Arrogant Artists is a street wear Danish label based out of the very known for its diversity and livelihood - the neighbourhood Nørrebro in Copenhagen. Founded not long ago, yet the label seems to drive a lot of attention not only in the streets but also in the night venue. We met them during Copenhagen Fashion Week and we had the opportunity already to feel the quality and execution of the pieces which exceed certain standards. You know when a Tee or a Sweater is of a great quality when you touch one. We know how Danish design should be and unfortunately our expectations towards anything designed, decorated, thought through are incredibly high. So far, we have not been disappointed. Danish designers wether they design high end, casual or street wear the end result is always impeccable and Arrogant Artists are not left behind on its quality rate and design innovation.
We met up with the founders and creative design team and got to know them and the label a bit better.
We have commented between us a few times how interesting the name “Arrogant Artists” just sounds, since you don’t look arrogant to us at all. How did you come up with that name?
AA: We put our surnames in the Wu Tang nick name generator online and it came up with Arrogant Artists. And we went with that.
That was effective and fast, unlike ours (Dashmere), it took ages!
We can tell that you have a know-how in design already. Are you educated in fashion? What is your background?
AA: Pernille took the Design Technologist education from KEA with a specialty in Sourcing. Afterwards I took a Top-Up Bachelor from KEA with specialty in Responsible sourcing. After finishing school I worked for Stine Goya as production assistant and then for Friis & Co. as production trainee. Louise took the Design Technologist education from BEC Design (now called KEA) with a specialty in Design, then worked for a year as a design assistant at a Danish brand. I have been working as a freelance stylist in Copenhagen for the last 5 years and still do.
So you are pretty busy. How did you manage to find time to start your own label?
AA: We got the idea a little over a year ago. Initially we just wanted to make t-shirts with prints but as we got further in the design process we realized that we wanted to make a full collection including tees, sweatshirts, sweatpants, shorts and hats.
We can see now that you are very inclined for street wear, in this case men’s. We are in love with some of your pieces, but unfortunately they are rather too big for us. Will you ever design women’s wear?
AA: We never considered designing women’s clothes. And we probably never will. We’re drawn to men’s clothes and we wear a lot of it ourselves. The fit is better and we like it oversized.
We’ve noticed the lengths of your styles. They are longer than usual, is that in purpose?
AA: Yes, that is actually in purpose. They are longer than usual in the bottom and in the sleeves. That’s how “they” like it.
What do you mean with “they”?
AA: Well, as a design process we have asked our friends how they would like their t-shirts and sweaters, and they would like them in a long length.
In the design process how do you get inspired? Do you find inspiration through books, magazines, websites?
AA: We definitely go outside. We like to hang out at the parks and see what the guys all wear. From there we come up with new ideas for our next collection.
We’ve noticed that you are very fond of your neighbourhood. Is this how you define your brand?
AA: Yes, we’re a Nørrebro bound brand that creates stylish men’s street wear with high quality trimmings. Quality is everything to us and we won’t compromise that for any prize. All our styles are produced in Portugal under the guidelines of BSCI Code of Conduct, which ensures a healthy working environment for workers, and all fabrics are Oeko-Tex certified which ensures no harmful chemicals against your skin.
We do visualise your brand worn by anybody in Berlin, London, even Japan. Do you have plans to market your brand internationally?
AA: We would like to expand beyond Denmark and we have some things cooking. But we still want to keep it down to earth. We like it here on Nørrebro and we’re staying.
We know that this is a very generic question but, who would you like to see wearing your clothes?
AA: The best-case scenario for us is walking down the street seeing people wearing our designs. That has got to be the biggest thumbs up ever. There’s no specific celebrity that we see wearing our clothes. AA is for everybody who feels comfortable wearing it and everyone who feels like it is adding something to their personal style.
We would like to thank Arrogant Artists for their time and kindness and wish them the best with the brand.
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