Veni, Vidi, Hodakova?
Before becoming better acquainted with the handwriting of Stockholm-based designer Ellen Hodakova Larsson, most would've probably said that gowns of spoons, bags of buckles, and shoes of watch straps belong in an arts and crafts display – not on runways or celebrities.
Well, this year's LVMH prize honoree would beg to differ, having showcased all of the above-mentioned – and then some – to the great pleasure of the industry's upper echelon.
A graduate of the Swedish School of Textiles' class of 2019, Larsson founded her namesake upcycling brand in 2021, and has since gained both niche notoriety and prestigious co-signs.
Most recently, newly minted street-style-star Saoirse Ronan went viral for sporting HODAKOVA's garment of asymmetrically patchworked Barbour jackets.
Prior, fellow actors Emma Corrin and Cate Blanchett stunned in Larsson's mini belt dress, and a cutlery-adorned blazer, respectively, to name but a few of the Swede's inlfuential fans.
As much as one would love to draw comparisons between the young label and, say, early Margiela, HODAKOVA's oddball aesthetics are not just for the thrill of it:
These carefully (de-)constructed pieces consist of deadstock and otherwise discarded materials, sourced and revived as a means to build the "first fully sustainable fashion house”, the 32-year-old explained.
Upon winning her what is arguably the world of apparel's most revered accolade, Larsson's trench coats of chino pants, riding boot skirts, and mosaic'd beret cardigans are likely not just to drape the bodies of a growing clientele, but to inspire innovation in her contemporaries' creative and technical approaches, too.
The clothing economy's complicated relationship with circularity is amongst its most egregious and well-known issues, so the concept of crafting desirable product out of, well, trash, isn't necessarily novel. Not seldom, however, do results of such strategies look cliché, lack wearability, or simply fail to scale.
HODAKOVA's not resisted the corny altogether, but to have been so warmly welcomed into the higher ranks of not just the Scandinavian elite, but international luxury at large, sends a positive signal to environmentally attuned consumers and peers, big and small.
Too soon, still, to predict where it is headed, HODAKOVA's story thus far has us tightly fastened into its eco-friendly-meets-avant-garde artisan plot – one I'm rooting for Larsson to make it out the other end of victoriously.
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