Beate Skonare Karlsson is a digital native who has used her savvy understanding of online spaces to create viral shows where models fell or had their clothes fall off, and viral designs like her anthropomorphic finger shoes, which Rick Owens has been spotted wearing. Concept and communication were Karlsson’s main drivers; she is as acutely creative as she is aware that a small, women-owned, independent Swedish label needed a point of distinction to stand out in Milan.
That the designer decided to stay in Stockholm this season should not be read as a retreat but as a rejection of algorithms and a return to roots. Over the years Karlsson has developed a number of design signatures. Several of her shapes, like the scalloped larva bag, curvy panda glasses, and all-around fringe centipede scarf, have a creature aspect to them. Techniques like “sharpei” ruching, slashes, and a skeletal-rib like motif have differentiated streetwear silhouettes. For spring, she wanted to put that category mostly aside; the result was her most grown-up collection to date, while retaining a cartoonish sense of fun and irreverence.
One of the ways Karlsson accomplished this was by transporting shapes from accessories into garments—which is quite a fascinating idea—so that the curvy pockets on a well-tailored jacket with a polish that would please a sciura had a larva shape. These softer, rounder shapes contrasted with pleating, which was the designer’s main preoccupation for spring. She played with plisée, using it vertically and horizontally—as in the case of a slinky-like skirt. To Karlsson, a stretchy minidress with a single hoop resembled an old-time bathing suit. It could be read as sculptural or cartoonish or both; it should be remembered that for centuries womenswear was built around cages; this felt light and whimsical in contrast. A slashed skirt with loops that revealed their underside and a dress with crumpled streamers that had a crepe-paper effect were partly inspired by a Christmas episode of Pippi Longstocking featuring lots of crumpled wrapping paper, They had the spirit of do-at-home paper crafts that had been elevated and executed with precision in cloth.
The collection’s dimensionality and textures, and the use of gingham on a smart looking ribcage jacket (note the smocking at the wrists) were all on-point trends wise. More broadly, Karlsson’s feeling for craft and dimensionality were in line with digital fatigue, anti-algorithm, and pro analog feeling. Attendant on that is the designer’s instinct to simplify. “I think it’s nice to just have calm for the eye,” she said. “My experience is that it’s a time where it’s just extra everything and layering—not just in fashion, but in life in general. I’m just trying to remove layers and see if the core and the actual essence is still interesting.” It was, especially in the case of a pleated tube that Karlsson turned into a perfect LBD.
