Soldiers of Fashion
Sharing its name with a Björk song and started in 2008 by designers Daniel Wahlberg and Richard Sjöblom, Army of Me is a label based in Stockholm where the 30-year-olds both live and work. Since the first collection was released in Spring/Summer 2009 they have continued working, spreading their name all around the world, embracing a meeting of feelings of mysterious masculinity and feminine elements in an androgynous mash-up. In their designs you’ll find layers of fabric, mostly in monochrome colours, with small details that make a statement, combining classic designs from the West with avant garde from the East. Fashion magazine BON described their latest collection as ”gothic war” with an atmosphere of ”nuclear chic”.
“It’s always hard to describe yourself to others. Many people think they have a correct perception of themselves but usually that is wrong. We are easy-going dudes that don’t take ourselves that seriously,” says Daniel Wahlberg.
The idea to start Army of Me came about in 2008 when they were both living in Shanghai, China and both were really bored with their jobs. “Like so many other good ideas this one came after a few beers at a dive bar. Not very glamorous. We don’t have a design background or any form of education related to fashion, so it was quite spontaneous to say the least,” Daniel explains.
The guys started working in an apartment that they used as an office in Shanghai, but have since moved to Stockholm, where they love the bright summer nights but hate the dark winters. “We moved back in May last year and started the plans to open a store, which is now open. It’s situated in an old garage at Kungsholmen which gives a very industrial feeling. It suits the brand well.”
Despite a lack of formal fashion qualifications, the fascination with fashion has always been there. “The interest has always been there in one way or another. When we were in high school we talked about opening our own shop when graduating because there was no good shops in Stockholm. We did a lot of dreaming over cafe lattes in coffee shops on Söder. When that never happened perhaps beginning with design was a natural step to take a few years later?
“Seriously though, we really started Army of Me as a project just for fun and worked late nights and weekends. When we had our first pieces in our hands we were like ‘imagine if this could ever be sold in a store somewhere’. Today the ambitions are very different to that.”
Other than fashion, Daniel likes most sports and plays hockey at a low level in Stockholm, and Richard just aquired a gym membership which he admits to not use very often. Instead, he prefers traveling and the occasional beer. Their mutual interest, besides design, is pool and snooker. They both played a lot during their years in China, and still try to play whenever they have a chance.
So far, they have been happy with the response to their designs. More and more women are also buying their clothes, which they are happy about. “It’s always hard to get your name up when you start a new label and it does take time to build up any form of credibility. Nowadays we really feel that more and more people knows about who we are and what we do which is great. That’s always what you strive for when you do something creative I think.”
The pair say the secrets of fashion success are as much in the address book as in the designs. “Contacts would be the biggest key. To have the right contacts to help promote your brand in the way you want to promote it, and reach out to the right people. It’s possible to make that happen yourself but it is super hard. To get a good distributor that can help you with the sales and PR could really help a brand progress quickly in a tough market.”
Daniel and Richard say that they are inspired by everything and that they especially like to walk around fabric stock-markets to find new ideas. An interesting fabric can spur a range of ideas. For the future, they plan to keep working and doing their thing, developing the brand.
“There is always room for improvement and once you loose that feeling and you feel happy with where you are, it’s probably time to do something else. We hope that our next fall/winter line will be a step in the right direction for us.”
As a brand, do they identify with any current design trends?
“That is a tough question. We don’t really see ourselves as followers of trends or trendsetters if you will. We try to do our thing and make things that we like and just keep it to that. I think that’s why the brand has been appreciated as well. It is timeless in its own way.”.
