JENS LAUGESEN MAKES COMEBACK IN LONDON FASHION WEEK

The award winning Danish designer presented a whole new collection during London Fashion Week after ten years of absence. This time, the plan is focusing more on business than image, he says. 

02/20/2018| Strategy | by Martin Mitchel translated from FASHIONFORUM.DK

https://fashionforum.dk/2018/02/20/jens-laugesen-goer-comeback/

After working behind the scenes for a decade, Jens Laugesen has returned to the international fashion scene with the re/launch of the eponymous brand with a new collection.

The Danish-born, London-based designer got his breakthrough in the early 1990s when he finished his studies in MA Fashion at the prestigious design school Central Saint Martins under the famous MA course director Louise WIlson. In the following years, he developed into one of the most renowned young designers, both at home, but also outside the Danish borders, where he presented his collections successfully both in London and Paris Fashion Weeks - a success that made him win the ANDAM Fashion Award in Paris, and being named designer of the year in Denmark in 2008. After that, Jens Laugesen retired from the limelight, and since then he has worked as a creative consultant for big fashion companies like the Calvin Klein Collection in New York and LG Fashion in South Korea whilst also help set up an MA in Paris - but now He's ready to make a comeback.

"I'm returning now because I feel that ten years is time to follow and think about the evolution in fashion. I also feel that the design thinking I expressed ten years ago is still relevant. This time, however, I want to focus more on doing a business than purely creating an image, "explains Jens Laugesen about his comeback, who will see him explore the more commercial aspects of the design profession than he previously had in mind.

Long-term sustainability

Jens Laugesen has received funding from the Danish Arts Foundation prior to his return to the fashion scene. It was not really the intention to create a business to start with, he says, but the support from the Danish Art Foundation suddenly gave him the motivation to work towards something more substantive - a creative vision and business he can scale up. This was also supported by the fact that Jens Laugesen has felt form various sides that the industry interest in his work has continued.

"I've been told by people that they think my clothes from ten years ago are still relevant. That the design is timeless and that they do not hang in the back of the closet, but on the front so they can use it over and over again, "he says.

However, it is not only demand that has renewed the designer's creative work. Becoming 50 has also been a landmark event that has allowed Jens Laugesen to consider what to do for the next 10-15 years of his career.

"I have always worked with hybridity in my design, and because the approach is also popular now among younger designers that Mentor as an MA teacher at Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture , I feel that there is a lot of interest in my way of thinking and working on design," explains Jens Laugesen.

Both creative and commercial

For Jens Laugesen, it is especially the broader appeal that motivates him in his comeback. Being able to make a luxury collection, while offering something more accessible. Therefore, collaborations is an important element to the designer's comeback strategy. In addition to the support from the Danish Arts Foundation, he has worked with both Saga Furs and especially S.N.S. Herning.

"I was interested in working with S.N.S. Herning after seeing their classic bubble knit at the Textile Museum in my native Herning. The director at the museum put me into contact with S?ren, who owns the company. We both came from Herning and when we began to talk about future creative collaboration, we discovered that we have many common visions and ideas about design philosophy. This has led to the development of some conceptual designs under the name S.N.S. HER (X) L / AUGESEN, "explains Jens Laugesen about the start of the collaboration that has inspired a change the otherwise tanned designer's approach to the creative development of his new brand.

"We have tried to develop design ideas that will reach a wider audience under a new concept for women. Therefore, my design has been toned down a bit. We have made it less avant-garde to make it interesting for more people. We want to show that one can easily be creative and at the same time commercial, "he says, emphasizing:

"In short, I will continue to have a luxury concept under the // JENS_LAUGESEN brand trademark, which is aimed at those who have the opportunity to buy it, while creating a more accessible creative commercial collection together with S.N.S. Herning," explains Jens Laugesen.

Not an ego project

After Sunday's London Fashion Week presentation, the daily life of Jens Laugesen and his new brand starts. Now he has to work hard to meet and connect with the right business partners that can help him re build a business again. However, the starting point is different now than it was at the start of the designer's long career.

"When I start up again in a small setup, I have the knowledge of what needs to be done. I know the full creative and business marketing process form a to z. So this time around I do not stress about everything like before. There is a bit more peace of mind so I can make better decisions and integrate what I have learned in the industry over the last ten years, "says a clarified Jens Laugesen who, in addition to his experience, has also drawn on his large network in the desire to ensure the brand's future success in both commercial and image way.

Already now he has established a showroom in Paris together with S.N.S. Herning, hired an experienced sales agent with international experience from the Alaia fashion house, and established a carefully composed advisory board including Susanne Tide Frater from Farfetch.com, who owns Brown's Fashion and Amine Laouedj from Glenshore Advisors.

"This time around I do not do this for my ego, I actually have something to say. It is my vision to find the right industrial and finance partners to create the beginning of a true Nordic luxury brand, "concludes Jens Laugesen.

https://www.jenslaugesen.com/AW18Collection/