STUDIO VISIT WITH
KATRINE KJÆR

MAR 28, 2024

While going through Katrine Kjær's passion for organising and her vision on up-cycling, one becomes a bit more hopeful for the future of fashion. Kjær has a clear sense of responsibility and her interest in working with discarded materials expands her creativity rather than limiting it. Now based in the heart of Copenhagen, at Studio 49A in Christianshavn - a space she shares with Almeah and Magarchivio - her vision expands behind her dear industrial sewing machine, developing the perfect balance between 90’s classiness and country-side grandma.

1. Tell me about your creative process.

When you go to design school, you talk about process a lot. You learn ways to translate an abstract concept into something tangible, and the kind of steps you have to go through. To be honest, I have always hated it. I've always felt that it was all a bit unnatural to me because when I get an impression, I instantly translate it into something material. I’m a very intuitive person, so I would say that my process is very much about intuition. I believe things can really mature if you give them some time, and in that way, the thought of going through a process makes sense to me. But when I think about it, my best projects have always been the ones that just came out of the blue and developed super quickly.

I only work with discarded materials, so I feel like that influences a lot my creative process. I feel much more creative when I have this sort of limitation of working just with what I already have. I think that sometimes it can be difficult to have all the materials in the world to choose from because you easily start to imagine things that you've already seen before. I feel like my thought process stems from having these discarded materials and figuring out ways to use them. I don't always know how to do it immediately, but then I give it some time and things end up working. I grew up with this mindset when it comes to waste, also in terms of food and everything, to be really thoughtful about what I got. I feel like it's difficult for me to have too many options, and magic happens with the things I already have.

2. You work a lot with denim. What draws you to this material and what is it like to work with it?

I like to work with raw materials, things that have strength to them. Working specifically with denim was something that happened by coincidence. It was mainly because of my graduation project, which was about my mother's wardrobe, and how women her age have so many clothes that they've been keeping for years and that they're not wearing anymore. The main reasons being either they’ve grown out of them, or that they regret those purchases, or pieces that have been damaged due to normal wear and tear - specific things that make you feel like these items don’t suit you as they used to.

I wanted to take those 40% of her wardrobe that my mom didn’t use and transform it into something she could use again. So I came up with a system where I sorted out all the pieces by materials, putting all the leather pieces together and all the denim in another pile, and made new items with the materials that I gathered. Something that was also very important was to make adjustable items, so you could actually have clothes that adapt to your bodies changes. Then, it was this denim skirt that I made for her that got a lot of attention, and it's the one design that I get a lot of orders on.

I think denim is an amazing material, also because of its history. Back in the day, it used to be made to last for a long time. All the stitches that you find in denim are there for a reason. Nowadays, you see brand new jeans with a wash that is supposed to look like they’re used or ripped, which are so harmful for the planet to produce. This is absurd because originally denim was made to be a material for workwear, that would age to last. So I feel like there's a lot of history and kind of symbolism in denim that I really enjoy.

3. At what point in your life did you come to realise the power that fashion holds?

I've always been drawn to fashion my whole life. When I started studying fashion design at Kolding Design School, I struggled a lot with the thought of becoming a part of an industry that I knew caused a lot of insecurity in society and that has been so harmful to our planet. But mostly, I started questioning how I could produce new stuff, whilst realising that we don’t need more stuff. I'm a huge minimalist. I don't like to have too many things in my closet, and I get stressed about thinking that new things are being produced when we have so much already. Still, I love to make clothes and I love to come up with new ways to wear garments we already own.

So my thoughts on fashion evolved into a realisation that we do really need it, discrediting it is out of the question. I think we as humans constantly need new ways to see things. We need to feel new. It's super important to feel good about yourself, and that is what fashion can do best. Like wearing something in a new way or incorporating a different colour into your wardrobe, it gives you so much energy. Fashion isn't about trends, it’s a way to learn about yourself and know what makes you feel cool and elegant. That's the power of fashion, you can give people confidence. And that's what I want to do.

4. Tell us about where you draw inspiration from. What or who inspires you and your practice?

I’ve always been super inspired by my grandmother. She lives by the sea, and when I was younger I used to go to her place a lot. I would sleep with her, we would talk, and go through her wardrobe. It’s funny because she has so many clothes from back in the day and she doesn't really care about them anymore. She refuses that she has an artistic bent, but she is such a creative person in the way that she does these wild sculptures with flowers and animal bones that she finds by the sea. I feel like she has inspired me a lot in the way that she dresses. She often puts on something super cool in such an effortless way, like when she takes her rubber boots and some really old fox fur coat to go for a walk. I love that combination of something really chic and fancy with something that is just practical. That has inspired me so much. The long wool coat that I do is directly inspired by my grandmother, and I feel like it's such a good balance between elegance and roughness.

