How the exclusive collection with Designers Remix delights our contemporary designer customers

When Designers Remix wanted to create an exclusive collection with Zalando, they had only one thing in mind – the new pieces must stay true to their DNA, featuring designs that are conceptualized from upcycled material. This collaboration saw the two brands – Zalando and Designers Remix – working in tandem to create a truly unique capsule and celebrate its launch at the Heartland Festival to inspire aspirational contemporary customers.

Designers Remix was founded in Copenhagen in 2002, with the exciting idea of making full use of already existing resources by redesigning, remixing and upcycling fabrics and garments. With upcycling as the brand’s modus operandi, it recently launched an a collection exclusively available on Zalando called “The Art of Remade”. The collection consists of 20 pieces ranging from dresses, shorts, tops, blazers, shirts, and hats, and included 6 hero pieces. Partnering up with Designers Remix highlights Zalando’s ambition to become a credible, fresh, and inclusive destination for contemporary customers and the partner of choice for luxury and designer brands.

We sat down with Charlotte Eskildsen, Creative Director and Founder, and Sharon Toffolo, Brand & Sales Coordinator, to discuss the collection, which was pre-launched at the Heartland Festival in Denmark, a contemporary culture festival.

How was your experience with pre-launching this collection at the Heartland Festival?

Charlotte: It was really nice, and it was quite evident that we like working together. We felt like the synergy was amazing. We combined our strengths in a really good way. So, we see ourselves as a unit. With Zalando, it was really special. I felt the positivity and the energy was epic. I mean, going to a festival together with so many people, the music, the vibes – everything was just really going hand in hand.

Sharon: I also think that it was such a great place to launch the collection. The collection perfectly fitted the vibe of the festival itself. It was really a perfect day.

That's great to hear. Why did you choose to create a collection of upcycled pieces? 

Charlotte: When I started the brand, people were less clued in about upcycling or sustainability. That was 22 years ago, so I guess we can claim to be one of the pioneers of the upcycling movement in the industry. It's been our DNA for over two decades. And that's why we are called Designers Remix, it's just who we are. We've done several projects similar to this one but trying to do it with such a large partner, like Zalando, was something we were keen on for a while. We always face the problem that we can only get one or two units to work on a collection such as this. It's quite difficult for us to find proper inventory. When we got a positive response from Zalando, the buying team was amazing. They gave us a list of inventory and how we could work around it. 

Designing a collection like this always starts with the inventory because when I do a normal collection, I can choose the fabrics myself. Here I get the stock and then I  have to conceptualize how I can make it into something else so that it becomes a full-fledged collection. It's a totally different way of working which is really inspiring. But what's so unique about this project is that we had a larger inventory to work with. I've never tried that before, so that was really exciting. I now see a lot of design schools working with upcycling and hence, I am moved to believe that this is the future of design.

That sounds like quite a creative process!

Charlotte: Yeah, I’ve had a lot of questions about what's the inspiration. It doesn't start like that. It starts with, “What are the ingredients”? Until I see what I have to work with, I don’t have the source of the inspiration. When we got our hands on it and saw the inventory, we came up with different ideas such as how can we combine a pretty dad-core menswear shirt with a huge gown and create a piece which was one of a kind. 

What is your vision for your brand? 

Charlotte: We always try to have a lot of variety on our website. Right now, we have a few blazers or shirts, and colorful suits – we always have this little unique collection in our own online store as well. Since the beginning, we’ve been trying to promote style and responsibility simultaneously. Of course, we also have our main collection and it's not easy for us to make our remade collection in large quantities, which is why “The Art of Remade” was a great challenge. We managed quite well to produce 20 different styles. The collection has 6 hero pieces which are more exclusive and has limited availability because they are partially handmade. While some others have around 20 SKUs as well. 

Where do you see yourself in the intersection of the world of art and fashion, and where do you think Zalando comes in here?

Charlotte: Art and fashion have always been really closely related. We are influencing each other in terms of creativity and style and aesthetics but I don't see myself as an artist. We have a different mentality. But we – both the designer and the artist – have the ability to influence culture and society. We can raise awareness because we have a voice and I think that's so important for us in both industries. That’s what we did together with Zalando in the installation together. We could tell a story on how we could remake things that were already produced. Fatima Fransson, who did the art installation, also thought the same, while doing a huge organic piece. I think it all became a synergy of communication and art.

If you could describe this particular collaboration in one word or phrase, what would it be? 

Charlotte: The collaboration was characterized by positive energy. It's just one big synergy of people. It's really rare. There was so much talent and everybody wanted to make it great.

We've been partnering for several years now and we did several projects together. But to me, Zalando is really great at thinking out of the box. It makes the company really unique.

How do you think that Zalando enhances your existing omnichannel strategy and helps you bring your products to a larger audience?

Sharon: We have our e-commerce platform and we also work with other retailers. But I think that what makes Zalando different or great for us is that it has a huge network of its own. It's the right place for us to be right now, to be seen because we have the brand home and a space to show our products in a more focussed manner to our customers. We can tell our story and show our audience who we are.

What is your personal favorite piece from this collection? 

Charlotte: For me, it's always the menswear jacket.

Sharon: From this collection, I would say the Carrie Halter dress with the rosette that you can tie up in the neck. I would wear it the entire summer, maybe with a pair of sneakers during the day and then with a pair of heels at night. It is definitely a piece that you have to have for summer, and then you can easily combine it with the blazer that Charlotte was mentioning so that it's the perfect outfit to go out.

Charlotte: I think we only made three, really rare for Zalando, right?

It's so exclusive and anyone who gets their hand on these pieces is going to be super lucky.

Charlotte: It's such a statement as well because sometimes you go out and people are like, where did you get your dress? From which brand? And when it’s from an exclusive collection, the piece that you have is totally unique.