Ellen, when looking back, have you thought about why you think you won the prize last year?
— I think many people are curious about doing things differently in this industry, catching interest both from the conglomerates and ‘the big money,’ she says. They know that the change will happen and are now looking at different kinds of projects. I think I’m one of those with a different view and perspective. I work the opposite way; I have a reversed business model initially, and the curiosity of that probably put me there.
This way of working has to be both time-consuming and resource-demanding. What’s the key to success?
— Patience. In everything. You need to adapt to the mindset of thinking about things in a different pace, with a different approach, business model, and creation, give more time for it, and not do 12 collections a season. You can’t be present when you’re doing that much work; you will just hurry in between it, and it will lack realness and soul. That industrialisation has taken over every single area of upscaling, and it needs to go to a contrasty business model which is the opposite. It’s about giving it more time, and people are open to invest in that time spent, because in time spent there’s knowledge, there’s better discussions, and better decisions made. You will work through things in another way and not just hurry between ideas and growth.
— If you have the mindset of just having another approach towards what the possibilities are, everything will be a new possibility, even though it will be hard to do it in the beginning when you’re figuring out how to do it. I’m very happy to spend my time on a process — I don’t need to be at an end station.
It’s almost philosophical.
— Yeah. I’ve created a position for myself where my human urge for creation is combined with something that is also a known industry problem. When you’re combining them, letting it tangle together, and find yourself being very present in it, that gives you stimulation every single day. If I didn’t put my energy into managing all of that, I would just be bored. Sometimes, I let myself be bored to be more creative. I need to play with my own mental stage all the time to be able to work further or stop and see myself from the outside and see the work, the whole structure, and create that path for the company, Hodakova Larsson shares. She continues:
— If you’re releasing a new collection, there’s a period after when you just need to be off and experience new things. Then, you’re starting to work and you have to have a balance, not just scale up.
You also talk about converted goods.
— It’s easy to use the term ‘upcycling’ and ‘remake’ blah blah blah, but I see it differently: as a dissection part. If you’re dissecting a jacket, that jacket has so many levels and details. If you’re using it or developing it for something else, it’s more of a converting situation. ’I place this here and place this there.’ You also have to work that way in relation to recontextualising, if you’re putting an actual spoon in a dress, it becomes another idea around it. The perspective is changing, and in that perspective change, you’re gaining new thoughts and new developments of what’s restricted. That kind of restriction and the idea of archetypes, when you start to break them down, or recontextualise them, you’re starting to innovate and look at things from a new perspective. That creates growth. And that’s the growth that I’m looking for instead of the profit, but that comes along.
Can you call it a more human growth?
— Yes, I think that’s the more accurate part. If we’re not getting smarter in how we see the world and how we’re actively using and giving back to it, it will only be fast injections of stimulation, and you have to feed it, feed it, feed it. If you’re gonna change a mindset and a behaviour, you have to go deeper, and that needs to be mental, I believe.
You’re obviously challenging very, very established business models. What’s the feedback you get from retailers and salespeople?
— They know the change is happening, and they know that the customer behaviour is changing. They know how much the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, so people do know about the zeitgeist of that kind of situation. I think everyone is as curious as I am to see what happens with this kind of business model.
With a limited supply, given the business model, it can create scarcity, demand, and brand value.
— Yes. And I think it’s important to keep it on hold a little bit and see what’s possible and what’s not. We have exclusives with all of our retailers, and we’re giving them, for instance, a specific colour. I have a sourcing person, showing me what is available to see if it is something that I can work with, ’there’s 10 of these, 100 of these, this is 5, this is 20,’ and so forth, before I go navigating what it could become. It’s always a puzzle, and also important to be aware of both the limit and the demand. If my creation is changing too much, or if it differs, I need to place them in different ways depending on where the interest is, which is different in different markets…
And now, what’s next for you?
— It’s exciting to see how one right person in the right place is making such a big difference. When you’re expanding the team and getting that right person, you know that things are happening. The team is a big deal for me when working so intimately.
You’re so dependent on each other.
— Yes. And it’s a personal relationship that needs to be loyal and respectful. I think our social energy is very different to other companies in the way that it’s quite inclusive and that there are a lot of responsibilities. If you’re open and you want to have responsibilities, I’ll give it to you!
Overproduction continues to increase, while there are numbers showing that circularity is going down. Do you still believe it’s the future?
— I do. I think people don’t have patience, and that’s why it’s going down. It’s more about having patience and constantly proving to people until it makes a change. This is also why I’m not using sustainability as a communication part. A lot of brands are using sustainability as a communication developer and then, people are getting bored and don’t care anymore, because it becomes a trend. I think that’s the problem with using those kinds of terms as a trendsetter or whatever. People are getting bored with it. I think it’s just gonna change, how the behaviour of sustainability and the circular approach is used. It’s probably going down now because it was a trend, and then it will shift again. As it does.
Where do you see Hodakova in 5 years?
— With a lot of the everyday challenges that we are facing now, I can see the small twists and turns that we need to take now. I’m very interested to see where that will come in 5 years. That’s also together with my approach of being in the process way more than being ahead. I’m dreaming of having the first sustainable fashion house — and I do believe in the big idea and in Hodakova being that house, which will stay there, be trustworthy, and will continue for 100 years.
– In 5 years, though, I think it’s more about the pace in the process. Twisting and turning and letting myself be more creative. In these periods, I’m jumping between all the hats. If I have fewer of all the hats, I can create an understanding of everything. If I don’t have to be the person sorting the material myself, I’ll have more time for design and all of the creative aspects. Those are needed for the communication and the development of the brand, both in communication, in the structure, in the design, and in the living sphere. I wanna do furniture, I wanna do bigger projects, I wanna build a house. But for all of that, I don’t think 5 years is enough, Hovakova concludes.
