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If the need is the mother of the invention, then for Ellen Hodakova Larsson, the ingenious reinvention could be the mother of desire. The Swedish -born designer and winner of the LVMH 2024 award converts the mountains of Deadstock’s items and clothing aimed at landfills in extraordinary designs. Imagine a bright dress in the style of the fin made of multiple zippers, a molded bustier built from roasted and leather mount boots with splicing or a changing dress gathered from hundreds of pearly buttons. “It begins with my interest in communication and how we can start the conversations using ancient stories,” says Larsson of his focus.
His distinctive clothes and his sustainable mentality Mark Larsson as a leader for a generation of creatives determined to reuse instead of doing things with new materials. The stars are queuing to become their ambassadors. When Cate Blanchett reached a premiere in Los Angeles last year in an upper part of Hodakova adorned with 102 old silver spoons, the appearance went viral, with Wwd Folding his designer “The Greta Thunberg of Fashion”. The BlackPink K-Pop Star Rosé recently used a reworking Swind The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Emma Corrin and Saoarse Ronan have also used Hodakova. “Working with these brilliant people and joining them in the storytelling, creating tension and contrast is a dream,” says Larsson.
At 32, with a hair of blonde strawberry and strawberry hair, a face without makeup and with one of his re -colored men’s shirts, Larsson has a freshness of girls. When we talk, she is in her study in Stockholm that ends her AW25 collection, which will be presented at Paris Fashion Week in March. With a small team of eight, she does her work with a certain mentality and a sense of humor (one of Hodakova’s best selling articles is a top made of discarded padded fasteners, £ 580). It all begins with the Deadstock analysis from second -hand suppliers in Sweden, using the trained tools to scan the composition, color and size of the fabric, although the real construction of the garments is achieved through techniques made to hand and machine. Its commitment to recycling and reuse places it within a tradition that extends from the pioneers Paco Rabanne and Martin Margiela to newcomers such as Bode and Bettter. The pieces of the bell cutlery of the AW23 collection with the work of the contemporary British artist Ann Carrington; Duchamp, Magritte and Warhol are great in their imagination.
Larsson constantly questions how articles can be emphasized at the best effect and commercial scale. “The development of designs is by proof and error, and work with people with a strong intuition so that we can affect ideas at the time,” says Larsson. For the shows, he collaborates with the influential stylist Lotta Volkova, who first put his footprint in fashion working with Demine in Vetements and Balenciaga, both brands that stand out in transforming the mundane into the extraordinary. “Lotta has a way to put a reality at work, finding elements that feel interesting,” he adds.
Today, Hodakova has 24 warehouses, including Dover Street Market worldwide and Ssense. “Hodakova represents a particularly interesting point of view between emerging brands and also offers a very contemporary interpretation of the history of clothing,” says a spokesman for the 10 Corsican purchasing team as, which stores the label. “The client is intellectual, cultivated and we see the brand with Maison Margiela, Comme des Garçons and Junya Watanabe.” Cannily, Larsson also established her own DTC site when the brand was launched, with special pieces on request and regular stock as means of stockings (£ 320), belt zipper bags made of multiple belts (£ 2,400) Yy Tops With Epaulettes berets (£ 380). The amount of accessible deadstock dictates the execution of any article. But surplus belts, men’s shirts, Chinese and fasteners are apparently available in abundance.
Larsson’s aesthetics was perfected by his education in a farm in Strängäs, one hour by Stockholm car, where he was raised by a father who worked for the army and a mother who was a seamstress. The family was proud to transform redundant items (furniture, ceramics, fabrics) into new hybrid designs that would have a new purpose. “My mother was always doing everything herself, changing the perspective and representation of the home. Whether painting or sewing, she allowed me to get involved my brother. Neither my mother nor my dad are afraid of failure, ”says Larsson.
The Sartorial Elegance of Hodakova, the multiplicity of necklaces and buttons, the powerful silhouettes, was informed by Larsson’s father. “He took great care of his uniform and the details that changed depending on the occasion. That understanding of how the dress connects to traditions has just been around me. ” His favorite hobby, equestrian sports, also caught his attention to the label.
PolyMath studied Fine Arts and Sculptures at the Swedish Textile School in Stockholm, where her technical skills and a fascination with abstract expression made her an outstanding scholar. Here, he learned adaptation techniques and was attracted to recontextualization. “It is something central to me to work with things found in which you can see potential. It’s like a game. If you see a couple of pants, what can you do with him?
Larsson began his own brand immediately after graduation, gaining recognition in 2021 when Vogue Scandinavia He highlighted it as a talent to see. “I am very entrepreneur, and I always wanted to be my own boss and put my energy in something that feels real to me,” she says. In September, its LVMH award saw her beat another 19 semifinalists to win € 400,000 and a one -year tutoring provided by a team of LVMH executives. “We had our eyes in Ellen for a season, but we had no idea how much its brand would develop, even during this edition of the LVMH award,” says Fabrice Paineau, creative director of Double magazinewho is coordinator of the LVMH award. “Then there is Ellen, a luminous woman, determined but also of free spirit who has given her maximum potential to a vision of fashion that is not precedents. There is a strength but also a lightness of purpose in their creations. “
Larsson’s designs underline the obsolescence caused by social changes in desire, which makes their LVMH win even more rewarding. In turn, its rehabilitation of objects that most would happen (rigid white necklaces, elastic pants, lineaging kitchen cloths) has been so successful that Swedish companies that specialize in second -hand and Deadstock now approach to offer bulk articles. A collaboration with the Swedish company of Chimi glasses, which debuted this spring, will present its work to more people. Until then, its Magic of Cycling will continue: for a look at its SS25 collection, it even managed to convert unwanted oil paintings into a very alternative maxi dress, complete with a wooden frame for a hem.