Astrid Andersen knows how to stage a comeback. Ending the three-year hiatus from fashion that she took to raise her two children with a presentation for her new brand, Stel, at Copenhagen Fashion Week yesterday, the Danish-born designer reminded people why she’s one of the best in the game. Centring around a blend of style and wearability, Stel’s debut showcase at The Krane – a former coal crane turned single-room luxury hotel – operated on a see-it-buy-it structure, with pieces available for purchase straight off the runway. “Tailoring you can skate in, denim you can dance in, and shirting you can travel in,” was the tagline that underpinned the offering, kicking up a memorable whiff of Andersen’s famed impact on blending traditional codes of femininity with both sportswear and streetwear through her eponymous label (she launched its womenswear arm in 2017).
A dedicated fan base of megastar rappers and musicians would be a wild thing to walk away from for most, but for Andersen, it was an essential part of her creative process. “As a creative, (the thing) that you create when you’re 25 has to evolve when you’re 40, it has to stay true to who you are. That became very clear to me because I had time to reflect on it. Creating a family and having kids changes things around you as well,” she explains. “It was also just life in general. You grow up, you evolve as a human being and that, as a creative, is important to me (so I can) stay true to me. When it’s you at the centre of the brand, you have to be able to own that; you have to be able to sit at the centre of it.”
Sitting “at the centre of it” is something that Andersen is well versed in. Founding her namesake brand in 2010, Andersen’s rise was watched and supported by a host of major names across music and fashion. American rapper A$AP Ferg has been a long-term collaborator, often modelling the more garish side of Andersen’s designs in the early 2010s – think a hot-pink crushed velvet set with matching jumper and track bottoms. A$AP Rocky, Drake, M.I.A and Nas have also been seen flexing Astrid Andersen designs. Insult the Danish creative and you might be dealing with a sharp-tongued diss track aimed in your direction. Despite this new venture with Stel, shuttering the brand she made her name with isn’t first on Andersen’s to-do list. “I think that’s a work in progress,” she explains. “For now, the site has changed to more of an archive, but it’s still my brand. That’s my first baby; I own that 100 per cent; that’s mine; there’s no outside involvement in that, so I will always want to have the opportunity to do whatever I want with it, even if it’s in 10 years or 20 years. It might be so fun to do an archive pop-up (or) some random collab all of a sudden, you know? So it’s not shut down in that sense, but it’s not operating like before.”
Keeping her primary brand alive, however, hasn’t deterred her from going full steam ahead with Stel, which has a distinct ethos of empowerment, affordable luxury and contemporary design. “It’s definitely this (idea of) crafting a wardrobe, crafting a style and (taking) the approach to the garments that they have to be able to go with you, both through life and through mood,” Andersen says. “There’s this attention to the built-in flexibility – style wise, size wise and quality wise – (with a) focus on creating things that can travel with you. (There’s also this meaning of it being) a set of collectibles… I like the idea that the collections, over time, have to sit in a wardrobe of collectible items. That’s really the heart of it. There’s a longevity to it.”
When asked about how her original brand differs from the new venture, Andersen highlights how the idea of “empowerment” transverses both, but Stel is more focused on its pursuit of womenswear. “When I created Astrid Andersen, it was straight out of college and it was this pursuit of a menswear aesthetic that felt (like) it was drawing me in somehow. It was so relevant to the culture around us (and it represented a switch in the) approach to how people dress themselves,” she explains. “The idea of empowerment that I found in that pursuit is what I really want to bring to Stel…(It’s) my perception of how I empower this through womenswear.”
That said, having graduated from the RCA with an MA in Fashion Menswear has armed Andersen to always apply menswear codes to what she does, even if she’s designing womenswear. Commenting on her favourite pieces in the collection, Andersen draws attention to a double-layered and seam-sealed coat. “It has all the technical references that I loved at Astrid Andersen,” she highlights. “When that came back (from production), I really felt that it was a Stel jacket. It feels like something we should redo every single season – or at least every other season – just introduce it in a new fabric or colourway, or play with the length and proportion. When you find that staple piece, it’s an important start.”
The firm seeds Andersen has sown for herself have clearly paid off, with the reception to Stel being undeniably positive. “There’s so many people just saying congratulations. It’s just a really powerful, emotional moment for me. (I’m looking forward to) taking all of that in.” It’s been quite the journey, but Andersen is not afraid of what lies ahead. “It can be scary actually, you have to step out of your comfort zone,” Andersen says. “Even for me, I’m used to Astrid Andersen and not involving who I am as a private person because it never felt that relevant, but that just has to be a part of this new journey so people can understand the authentic move that’s been happening for me as person.”
Andersen’s own development is the gift that keeps on giving and now she is ready to share it with the world. Like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, she’s ready to spread her wings once more; and we’re ready to watch her soar.
Photography courtesy of Astrid Andersen.
@stelstores