Life as a designer at Daily Sports
Did you know from an early stage what you wanted to do for a living?
I knew that I wanted to work in a creative field, but I had no idea it would be fashion. My parents were my role models. Growing up I watched my mom sew children’s clothes from the BurdaStyle Magazine and my father would craft furniture out of wood in his spare time.
What degree do you have?
I moved to Paris and worked as a model right after high school. Although it was a tough and strange environment for an unexperienced young girl like me, life in Paris certainly had its bright moments. Since I only did model jobs for fun I decided to start studying. Paris offer any designer class a girl could possibly want and I finally decided to take a preliminary one-year course for creative work. I studied art and literature, design and French. When I got back to Sweden I entered “Tillskärarakademin” in Malmö and enrolled in a one-year art program at the University, with focus on drawing, painting and sculpting. Both educations played an important role for my future as a designer since I had reached a higher level of competence and felt more than ready for the next step. Back in Stockholm I entered a three-year fashion program at Beckman’s Designer School.
Tell us a little bit about your background.
Straight out of Beckman’s, I started working as a designer assistant for children’s clothing at H&M Rowells, a very educative time for me. After less than a year I got a temporary position at the women’s department for sports, underwear and accessories. When Rowells merged into “todays” H&M, all personnel at Rowells got placed within the company. I then got to work as a designer for swimwear and underwear. H&M’s underwear department consists of many different product groups divided after material, this has given me an eye for details and quality when it comes to fabric. I worked with cotton and later also with lace fabrics. After more than five years at H&M, I was ready to try something new so I freelanced for six months as a designer and stylist for the interior magazine Residence. I wasn’t their first pic for the job since I had no experience as a stylist, but luckily, I got to do a test job. The job was for Sofie Gunolf the former SEO at Indiska. It was a fun and challenging job that threw me right in the mix of things. Furnitures and accessories had to be rented to protect Sofie’s home, it made me extra nervous when her cat insisted on jumping into the rented coach that was worth 100 000kr. Luckily her cat didn’t leave a scratch and I continued to do both big and small jobs for Residence.
The jobs could be challenging sometimes, for instance we did photo shoots at four in the morning on a windy beach on Öland which was tiring. But I took pride in the work we had an accomplished once I saw the spread in the magazine. Although it was an exciting job the long and odd work hours had got me think and by chance I saw that the Lexington Company was recruiting both a stylist and a designer. I applied for both jobs and was thrilled to get the designer job.
They were just about to start a clothing line, which was a new chapter for them, up until that point they had solely been focused on home interior. So, I spend the next eight years building their new clothing line from nothing to a success story. It was fun and intense to work for a small company, that expanded and got listed on the stock market. I truly believe that working for a small company has its pros, because you get to be engaged on a whole different level.
“Designing golf- and sports clothes gives a whole new dimension to a designer’s work. At Daily Sports we combine fashion with functionality and quality.”
During this time my husband and I started a family and like most mom’s, maternity leave gave me time to reflect on what really matters in life and the things that inspires me. I missed working as a freelance designer and took on smaller jobs. Shortly thereafter Ulrika Skoghag, CEO at Daily Sports contacted me. I hardly knew anything about the company but luckily, I had joined a fitness event a few months earlier where the instructor had on a pair of pants that I really liked. She told me the pants were from Daily Sports and that she had the pleasure of being their ambassador. Sometimes this world is a small place, I have now been working as a consultant for Daily Sports for almost four years, and I love it.
“The best part of my job is that I get to create something that makes women happy and no day is the same. I also love the creative process of my job where I integrate with my colleagues, it fills me with energy and inspiration.”
How do you plan on developing Daily Sports as a brand and future collections?
First of all, I look at the company’s statistics and sell records and I always have the woman who is going to wear our clothes in focus. I think about her all the time, I see her before me and ask myself, what would she like to wear? Sometimes I challenge her by adding an extra detail to a garment, which has been really appreciated. I like to inspire women and challenge them to follow their dreams. The clothes my colleague and I create highlight the female silhouette.
The clothes are sporty and I like to add a feminine touch to each garment, sometimes a tiny detail is enough. I like the women who wear our clothes to feel independent, feminine and beautiful. We carry certain icon products that we always stock and bring into every new collection. These are our most popular products and the ones we are known for. It is comforting for our customers to know that they can always find the icon products in our stores, in basic and seasonal colors. We always want to add something new and exciting to each collection so it feels inspirational.
When do you start working on a new collection?
We work on every Collection two years in advance. Right now, me and my colleague will start working on the autumn and winter collection for 2022.
Where do you find your inspiration?
Everywhere. Travelling has always been an important source of inspiration for me. Normally we go on trips with work to seek inspiration, but even a private trip can be enough. Sometimes a change of scenery is all it takes. If I for instance take a different walk to the office or travel to a different part of the city it can be enough for me to get a feeling or see a detail that inspires me. I often take a walk along the water which help me to rinse my thoughts and gather new inspiration. During the pandemic I have to find new ways, because a fashion spread isn’t enough. Instead I have found that interior, art, music, film, food, people and a shopping window filled with flowers or articles on society inspires me the most.
“The products which I carry and favor the most are the trousers Avoriaz and Trina. I love their shape and soft fabric.”
Are you allowed to do exactly as you please? If not, who are involved in the decision-making process?
Ulrika the CEO gives us room to create and evolve in our own pace. We are two designers, Pernilla Sandqvist and I, that work as a team. We share every detail of the creative process in making a new collection. Pernilla has been with the company longer than me, and knows its DNA. Before every new collection we brainstorm then we share a first draft with Ulrika. The first idea usually fades out. It is an ongoing process. We come up with ideas, mix them together, intervene the details and at last we have created something great. Even though we are a team we don´t think alike. We come from different backgrounds, we have different personalities and of course when it comes to color and shape everyone has a different opinion. Our source of inspiration, thoughts and reflections aren’t the same and nothing is right and wrong. That is what makes the designer process so important, we usually twist and turn a thought a few times before we reach a final result. It is important to set boundaries for how long such a process can go on, since we have a deadline.
It is very important that one is humble in the process, something I thought was more difficult when I was younger. Then I could get offended when everyone didn’t like my draft, the texture or whatever I had created. With time I have learned not to take it personal, instead I embrace the fact that it is the process making that keeps us moving forward.
Does your role as a designer has to know the complete product making process?
Yes, it certainly makes it easier for a designer if they understand the entire process. It can truly complicate things if one is not involved in the consequences an adjustment a detail might result in. Once we have decided what to produce we make a sketch of each garment. We then leave a tech pack, detailed information to Therese, who is the product manager for Daily Sports. She makes out a plan for the production and send our tech packs to our production team in Hong Kong. They will then handle the communication process with our suppliers.
The design team are also involved in the process of trying on sample clothing. We check each measurement, the quality of the fabric and make sure the color combinations are correct. We work with four different collections simultaneously; the sketch, the one we check for color and samples and one that we prepare for phots shoots. At the same time, we listen to feedback from our sales representatives regarding our next collection, which they are currently selling. And not to forget the collections we have in stores right now.
