11.01.2018
At Astrid Andersen’s AW18 show at London Fashion Week, actress Noomi Rapace was front row in a spectacular coat done in collaboration with Saga Furs. Crafted in Saga® Finnraccoon and Fox tiles dyed in rhubarb and custard, it was a perfect example of the Danish designer’s bold approach to fur and colour.
Andersen also presented six fur pieces from her AW18 Bespoke collection at an exclusive champagne reception at the Mandrake Hotel later that evening, all done with the technical support and fur innovation of the Saga Furs Design Centre. The Bespoke edit is where the designer explores what contemporary no-holds-barred luxury means to her.
“Our generation just has a different approach to when it is you have to look smart and when it is you have to look luxurious. It can be when you go to a basketball game. So I want my furs to look comfortable. And you can style them with jeans and a hoodie,” Andersen said of her fur outerwear, which was paired with Nike Air Max 270.
Glamorous but relaxed furs for a young generation
Inspired by London’s Buffalo era and the influence it has had on her aesthetic, Andersen introduced heritage fabrics into her hyper-glamorous hip-hop universe. Street met opulence in tweed and tartan outerwear adorned with glossy black Saga® Mink or natural Finnraccoon.
“I think it’s really what I want to do with fur. Mixing in a style that’s really not common within fur. You know, a fur coat traditionally has a very specific look and my commitment to fur has always been to change people’s perception of when do you wear a fur.”
Case in point: how Andersen used the Saga Furs Fox-on-Fabric technique on a stunning Silver Fox coat but then constructed the upper body like a varsity jacket in electric blue dyed Black Cross Mink. Or the way she trimmed a metallic blue leather jacket with a caramel-hued dyed Blue Fox lapel, but paired it with baggy sportswear.
It’s a way of working with fur that both appreciates its unbridled extravagance but also brings it into a relatable, young sphere.
“There are lot of things I love about fur,” Andersen told us. “But mostly I like the fact that it’s traceable. I use a lot of other fabrics but I actually have to research a lot to find out where they were made, how they were handled, what the chemical process was like. With fur, there’s a transparency. Working with Saga, the traceability system allows brands to trace the fur back to the farm of origin. And I like that there’s no wastage. Fur has integrity.”
Noomi Rapace – a good friend of Andersen who shares the designer’s love of fur – is the face of the exclusive fur capsule and was at the event sporting a dyed Fox and Finnraccoon stole. Because while the Bespoke collection was shown during the men’s shows, Andersen is very much a frontrunner for a genderless approach to fashion.
Stay tuned for the full Astrid Andersen womenswear collection, which will be shown during Copenhagen Fashion Week.