Grazia caught up with creative director Louise Lasson and managing director David Thörewik to get the low-down on the label's biggest venture yet...
Is it the art of curating an Instagrammable look with seemingly zero effort? Or the way in which they strike an enviable balance between fashion and practicality? We're not quite sure we can pin down the answer. Either way, the Scandi style set have left us awe-struck.
For as long as we can remember, the world has been in the wake of Scandi-mania. One minute we're Googling how to hygge our homes and the next, we're trying to make sense of new buzzword, Lagom. The heady influence of the Scandi Effect is well and truly in full swing...
And now, there's finally a chance for us to invest in a slice of the Scandi culture. Swedish fashion giant H&M has promised to introduce one of its most popular brands to the UK. Yes, Weekday is finally opening a store on London's Regent Street this August. Described as a 'Swedish fashion and denim brand inspired by youth culture and street style', the label is set to change the face of London's shopping scene. And with sister brand Arket opening just next door, our fashion city is has officially surrendered to the Scandis.
Despite being heavily rooted in Swedish culture, Weekday has been expanding ever since it first set up shop in Stockholm back in 2002. Fast forward fifteen years and the brand has served up Scandi style in a total of eight countries so it seemed only natural to give Londoners what they’ve been waiting oh so patiently for.
In fact, London has 'always been on the agenda’ according to the brand’s managing director, David Thörewik.
"We have been longing to open a store here. It’s been a goal for many of us working at Weekday to actually be able to meet our customers in person. And then we found this great location on Regent Street,” he beams. “We are very, very happy."
And we can’t hide our excitement either. But with such a strong fan base back in its hometown of Stockholm, did the team need to make any adjustments to meet the needs of the UK market?
"We believe that our brand matches the customer in the UK perfectly so from that perspective we didn’t see that we needed to make any adjustments,” David admits. “But we have done some unique things for this store. We've made some changes in materials in terms of store concept to take this beautiful premise and keep the historical charm of the location and add the Weekday energy to it. And then of course we also have our studio where we hand-screen t-shirts in store every week.”
Weekly Zeitgeist promises to produce hot-off-the-press t-shirts based on current affairs. Most recently, the brand released one-of-a-kind t-shirts emblazoned with the word, 'Deutschland', as Germany became the 23rd country in the world to celebrate marriage equality.
Before another must-have soon dominated our Insta-feeds, after the highly-anticipated birth of Beyoncé’s twins. It’s every millennial’s dream.
But if that isn’t enough to get you excited for payday, the store opening will also enable customers to bag a piece of the autumn/winter ’17 collection which will launch exclusively in celebration of the new store opening.
"We took inspiration from landscape photographer Nadav Kander and the collection really captures the human emotion so you can expect beautiful colours,” creative director Louise Lasson teases. “And we’ve also taken inspiration from 1973 sci-fi animation,Fantastic Planet, and we wanted to create a bit of a chaotic feeling. We take these oversized pieces and combine them with smaller pieces. And that gives us the contrasts that we work with within the collection."
And it’s a tight operation. According to Louise, there is an in-house design team of 20 based in Stockholm and they often source inspiration from each other for upcoming collections.
"We push each other to really create the most dynamic collection. We find something that we really like within the design team whether we have travelled somewhere together or found something that we really like on Instagram. It's always something that we think is relevant.”
Louise continues: “But inspiration can come from anything and it can also be very abstract. It can be for instance more of a mood, which starts a conversation.”
And Scandinavian fashion has had us talking for the past few years. In fact, we can’t shut up about it. But what is it that draws us to our northern neighbour’s aesthetic?
"I think many are attracted to the minimalism that Scandinavians are known for,” Louise answers. “It's always the first thing that you think of. It can be very relaxing to go back to the way that things started. That is what Scandinavian fashion is all about. But at Weekday, it is more powerful. It's all about working with contrasts and creating a dynamic between streetwear and fashion. It's more of a kind of powerful minimalism I suppose..."
And it works wonders. With denim at its core, the brand sells jeans aplenty. And with the recent surge in athleisure, it's hardly surprising when Louise reveals to Grazia that the label is selling sweatshirts and hoodies like hot cakes this season.
But what do Louise and David recommend first-timers jot down on their shopping lists ahead of the new store launch?
“If you think of the Weekday aesthetic, we are very strong on jeans. We believe a lot in washes in both blue and black. I would also say that you should invest in outerwear. It could be either a long wool coat or if you don’t have a leather jacket, a classic Weekday biker,” Louise advises. “And we are working on a lot of new shapes for autumn at the moment. For example, we have been concentrating on sleeves. I would say something simple made from a knit or sweatshirt material with a new sleeve..."
"From a male perspective I would definitely go for denim jeans,” David adds. “Find the perfect authentic wash in black or blue. Also, find the perfect t-shirt, which I think we have in our stores. And again, the leather jacket..."
But if you can already feel your bank account quivering at the very thought of the impending haul, fear not. The brand is big on bringing sustainable fashion to the masses, so look no further for a greater excuse to invest.
"We feel very strongly that our customers should not compromise between fashion and sustainability,” Louise tells Grazia. “So for example, all of our denim is made from sustainable fabrics and an organic cotton blend. All of our cotton basics are made from sustainable fabrics now, too. And for spring, we added a swimwear line which is made from recycable polyester and that is what we aim for, to add as many sustainable fabrics as we can."
David wholeheartedly agrees. "We feel it is very important for us as a brand. We are a fashion label with a sustainable aspect. I also think it’s good to think that you can be sustainable in many ways. If you have a sweater for example, it should last for a long time. The aesthetic must be durable. We have a goal for 2020 to use cotton from 100 percent sustainable sources. We're on the way..."
And with such big plans for a sustainable future in place, what else is in store for the Swedish fashion giant?
"In five years time we will have continued to develop the Weekday brand to become hopefully better and better,” David reveals to Grazia. “We will also work more with digitalisation and see how we can integrate the different channels more and create the best, most convenient shopping experience for our customers. And we will continue to grow and expand both digitally and physically..."
But if the label could land itself a store anywhere in the world, where does Weekday see itself most?
"I have to say London has been our dream location for a long time..." Louise admits.
"But now we need a new dream!” David laughs. “But I do agree. We can’t talk specifically about any potential locations but we are planning a heavy growth. And this is a big and important step for us to finally have a store in the UK. We are planning on increasing the number of stores in Europe..."