T Magazine: A Swedish Men’s Wear Brand That Actually Isn’t Minimal

Not many people graduate Central Saint Martins to go straight into a job heading up Kanye West’s design team — but in 2008, that’s exactly what happened to Emma Hedlund, 37, one half of the Swedish design duo CMMN SWDN. “I was supposed to do the MA with Professor Louise Wilson but she put me up for the job with Kanye,” recalls Hedlund, referring to the late Professor who was renowned for her unerring ability to spot new talent. “I had very little knowledge of who he was at the time but it was exciting to see this whole new world.” While Pastelle— as West’s fledgling label was then known — never released any collections, Hedlund went on to collaborate with the musician again on his controversial Paris debut in 2011, eventually recruiting her fiancé and design partner, Saif Bakir, 36, to set up a studio for West in Paris. For the pair — who met while studying men’s wear at the London College of Fashion — it was that experience that triggered a desire to set up a label together. “We felt we did it for someone else and now we wanted to do it for ourselves,” says Bakir. “Kanye is a workaholic and he pushed us to the limits but without that we wouldn’t be prepared for the hours involved in setting up our own brand.”

CMMN SWDN, the label they have designed together for a few years, has a refined, off-kilter elegance that eschews West’s penchant for athleisure or any of the minimal traits normally associated with a Scandinavian aesthetic. “For us it’s never been about being Swedish,” says Bakir. “When we started, Swedish fashion was very monochrome and gray and we went against the grain with colors and textures.” After setting up base in Malmö, Sweden, they soon attracted the attention of stores like Tres Bien in Sweden, Storm in Copenhagen and Harvey Nichols in the UK. They won the prestigious Swedish Elle Award in 2013, bestowed on emerging talent (the first and only time it’s been awarded to a men’s wear brand). They decamped to London the following year, when they received a NewGen sponsorship from the British Fashion Council that enabled them to start showing during London Collection: Men’s. “There is so much inspiration around when you live in London,” says Bakir. “Showing here means you can be more experimental and push your brand and visual image more.”

Bakir and Hedlund subvert classic silhouettes with offbeat materials and unexpected touches. Each season wardrobe staples are subtly tweaked with new and inventive details: A polo shirt is rendered with a Lurex collar and cashmere is paired with shiny viscose. There is a push-pull between the designers’ masculine and feminine instincts. “While we do research separately, with the design process it’s a collaboration all the way,” Hedlund says. “I bring in feminine textures and materials while Saif is the one focusing on the cut.” Living and working together out of a studio in East London, their personal lives frequently spill over into their work — a trip to Marrakesh last year not only informed the dusky sensual, vibrant colors of their spring/summer 2017 collection, it was also where Bakir proposed to Hedlund. (A marriage is set there in the spring.)

This season, they have decided to forgo London Fashion Week to show by appointment on the men’s wear schedule in Paris. As Hedlund puts it, “We are at the point where we feel we want to elevate the brand. Paris is super exciting and felt like a step in the right direction.” On the moodboards this season are images of Fat Lava, the West German Art pottery movement from the ‘50s to the ‘70s. In attempting to capture the rich, tactile qualities of the ceramics in material form, the duo have pushed their fabric experimentation to the fore with knitwear in felted cashmere and two-tone dyed sheepskin. While the move to Paris may herald a natural evolution for the brand, the quirky, original spirit remains the same. Says Bakir: “We like the idea of creating this gang of misfits and individuals. We want every guy to feel like himself in the clothing.”