Linda: —Is it easier as a shoe designer to catch the attention of a buyer? Is the world of shoes less complex that the world of fashion? Erik: —I think as long you are making something unique with good quality you will catch attention of a buyer, no matter what you design. In my case I have made showcase presentation with models wearing my shoes with handmade show pieces (clothes) to show the buyer how my brand universe looks like. I believe that the complex world of fashion and shoes are very close to each other.

Linda: —You presented your collection in Paris at the Tranoï fair. How did it go? Did you write your first orders? Erik: —Everything went really well, I wrote orders and established some orders that have been on my ›wish list‹. Now I have presentation and showcase at the Stockholm Fashion Week so I hope to write more orders.

Linda: —What are the shops you are dreaming of to have your shoes in the window? Erik: —For me it is important to sell my shoes in shops that can handle exclusive customers and to sell well made shoes naturally. A good buyer and sales person should know a lot about materials, fitting and footwear treatments. Often cities around the globe have a few high end shops that are specialized in exclusive products, so in that case I would love to be in those shops windows! I was in one of my favourite shop window in 2009 (after my master’s degree) and that was at Luisa Via Roma in Florence, Italy.

Linda: —Could you comment on the menswear collections shown in January in Milano and Paris? I am curious to have your impressions. Erik: —I always think that Riccardo Tisci, Raf Simons, Hussein Chalayan and Ann Demeulemeester bring something new exiting and mind-blowing every season. This menswear A/W 2011 I felt a gap between designers that are working on new, though inspirations with great execution, compared to some brands that are still popular but without any real substance. I get a feeling that costumers and buyers are hungry for something small, small in that sentence of the designers profile look, well made and on an individual level, so I’m hoping they will find me, haha.

Linda: —What is your next step in your young career? Erik: —I want to built my next collection thoughtful and focus on new useful functions, love for details, beautiful shapes craftsmanship and to keep an entirely handmade production in Tuscany. In long terms I would like to develop my shoes into a design house with limited handmade products/items. At the moment I am creating a chair for example.

Linda: —You are living in Stockholm. How did you experienced Florence and Italy studying at Polimoda? Erik: —I am from Stockholm and moved back where I am at the moment, I have a showroom here but I am planning to move to Paris and build myself a studio. I experienced Florence as a very good city to study in, I still have many friends there and I would love to move back to Florence in future. Studying at Polimoda was in my opinion the best thing that has happened to me, one of my teachers and mentors was Patrick De Muynck and Diane Becker, and I learned really a lot, especially to believe in my vision and to create them without feeling forced. It really hit me some weeks before my master collection would be presented, that everything that I wanted was about to happened, it felt very exciting and I felt like they had helped me fit my own special shoes that I had made, and now I was ready to walk as the person that I am today. I am very thankful for that.

Linda: —Did you find an Italian producer for your shoes? Erik: —I had the luck to be introduced to my Italian producer before I finished Polimoda. Mrs. Diane Becker drove me one morning into the Tuscan mountains to a village where they have very skilled craftsmen, shoemakers. I worked with them and I decided to returned to the village by my own and make more shoes, (many times) till today.

Linda: —What would you give as advice to students who study shoe design? Erik: —It is important to understand and to try the process of making the shoes, and to find your own style that speaks for you; try different materials and push your boundaries of what a shoe could look like. Pay attention to classical footwear and what’s missing. In my opinion I think to become a great shoe designer is to have knowledge about entirely handmade shoes and its construction. Linda: —My grandfather always said that the shoes decide the temper, and I liked that.«

Written by Linda Loppa. Production photography by Erik Bjerkesjö. Read less...

As shopping with a ›click‹ and clothing with short life-expectancy have created a longing for alternatives, the project questioned the shift towards constantly faster and cheaper consumption. The students presented 17 individual suggestions containing just as many visions of modern luxury: of more time and commitment, of more personal encounters, and of more poetry. Most importantly, the films and the 50 outfits displayed, represented a new way of viewing extravagance – a different couture.

Anton Grahnström of Unestablished served as the films’ and exhibition’s creative director. Photography of the opening night by Erika Svensson kindly supplied by Kanon Vodka. Read less...

›The old, run-down places in Stockholm are ever-changing, which makes location-scouting hard. And as the location was a big part of this film, compromising wasn’t really an option. But we lucked out and found an old condemned paper mill south-east of Stockholm.‹

Letters are scattered throughout the mill, sitting in darkness until the soundtrack brings each of them to life in syncopation, culminating in the shots letters shining brightly in the final scene. The big challenge was figuring out how to make the inanimate LED letters come to life to match the soundtrack. ›Because we needed to sync the flashing letters to the music on set, Luciano Leiva and Fredrik Joelsson had to write the music before the shoot. A lot of thought, research and discussion went into what feeling, style, and the tempo music should have.‹«

Behind the scenes photography by Unestablished. Read less...