Also, I’m super happy to now be sharing this workspace with Anne (Almeah). She inspires me so much! She kind of makes me jealous sometimes. I get that feeling of ‘I want to do that as well!’ But it's perfect because I feel like she feels the same way about me. I believe it's super important to feel that way with someone you work closely with, to have a mutually inspiring relationship. And of course, there are some designers whose work I admire, especially from the 90s. I feel like I've been looking so much into Hugo Boss lately. I'm really drawn to these super classy outfits - like shirts, suit pants and low-waist skirts.

5. What is your favourite part of the process?

Honestly, I love organising. And it's something that I'm not spending enough time on - which, still, I’m sure I’m taking more time with it than most people are. But I would love to do it even more! I love organising things through colours and materials, and putting it all nicely - that sparks so much creativity in my brain. And I love the first steps you take when you make a new piece, needling and sewing it all together. Those first moments when things flow quickly and you can see your ideas turning into something real, I really like that as well. I'm not so good at producing the same thing over and over again, that’s a bit more boring to me.

6. Of all the pieces you've made so far, do you have a favourite one that you particularly like to wear yourself or see on other people?

It might be actually the denim jeans that I make. Sometimes I grow a bit tired of them because I'm making them on repeat, even though none of them are the same. I've been doing them for so long, and yet I still feel like they have something that makes you love them. I want to wear them still, which I think is a really good sign (laughs). It's just kind of surprising in a way because often you make things that you kind of get tired of, especially when you make them on repeat. But I haven't gotten tired of them! So, it must be the jeans.

7. What have been your biggest challenges in starting your own business?

Well, there’s a lot of challenges. I'm not a hundred percent self-sufficient yet. I have a little job on the side, teaching craft and design at a secondary school. It sounds cute, but it's not. Kids nowadays… and kids from the city, they're crazy (laughs). In all seriousness, I feel like the toughest part is not thinking too much about the future, not questioning too much if this actually is going to hold. That can be a bit stressful.

When starting up, I'm the one with all the hats. I do the economy, the marketing, the designing, and also the producing. It’s difficult to find enough time to design new things, whilst trying to balance everything else constantly. Fortunately, I feel like I've learned so much about all the different tasks, and the fact that I can do them all gives me a strong sense of empowerment. I especially enjoy doing the visuals and graphic design for my website and social media. But it is kind of tough to balance it all.

8. What do you consider to be a moment of reassurance for the path that you’re building for yourself?

Actually, it’s those times when I realise that I do still enjoy the designs myself. People tell you that they like it and that you’re doing a good job. It should be obvious that it's a good product, especially when you still have customers who actually want to pay for your pieces, but it can be difficult to believe it sometimes. So it feels nice when you have those moments of realisation when you feel like, ‘Yes, this is a super good design!’

I’m also proud to be in this new space and to keep my work consistent. I've been doing this for one and a half years now, trying to cover everything. I feel kind of proud of that as well. And I haven't at any moment been bored!

9. What excites you about the future?

I’m excited now that I’m becoming more comfortable with all the tasks this project requires me to do. I feel like I’ve spent a lot of time figuring stuff out, so it’s nice to feel that I have grown more comfortable in it all, like dealing with customers and all sorts of things. So that is something I look forward to, just benefiting from these skills and having the time to try new designs. I have so many ideas and things that I want to do with my hands, and I feel I could go in so many directions!

Today you see so many new brands starting and closing again because it's a tough industry. If you want to build a career and a healthy financial situation within your company, you really have to run fast - you have to have interns and things like that, which is something I’m not a big fan of. Plus, as I mentioned before, there are already so many clothes being produced. So I would love to work with clothing companies to turn things around and work on some sort of up-cycling processes. Nowadays, bigger companies have huge stocks that they can’t sell, and it costs money to burn it, and it also costs money to just store it. So I would love to use my skills to take all of those pieces that already exist and actually give them a life again. It could be by making an annual collection made out of unused garments, or it could be something that would be incorporated into each season.

10. What's you favourite object in your studio?

Honestly, my favourite object is my sewing machine - the Juki! The first thing I did when I graduated was to buy my own industrial sewing machine. I bought it through this company in Herning, which used to be the capital of Denmark for the textile industry. The person who brought it to me was this older man named Kaj, who has been working with sewing machines for fifty years. I know if something happens to it I can just call him, and I love that about it! I also love that it’s blue, so it matches my denim pieces (laughs).

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