After spending a whole year in London, I knew and met some of the greatest talents in the world. Besides meeting all those amazing British designers and the rocking American designer Asher Levine, I met a new Swedish designer through online shopping! My knowledge of the Sweden are not only about H&M and Ikea since I start working in the industry. Bellaobastian is nothing about fast fashion and trends. I would say they are a story teller more then a fashion designer. That's what they impress me most!
The brand was originally started as a project between the two friends Isabella and Sebastian in a small village in Sweden. In 2009 the brand bellaobastian was founded and the same year we participated in the competition/fair Fresh Fish and the following year Rookie of the year by the Swedish fashion council. Today the brand is run from Borås where we combine tailor made clothes from our atelier with production in Estonia.
How do you describe your style? What inspire you most?
Bellaobastian creates lines where the garments live season through season. We want the wearer of a bellaobastian piece to use it for years ahead and combine their new bellaobastian garments with the older ones. The future collections from bellaobastian will consist of classic garments in high quality materials with the vision of wearing your clothes out and to pass them on to generation.
Bellaobastian´s style is simple, plain and variable. I want clothes to be set into a whole by the wearers themselves and not to be overwhelmed by details. Colors such as black gray and blue are always used in our collections and also our characteristic folding is present in each collection.
Bellaobastian´s style is simple, plain and variable. I want clothes to be set into a whole by the wearers themselves and not to be overwhelmed by details. Colors such as black gray and blue are always used in our collections and also our characteristic folding is present in each collection.
Can you tell me more about the F/W 2011 collection? What is the iconic piece in the collection?
For the autumn/winter collection 2011, I fancied the Swedish life in the early 1900s and especially the orphaned children’s hard and loveless lives. With inspiration from a time when the cold required layers of garments and when the poverty brought inheritance of clothing I choosed designs, colors and details to create a stylish expression with a sense of outgrown and worn. For me, the old fashioned clothes are far from today’s throwaway qualities and I opted for durable and dressed materials and dressed the orphans in pure wool, which is resistant to wear and will provide heat in winter. The old fashioned but glorious inheritance of clothing between generations is something missing in today’s society, where constant renewal and updating seems to be a must and that is why the design vision for AW11 was timeless, ageless and genderless.
For the autumn/winter collection 2011, I fancied the Swedish life in the early 1900s and especially the orphaned children’s hard and loveless lives. With inspiration from a time when the cold required layers of garments and when the poverty brought inheritance of clothing I choosed designs, colors and details to create a stylish expression with a sense of outgrown and worn. For me, the old fashioned clothes are far from today’s throwaway qualities and I opted for durable and dressed materials and dressed the orphans in pure wool, which is resistant to wear and will provide heat in winter. The old fashioned but glorious inheritance of clothing between generations is something missing in today’s society, where constant renewal and updating seems to be a must and that is why the design vision for AW11 was timeless, ageless and genderless.
Is there any difficulty when you run your business?
Being a small brand naturally brings difficulties, especially in controlling the production of garments and material. To be able to guarantee a responsible production everything is made in Sweden and Estonia where we can visit the factory our selves. When working with sustainability it is important to ensure that the materials are made correct. Bellaobastian cannot control the total process from field to fabric, which has forced us to find an alternative way of the using of materials. Today 70% of the AW11 collection is made of 100% wool left over from a Swedish factory in Borås who closed their production in 2005. The left over materials becomes a sustainable alternative with minimal transportation and in the future we aim to make collections with 100% sustainable fabrics.
How do you see your brand in 5 years time? Any plans for collaborations with other designers?
Bellaobastian will continue making classic products with the purpose to last. In five years (but probably more) I hope the fashion industry has changed the view of clothing and are creating long lasting trends instead of materialistic desires. Hopefully the demand from consumers of responsible clothes will grow for each season and result in a consuming governed by our physical and practical needs in front of seasonal trends. In near future there will be collaboration with other designers when it comes to products but also with different kinds of events.
I am fascinated by the fashion industry’s inventions and statutes and look forward with great curiosity to the development of this industry. With an interest in sustainability in both design and consumption, I see the difficulty in reversing today’s materialistic citizens to become responsible consumers as a major challenge.
bellaobastian has the vision of a fashion trade where excess consumption is a mere recollection and where clothes are created with the purpose to be used and worn. We are especially looking for a world where fashion is not restricted by gender, age or occasion, but where garments can be worn by several users and live long lives. We want to create a style aiming for durability and awareness with long-time garments in high quality.
Not least, we want to encourage less consumption without the need to limit the scope for either personality or taste. Above all bellaobastian believe that it is about time that we take a step away from the seasonal fashion that encourages over-consumption and instead want to offer clothes that are made to stay. All collections contain items that remain season after season, and several models from previous collections are used in the next, in a new color or a new material.
Being a small brand naturally brings difficulties, especially in controlling the production of garments and material. To be able to guarantee a responsible production everything is made in Sweden and Estonia where we can visit the factory our selves. When working with sustainability it is important to ensure that the materials are made correct. Bellaobastian cannot control the total process from field to fabric, which has forced us to find an alternative way of the using of materials. Today 70% of the AW11 collection is made of 100% wool left over from a Swedish factory in Borås who closed their production in 2005. The left over materials becomes a sustainable alternative with minimal transportation and in the future we aim to make collections with 100% sustainable fabrics.
How do you see your brand in 5 years time? Any plans for collaborations with other designers?
Bellaobastian will continue making classic products with the purpose to last. In five years (but probably more) I hope the fashion industry has changed the view of clothing and are creating long lasting trends instead of materialistic desires. Hopefully the demand from consumers of responsible clothes will grow for each season and result in a consuming governed by our physical and practical needs in front of seasonal trends. In near future there will be collaboration with other designers when it comes to products but also with different kinds of events.
I am fascinated by the fashion industry’s inventions and statutes and look forward with great curiosity to the development of this industry. With an interest in sustainability in both design and consumption, I see the difficulty in reversing today’s materialistic citizens to become responsible consumers as a major challenge.
bellaobastian has the vision of a fashion trade where excess consumption is a mere recollection and where clothes are created with the purpose to be used and worn. We are especially looking for a world where fashion is not restricted by gender, age or occasion, but where garments can be worn by several users and live long lives. We want to create a style aiming for durability and awareness with long-time garments in high quality.
Not least, we want to encourage less consumption without the need to limit the scope for either personality or taste. Above all bellaobastian believe that it is about time that we take a step away from the seasonal fashion that encourages over-consumption and instead want to offer clothes that are made to stay. All collections contain items that remain season after season, and several models from previous collections are used in the next, in a new color or a new material.
The following collar pieces are the must for me in the coming Fall/Winter.
They actually go well with simple t-shirts, shirts or even fancy tops.
To know more about Bellaobastian, please visit their website and their online store
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