Indonesian Fashion Spot!

We can’t deny the tremendous influences of Swedish fashion today (and Scandinavian fashion in general), from the photos of Swedish street look on The Sartorialist, the hip denim labels of ACNE, NUDIE, and Cheap Monday, to the retail giant, H&M, and many more.  Helena Hörstedt is an emerging Swedish designer known for her intricate constructions, pleats, frills, multi-layering material, origami /geometric foldings, lots of volumes, elaborate techniques, and using solely BLACK as her primary color. 

Her collection has caught the eyes of everyone in the industry, from hintmag.com, stylebubble, V magazine, Nylon magazine, WWD, Diane Pernet of ASVF.com, the Fashion Spot forum to every fashion blogs have mentioned her amazing collection since last year. I’m sure some of you have heard about her, a FD member has posted a Helena Hörstedt’s LBD on the forum a while ago, and I think it’s not too late to have her as our designer du jour on FD.. *After all, it’s better late than never  

Helena Hörstedt, courtesy of majsanmaja.blogspot.com 

SIGNATURE LOOK: transforming flat black textile to fanciful dresses with multiple dimensions and complexity. Pleating and smocking techniques are becoming her main trademark.      

image courtesy of helenahorstedt.com via punkypeny.com 

BACKGROUND: Hörstedt created her label after graduating from Beckmans School of Design in 2004. The label provides handmade garments emphasizing on structures and techniques, advanced details and classic tailoring. 

ON HER INTRICATE TECHIQUES: According to Hörstedt, she is a woman of contradictions and always drawn to the tension between them. She loves mathematic constructions where everything has to be perfect and organized for every millimeter. She loves the elegance of the past, the sculpted silhouette, the feeling of timeless classic and extremely fascinated by structures and techniques. 

image courtesy of helenahorstedt.com via lifeiscarbon.com 

EXCLUSIVITY: Her designs are only sold by request and made by measure by the designer herself, exclusively from her studio in Stockholm, Sweden.

HIGHLIGHTS: 

• “Eye Catch of the Year” at the ELLE awards show in Stockholm 2007
•  Max Factor Award 2008 winner

The designer and her collection, courtesy of blogg.svd.se 

INSPIRATIONS:  ”I am quite diffuse in my inspiration, it’s mainly about myself, something I have gone through, heading for, a mood, a feeling. “ To her, fashion is primarily a way of expressing herself, like an asylum where her thoughts, values and needs rule.

She also adds that “The genuine work and the handcrafted feeling gives an irreplaceable value to the garment. The trade of handcrafting is always one of the most important sources for both construction of and inspiration for my design. I want my garment to be a fascinating visual experience as much as a usable. I want them to build a desire, continuously expand and to surprise the beholder.” 

HER S/S 2008 COLLECTION: Her S/S 08 collection is called “The Black Whole“.  The collection consists of handcrafted, origami-like folds and pleats constructed into walking sculptures, a contract between organic and architectural calculation, and combining classical tailoring and craftsmanship with the structure and contours of the female body. 

The Black Whole, S/S 08, image courtesy of vmagazine.com 

S/S 08, image courtesy of helenahorstedt.com via navigatrix.files.wordpress.com 

HER A/W 2008 COLLECTION: It’s called “Broken Shadow“. The collection is something of a frustrated explosion, a way to get rid of the past, a kick of for something new. More on her A/W 08 collection here and here

FUTURE PROJECT: Working on her first costume project, a ballet at the Opera in Gothenburg, Sweden. Doing a couple of private orders and start working on her next collection. 

WEBSITE: www.helenahörstedt.com  

Sources & images courtesy of: helenahorstedt.com, dazeddigital.com, vmagazine.com, tfs.com, filepmotwary.blog.com