and
later I asked him if he could portrait the SS'13 collection. I did
not know him before.
Do you have plans for
more collaborations with other creatives, like Jose, in the future?
Yes, we are doing one portrait for each collection. We
went to L.A in July to make our AW'13 portrait with the renowned painter
Johan Andersson. (http://www.johanandersson.com). Very interesting person.
You recently
collaborated with shoe brand-Clarks Original in the UK, do you have any
more brand collaborations planned?
Yes, we just launched our Iconic Adan chino collection with the
Soto store in Berlin. We launched this exclusive collaboration with SOTO´s
in-house label Le Berlinois at the SOTO store in Berlin the
4th of July.
The collaboration consists of a collection of
limited edition paisley pattern Adan chinos and shorts. The pants come in
two different colour palettes and is now available in Velour by Nostalgi´s
own Gothenburg and Amsterdam stores as well as in SOTO store. It is
also available online. The Adan chino has always been, and still is, one
of the most fundamental pieces of the Velour by Nostalgi collection´s;
a modern alternative to a classic garment. We are also planning a new
shoe collaboration with a very authentic shoe brand that we like.
www.velour.se
