May 16, 2007

May: Patrik Söderstam, designer

Controversial, brilliant and more honest than most.
Patrik Söderstam is the dissenter of Swedish design - an artist of the unexpected struggling to create a realm of his own.
Uncompromising, anti-commercial and totally dedicated to distinction.
We met with this outspoken design prodigy to discuss fashion. He politely shut us up and told a story about zombies, Burberry wars, ecstatic love and people talking to the sky.

While still a student at the prestigious Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, Patrik Söderstam started selling his first collections in Japan. Today his clothes are available at avant-garde fashion stores all over the world. And whether he likes it or not, he has become one of the favourite pets of Sweden’s A-list fashionistas. His unconventional creations may not appeal to a broader audience, but they certainly do the trick for many of those who claim to understand. A quick internet search on his name more than confirms this thesis. An almost unanimous quire of bloggers hail him as a genius, his clothes have appeared in Madonna's videos, and he has been awarded prices from fashion magazines.

You work with many different things besides designing clothes, tell us a little bit more about your line of work?

- Well, I want to create something totally unique, a world of my own. To do that I need to put as much of myself as I can into what I do - in everything I do. I’m still in the beginning of this process. I feel I’m sort of done with my wardrobe now. Next up is imagery. I’ve started doing photography and graphics. Art and music are coming up as well.

You're designing clothes and graphics, doing advertisements for big companies like Absolute Vodka, and recently you took pictures for the German edition of GQ. What do you enjoy most?

- That kind of work I do because I am good at it. I sell my skills because I need the money for my own projects. To be alone in the studio working on a sculpture or something is what I enjoy the most.

What inspires you?

- The struggle … the competition, the war, the ecstatic love I feel sometimes when I am satisfied.

Fashion journalists have labeled you as a rebel. A few years ago you had a "beef" with Burberry. What was that all about?

- I did an exhibition called A Burberry War in Browns Focus window. It was just around the corner from Burberrys new flagship store. They told me to change the name – which I didn’t. I thought it looked as if they went out to war with their checkered prints, and everybody who bought their stuff was like zombie warriors marching towards death. And yes, I am a rebel against the fashion industry. They better watch out.

Can you give some examples of good and bad design?

- Fashion in general is bad design. Fashion clothing is used for a short period of time and for a purpose that is often just bullshit. But the worst thing is the whole production process. It’s not just the horrible life situation of the workers that make the clothes over in China, but also the awful effect the industry has on the third world's ecosystems. Good design is something that's made to last and helps the user in his every day life. It shouldn’t be made with the cynical purpose of just making money on the expenses of other people’s life. I can’t really think of a product like that right now.

What do you think about Swedish design?

- I don’t like the term Swedish design. I think it is important to see every person or company as something unique. If we start looking at it more like that we might get some real creativity going in this little country.

Some of your collections have been quite eccentric. In which countries do people have the guts to go full out and dress different?

- The same there I guess. It’s not about countries, it’s about individuals. I could say Japan of course, but it's quiet tiresome to always bring that up. People over there might look a bit eccentric, but in reality they are very much held back by their culture. I rather see my clothes on some really strange soul that sleeps on the street and talks to the sky. I have been thinking of giving clothes away to people like that … if they want it.

Are you always happy with your own work or have you ever looked back and thought: what the hell was I thinking?

- I'm never happy with my work! The day you’re happy you should be doing something else.

We saw some of your designs in Madonna’s video Jump. How did they end up there?

-Jonas Åkerlund’s girlfriend Bea was styling it and she came by the studio and picked some stuff up.

Is image and style important to you?

- Image and style are ugly words. My appearance in life is my art. And that’s important.

When will you release your new collections, and in what direction will you go with it?

- I won't release a new collection for people to buy. But I’m working on new projects that will involve clothes. To give real meaning to what I do I need to stop selling clothes. I am a revolutionary not a business man.

Recipe for men’s man of the month in May

Name: Patrik Söderstam.

Age: 34.

Occupation: Artist of various media.

Family: Girlfriend and two daughters.

Best piece created: A padded calf.

Vanity level: Unclassified.

Would like to promote: An anti-commercial revolution fueled by ecological foods.

Looks up to: I don’t want to look up, I'd rather look to the side. Looking up or down is not good for your neck ...

The world’s most beautiful man: Lets just say that if I was a woman I'd be a lesbian – I can’t see what they see in men.