PROFILE

Creative Director Frida Bard

Interview: TXT
Photography: Mustafa Sarwar

A Q&A about sustainability, the Reclaim concept and the core values of HOPE.

TXT

What would you say is the core of HOPE – now almost two decades old? And how do you fulfill your objective of creating progressive fashion?

Frida Bard

HOPE founders Ann Ringstrand and Stefan Söderberg identified a gap in the Scandinavian Fashion scene in the beginning of 2000. Their reaction was to create a more androgyne, gender-neutral look built on tailored pieces and workwear inspired styles. I believe the founding of HOPE is a great example of fashion at its best. When structures and norms are being questioned in order to create change towards a new and improved standard. For us, style comes before gender, and we encourage our customers to explore our full assortment and since spring 2017, all our garments are labelled with both men’s and women’s sizes.

TXT

Tell us about deadstock turnover, and your recently launched HOPE Reclaim concept.

Throughout the years we have built a very loyal customer base and found that our customers not only return year after year but also wear their garments for a long period of time. The Reclaim concept came as a natural step in our sustainable approach and is a way for our customers to lengthen the lifespan of garments and keep their clothes in the loop. HOPE’s aim with both design and production is for our clothes to stand the test of time. When you no longer want them in your closet, we are happy to find them a new home. This concept is under development and we hope to further expand Reclaim in the future as well as our circular approach to fashion as a whole.

TXT

In what other way do you practice sustainability?

We are proud to say we have good efficiency in our production and sales where we don’t overproduce products or sample collections. We have a low percentage of cut-outs (maximum 10% in total). We have slim-lined our assortment and now only focus on the core products, cutting the tails and letting go of categories that feel are not sustainable. In addition to that, we are trying out new materials that are more conscious in the way they’re produced.

TXT

How would you describe a typical 'HOPE-customer'?

I don’t like to answer this question since I find it easy to become excluding. What I can say is that many of our customers are very conscious, artistic and interested in quality and design.