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RANRA blends luxury menswear essentials with innovation and Icelandic folk stories
We speak to the emerging brand ahead of next week’s catwalk show at Copenhagen Fashion Week.
By JOHAN MAGNUSSON
4 Aug 2022

Based in Iceland and London, founders Arnar Már Jónsson and Luke Stevens’ design studio RANRA focuses on menswear archetypes and innovations.

— We’re blending luxury essentials, everyday functionality, and the creative freedom and joy that fashion allows with a focus on natural materials and finishes and will also be using historical techniques in new ways to innovate clothing, the duo say. 

RANRA AW22.

Next week, as one of three Zalando Sustainability Award finalists, the label will be a part of Copenhagen Fashion Week’s official show schedule. 

How do you work with sustainability?

— We always felt that starting a brand at this time, you have to take responsibility for what you are putting out in the world. There needs to be a reason for new clothing to exist as there is so much out there already. Our design philosophy is heavily based on finding more environmentally conscious designs. So our starting point is very often finding an archetype and seeing how we can update it to be relevant meaning from all sides, silhouette, colour, function, and better for the environment. This means we have to approach each product holistically from every stage of the manufacturing from weave to final make, Már Jónsson and Stevens say, adding,

— We are also keen on looking at the past — for instance past machinery that can serve a different purpose to find solutions to problems that didn’t necessarily exist at the time of its use. Meaning that it’s similar to design fashion, looking at the past and making something relevant for today.

Tell us about the SS23 collection, to be presented in Copenhagen.

— It shows an expansion into more of a fashion proposal. We wanted to approach this season more relaxed and with positivity and it’s more of a full-on wardrobe with all the archetypes needed in a wardrobe. We were looking into Icelandic folk stories and got into the idea of the Icelandic elves. They are very similar to humans but just a little bit more beautiful and graceful. They will come out into the world and try to seduce humans into the elf world — and if you are able to dismiss them you will be brought luck in your life.

RANRA AW22.