Brand Profile: HANSEN

Posted September 17, 2012

HANSEN is not about big gestures but more about creating something true and honest that you as the wearer will make your own. It’s all designed and crafted in a way that’ll make you establish a very special and personal relationship to your clothes. You’ll never throw them away and you’ll probably not even borrow them to your friends. HANSEN garments are not tied down by specific seasons, the pieces you buy this season will just as easily fit with the ones you bought a year ago or those you end up buying next year. You simply just start a collection; a wardrobe that will last as long as the look of your designer furniture or the sound of your favourite record.

Co-founder and designer, Åse Helena Hansen, basically builds up the entire collection trying to recreate how she feels about her own favourite pieces of garment. Quality, texture and design are essentials but other than that it’s rather hard to explain. The end result in the design is an understatement where longevity and durability are a focal points of departure.

“A bonanza of colours,” is how Åse’s partner describes the use of colours in the spring collection compared to previous seasons. Still, the colours will suit the Nordic man.

Back in 2010 when HANSEN was in the process of being established as a brand, Åse was granted DKK 50,000 from the Danish Agency for Culture. In application Åse wrote about how HANSEN garments are, “clothes in which the soul moves into,” I think that captures the feeling quite well. It’s a minimalist philosophy that guides the design process, just do your best and use the best available fabrics. Maybe you won’t notice it right away, but you’ll definitely feel it once you try on the garments.

Fashion has moved towards HANSEN. The goal for the brand was originally to create something that they would be happy and proud about. It would have to be something completely different from what the somewhat self-centered designer and clothing brands did in the 00s, but suddenly they found themselves as part of a mega-trend, which was a rather disappointing discovery. Nevertheless, it only confirms that they’re doing the right thing, but basically, “they just design clothes.”

The leather jacket is made from Reindeer.

For the coming spring, HANSEN is as always a mixture of a casual and a dressed up look – the everyday work clothes and the Sunday wardrobe (in the old church-going sense of the term). You’re free to mix a black blazer with shirt and tie or work trousers and a loose henley according to your mood. Or if you’re attending a wedding, a HANSEN suit will make sure you pass the dress code without being too formal, which is perfect for dedicated denim wearers who would never feel comfortable in a shiny Hugo Boss suit. As Åse put it, “you’ll look like a million bucks without feeling tacky.” As all dress shirts HANSEN’s was desgined to be tugged in.

Henley’s are perfect for layering, the fabric used for this one is knitted in Japan.

Knitwear made in Denmark by Ole Strange.

“The driving trousers” are inspired by the pants chauffeurs would wear in the 20s and 30s when you had to sit up straight with the steering wheel all up in your face.

The trousers are made of a classic and durable workwear fabric.