Inside story
The Danish brand is eschewing both national stereotypes and global trends to forge its own distinct identity
By embracing out-of-the-ordinary designs, Danish brand Karakter has created its own distinct identity
Christian Elving, chief executive of Karakter, compares the art of design to the slow food movement. ‘It’s the opposite of fast food – we appreciate things that are well made and that take time,’ he says. ‘You don’t need to change every year, and add new colours – that’s not good for anything, especially not for the environment. If you do classic, good design, it’ll always come back into fashion.’
Elving founded the Copenhagen-based furniture brand with Kim Mekawi in 2017, with the intention of breaking away from national stereotypes at a time when mid-century Nordic modernism was all the rage. ‘We’re not just focused on Danish icons or designers of a certain age,’ he says. Today, its collection extends from works by contemporary Dutch designer Aldo Bakker to reissued classics by Italian masters such as Pier Giacomo Castiglioni. The gangly ‘Awkward Light’, conceived as recently as 2012 by South African duo Anatomy Design, for example, sits alongside the sensual, curvaceous ‘Domo’ light from 1965 by Joe Colombo.
Eclectic it may be, but Elving says the collection is united by a focus on people who broke new ground. ‘What our current and heritage designers have in common is that they found a language – or character – of their own,’ he explains. ‘Aldo Bakker was one of the first to work in the way he does – a kind of brutalism, but beautiful and delicate – and the Castiglioni brothers carved a niche back in their day.’
Delving into the history of its designs reaps rewards – Danish trailblazer Bodil Kjær, who drew on her architectural background to explore innovative solutions for modern living, created such iconic pieces as the 1959 ‘Office Desk’, which featured in three James Bond movies. But Elving insists that mining archives is less about ‘free storytelling’ for marketing purposes than longevity. ‘We may not grow as fast as a brand whose strategy is about having an impact on the market, but hopefully our designs will stand the test of time,’ he says. ‘We are okay with the fact that we might only sell 10 of a stool by Aldo Bakker – it might not be for the mass market yet.’ This resistance to the winds of fashion is proving to be a strategy in itself – Karakter already sells to an international audience, with its biggest market in the US. In 2019, Michiganbased manufacturer Haworth acquired 60 per cent of the brand, and paired it with Italian luxury furniture company Cassina (whose parent brand – Poltrona Frau Group – Haworth owns) to help expand its global reach. Cassina, Elving points out, also chose to forge its own path. ‘It promoted designs that didn’t look like everything else, but eventually became classics. That’s what we hope to do.’ karakter-copenhagen.com
‘CLASSIC, GOOD DESIGN WILL ALWAYS COME BACK INTO FASHION’