ANARKID
www.anarkid.com | Instagram
We are so excited to bring this weeks Behind the Brand blog post to our Minty readers today. Peter Jansson has just been announced as the new head designer for Anarkid!
Anarkid is the epitome of ‘cool’ in the kidswear industry. If you’re looking for some rad threads then they are an absolute MUST to check out!
Peter Jansson was educated at Central Saint Martins in London. Peter is best known for his Cheap Monday and Weekday designs which achieved international recognition for over a decade. He has joined the Sydney-based team with enthusiasm towards steering Anarkid in a new direction towards the brand values of acceptance, confidence, creativity, transparency and rebellion.
For fans of kidswear, art and anarchy, the bar has officially been raised.
Anarkid will be showing its first pieces designed by Peter to stores in January across Europe, USA, Asia and Australia.
Tell us a little bit about yourself Peter? What is your professional background and how did you come to join with Anarkid?
‘I went to fashion schools in Sweden and London, and then worked as a concept designer for Cheap Monday and weekday, both owned by fashion giant H&M.
I met Magnus (Director of Anarkid) by coincidence at a party in Sweden and we just clicked. He is a similar age to me and also Swedish, with a background in fashion so we had a lot to talk about.
A few months later, I flew down to Paris to meet Dominique, Magnus’s wife, while she was exhibiting Anarkid at a trade fair. We got along really well and the three of us kept in touch. When the opportunity popped up to design for Anarkid, I was very excited to try something new.’
What about your personal life? Can you give us a quick summary of your childhood, school life and study.
‘I grew up in fabric stores that my parents owned in Sweden which is where I worked as my first job at age 14. My brother is also a fashion designer (he designs denim for Victoria Beckham). My brother and I studied at the same time in London at Central Saint Martins. A love of textiles definitely runs in my family!’
What were the driving forces for you to becoming a designer?
‘Absolutely the curiosity. I met lots of designers from an early age through my family’s business. For me, London was the center of the universe. Everything seemed to be happening there – schools, clubs, shops.
I always had the feeling that I wanted to move to London and every time I was there it felt like home. It made sense for me to study fashion there.’
If you could sum up your personal style in a few sentences what would it be?
’90’s with a twist of darkness.’
What is your design process like?
‘The research is the most important part of the design process. A lot of time goes into reading magazines, visiting stores and browsing through Instagram to understand what is important for consumers right now.
Once I start to gather some inspiration, I develop mood boards which are presented to the rest of the team for discussion. After that, I start to draw my ideas and source fabrics.
ANARKID IS THE EPITOME OF COOL KID’S FASHION. WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR DEVELOPING AND NURTURING THIS STYLE?
‘Through introducing interesting textures, shapes and colours to our collections.’
ANARKID’S VALUES OF ACCEPTANCE, CONFIDENCE, CREATIVITY, TRANSPARENCY AND REBELLION ARE SOMETHING YOU ARE PLANNING TO EMBED IN THE PRODUCT DESIGN. HOW DO YOU PLAN ON EXECUTING THIS?
‘I really relate with the core values of Anarkid. I want to show that in every detail. Fashion is about pictures, but also so much about fabric, surface, colors and details, I want the customer to feel our values in every seam. I want to be proud about the product that we deliver.’
WE LOVE THE ANARKID SLOGAN ‘MADE BY REBELS FOR REBELS.’ CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE PHILOSOPHY AND HOW YOU AS A DESIGNER FIT IN WITH THIS SLOGAN?
‘I think that freedom is so important, being able to have the allowance and confidence to be yourself. I want the designs to develop kids and their personal style.’
CAN WE GET A LITTLE TEASER OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE NEW COLLECTION THAT IS ON THE HORIZON FOR ANARKID AND YOURSELF?
‘We will be true to ourselves, real rebels, we will ask the important questions, (who will cool down the earth), but still create fantastic fashion, it will be a bit darker with an optimistic feeling.’
