Let's Unzip and Let's Unfold
Daniel Halberg— Beate, why is there rarely any comedy in fashion?
I never really asked myself why. I guess the rules of the industry were written in the ‘60s by the luxury brands. Comedy isn’t associated with wealth or luxury. Luxury is more serious. Deadpan. Keeping up a guard.
Being happy, laughing and joking makes you more vulnerable?
Exactly.
But at the same time, when things are really tense, or dead serious, those are the most tempting moments to tell a joke! And a lot of times it's liberating… Like at the [AVAVAV] show, when all the models fell on the runway.
Pure comedy is one thing. But it’s another to make fun of the seriousness, like we did on our show. The models were so serious, they almost looked angry. So there was that, we had the serious part. And then, when they all fell, it became parodic. Humor is an effective tool to comment on things, or to communicate an opinion.
That’s what I read into your show. It felt like a comment on status and hierarchy. People posing with wealth and luxurious designs, falling straight to the ground.
Yeah. Well, there is a reason we did it like that. It was our first fashion show ever, and I was under a lot of pressure. So when I came up with the idea of making the whole show a failure, on purpose, I was relieved. All the pressure went away.
Humor as a defense?
Yes.
When you pull down your own pants, you’ve disarmed everybody else from doing it.
One hundred percent that thing.
BEATE KARLSSON wears FULL LOOK by AVAVAV
Yesterday before we went to bed, you were talking about your job literally until the last sentence before you fell asleep. And when you woke up, you just picked up where you left off, finishing the sentence seven hours later.
Oh… I’ve had more than usual on my plate.
Yeah, but no, the thing is, you’ve always been like that. Obsessed.
I know.
And I fell in love with that part of you. It’s inspiring to be around someone like that. Remember back in the days? New York, Pyer Moss?
[Laughs].
You had just finished school. You didn’t know anyone in the industry,and you were really eager to work with Pyer Moss and Kerby, specifically.
All I had was their website. I checked it for job offers a hundred times a day, and one day, miraculously, there was a job offer. So I wrote them, like, three emails. And some messages on LinkedIn.
I remember it as you started spamming!
[Laughs] No, it started out normal. For a week or so. But since they didn’t reply, I was worried the job would go to someone else. So I figured out their mail formula. Like, name.name@brand.com.
[Laughs] That’s right! I’d forgotten about that.
That works. But still no reply.
You wrote to Kerby and the CEO, right?
Everybody. Every single person that worked there. Then I wrote to Quinton in the design team on Instagram. Because I had found all of their instagram accounts.
A DM.
Yes. And then a DM to the CEO. No answer, so I started commenting on his pictures. Like ”please check your DMs.” He mostly had pictures of his kids. It felt awkward.
Yeah, this is where it got cringe. It was kind of hard to support.
It was totally cringe. And I kept spamming all of their DMs hard. For months.
Jesus.
BEATE KARLSSON wears FULL LOOK by AVAVAV
Yeah. And then there finally came an email from their CEO that was like: “‘Hi. While your interest is noted…”’
[Laughs]
“‘… This is not a professional way of reaching out, commenting on private platforms, and so on. Not okay. Dot.”’ End of email. Nothing else.
Ouff.
I was like fuck. I panicked. I realized I had ruined all my relations over there. So I apologized. It was shameful. But then a week later, the CEO wrote me again, and said that Kerby had seen my work and wanted to meet. So we met.
And Kerby was really positive, right?
Yeah, I had brought the finger shoes and some other designs. The thing with Kerby is, he’s super passionate about creativity and innovation. That’s what he values most. So even though my portfolio was quite fresh out of school, he was excited. So I started working there.
I’ve thought a lot about creativity. How to trigger it, and what approach to bring to a creative job. In many ways, it’s just play. That feeling you had as a child. Creating stuff is just keeping that inner child happy. Do you feel the same way?
Absolutely. And later, I have to filter the ideas and pick out the items that are more likely to get sold. But not everything I do needs to be commercialized, though. Like the Kim K butt replica I made with Ida and Ssi. There was a message there. Can you get global media coverage just because the ingredients are Kim K + butt + fashion week in the same story
I remember this one summer, you turned the garage into a studio. Not like.. a place to work. More like a place to play. You were just fooling around in there. One day you asked if you could take a cast of my leg and foot. With like, plaster?
Yeah it was plaster, I think.
A few days later, you had molded the leg together with a hand.
I replaced the foot with a hand.
It didn’t feel like smart product development in there. It seemed like you were just playing?
Yeah, I was. And I’ve later developed the hand-shoe concept to become more commercial. But it started as pure play, yes. It might sound pretentious, but I like to think I have the same process as a scientist. It’s just that what I’m researching is way less important for humanity. But I find it purposeful and important to develop things. Explore unknown territory. That’s the most fun! Especially when people can relate to it in some sense. If it’s just abstract, it’s harder for people to absorb. Innovation is often a remix of things that already exist. I think it has to be. But I just love to be surprised, it’s the best. It’s the same thing with storytelling, I love a movie that surprises me.
Can you give me a title that comes to mind?
The one we saw the other day.
Everything Everywhere All At Once.
It was like a dream, and still it made sense. When you’re a child discovering something for the first time, that’s what I’m reaching for. That’s rare as an adult. Then again, it has to be sellable. But that’s the most powerful thing! When you succeed doing something new that people actually want. Like Demna. Also, I find it hard to [feel] motivated to produce things that already exist.
BEATE KARLSSON wears FULL LOOK by AVAVAV
I see that playful child in you. And then there’s the manic side. Where does that come from?
Honestly, I think it’s because I never really fit in socially when I was younger. Age 12-20, I was kind of lost. And lonely. So creating things became really important. Becoming someone through my work, you know?
How’s your social life now?
I don’t have many friends, but the few ones I have are really close. And it’s actually people I work/play with. I love to work and play with my friends. Ida and Ssi, they’re artists. And Odie, she’s an Art Director. But they don’t live in Sweden, so we don’t see each other that often. And then there’s you, of course.
You’ve incorporated me into your work, too.
Yeah, you’re directing our next show.
I’m excited. And you’re finally moving from Florence to Stockholm. We managed the distance relationship thing for more than five years.
I’m so excited to live here with you – a base in Sweden, where I can put things out in the world, globally. To have an office here, and to start hiring new talent that I can work and play with. New friends!
