How do you dress a Pop-up Messiah, Hardcore Cheerleader or Queens of Noise? Young designer Sara-Lovise Ewertson, the brain behind fashion brand Zeth, knows. Her out-of-the-ordinary exam collection SnowBeastLasorTornado at Swedish School of Textiles in Borås has shaken the catwalks of both Stockholm and London Fashion Weeks and proved Stockholm has gained a new unstoppable fashion force.
I first saw Sara-Lovise’s creations at a show by Wallenberg, a twisted singer and performer known for her lavish outfits. This time, Wallenberg’s persona was proudly named ‘’Pop-up Messiah’’ and the whole act was filled with un-holy religious references mixed up with sporty eroticism. The signer appeared wearing a huge kimono covered with slogans, equipped with a gigantic glove with a victory sign pointing to the crowd and a huge tongue featuring a ‘’lick-lick’’ line hanging from her neck. Parts of the costume lit up as she moved. The masked dancers around had plastic, inflatable breasts and long red braids.
It was just a little example of how Sara-Lovise designs her transformative outfits. Her first collection circulated around the topic of fictitious super-hero characters. As I meet her at a casual Stockholm hang-out, she stands out like a comic figure herself. With an eclectic mix of sporty and punky white clothes and big transparent tunnels in her ears, she makes me think of a fancy astronaut clubber. But contrary to distant super heroes, she is very warm and we submerge in a flowing conversation, exchanging favourite bands names and recommending movies.
She explains that her way into fashion has in some way been inspired by her deep fascination with product design and slogans.
“I’m totally possessed by collecting candy or noodle packages, posters and everything to do with logos. Look at this chewing gum wrapping – isn’t it just beautifully designed? I found my personal fashion expression by mixing patterns and slogans and making something, that ambiguously resembles these logos, but it’s difficult to place,” she says.
Printed words and patterns are definitely an original feature of her creations. As for *SnowBeastLasorTornado*, her main inspiration has been the sponsors’ names placed on the cycling outfits.
“Cycling tees are designed with a total dependence on showing up the sponsors’ names,” she explains. “It’s fascinating how a garment can be developed around a commercial idea. There is a whole set of rules around this kind of sports gear. For instance, there are always some slogans placed on the side of the shirt, because that’s visible when they pass by photographers at speed. I reproduced these rules in my collection, but instead of using sponsors, I used names of imaginary personas such as Hardcore Cheerleader, Forever Smiling Girl, Ninja Beast Crossrider’’.
Sara-Lovise continues with her passion for inventing fictive personages in her upcoming collection *Queens of Noise*. This time, she wants to make an even stronger statement, including more interactive elements, such as lights and hidden buttons that make the costume change in movement. At the same time she is aiming to make some very wearable, sporty pieces. “It will be a real gang of strong personalities, real heroes nobody dares to push down,” she warns.
Her way of designing seems very narrative and stretches far from the traditional way of interpreting visual trends. She tells me that she is much more interested in the holistic concept behind the visible result and therefore admires such designers such as Denmark’s Henrik Vibskov.
“Even though I may not be the biggest fan of his visual aesthetics, I love the way he creates the whole reality around his fashion. If you want, you can live in Henrik Vibskov’s world, wearing his clothes, going to his coffee shop, seeing his exhibitions.”
So far, her own world has attracted such uncompromising artists as Wallenberg and Kakan. She dreams of getting international stars such as her favourite Die Antwoord to sport her heroic outfits.
Her holistic way of thinking is also echoed by the name of her brand: Zeth. Opposite to many young designers, she does not want to be directly associated with her own name. She underlines the value of the collective effort behind every produced garment.
“Fashion is all about collaborating and everybody who works for the brand is indispensable for the final product to succeed. I don’t think the designer should get more credit than the person who takes care of the administration or sewing. I chose Zeth as a universal name that many can identify with”.
In her private life, she follows the same values. Her main inspirations are meetings with caring and kind-hearted people. In *Queens of Noise*, she takes a look back into 80’s fashion, with the sporty outfits for the whole family.
“Do you remember these pictures with parents and children sporting matching sweatshirts and colourful sweatpants, sitting under the Christmas tree? I want to recreate a bit of that feeling. However, I also want to show that a family does not necessarily have to be the traditional one. I prefer to build my own, alternative family gang of strong characters that are there for each other,” she laughs. As we finish our coffees, I really hope to be included in her marvellous imaginary world for real fashion heroes.
Words Weronika Pérez Borjas
