Fila Fjord, by Astrid Andersen, to Make Debut at Pitti Uomo
LONDON — Fila's fashion momentum is rapidly building.
Having collaborated with brands and retailers including Fendi, and staged its first runway show in Milan in September, the Italian sports brand is unveiling a contemporary collection called Fila Fjord, with the Copenhagen-based designer Astrid Andersen, WWD has learned. An announcement is expected Wednesday. The collection — a mix of men's, women's and unisex clothing, as well as footwear and accessories — will make its debut at Pitti Uomo in January. The fall 2019 collection offers cashmere and merino wool knitwear, tailored wool coats, dresses, tracksuits and jersey separates, all with a sustainability angle.
“The philosophy behind Fila Fjord is to create a premium line for Fila that celebrates their Italian heritage and my Scandinavian roots. We wanted those two worlds to explore each other,” said Andersen in an interview.
Andersen, whose title is creative director, said her aim is to make quality pieces and long-lasting product, with a “natural, sustainable and streamlined lifestyle” in mind.
“I want to push sports-style luxury in a new direction, further than street, and I have tremendous respect for Fila and how they've carried the brand forward,” said the designer, who said she was fascinated by Fila's archives in Biella, Italy and how the brand has pushed itself to create clothing for a variety of sports.
Andersen said the collection will also be logo-free. “Logomania has had its moment, and we wanted to be more forward-thinking about this collection,” she said.
The collection will come out twice a year, with fall 2019 making its debut at Pitti. There are 120 to 150 ready-towear sku's and 50 accessories sku's, and distribution will be global.
Andersen is known for streetwear with a light touch, and is a regular on the London Men's Wear calendar. She also shows her women's wear collection during Copenhagen Fashion Week. This January, however, she plans to combine men's and
The Italian sports brand is unveiling a contemporary collection with the Copenhagen-based designer at its helm.
women's on the London catwalk, given her full schedule with the Fila launch.
Andersen said Fila Fjord will have contemporary prices, similar to those in her signature line, although the details have yet to be confirmed. An Astrid Andersen T-shirt costs about 203 pounds, according to the brand's e- commerce site, while her shiny down parka is just under 1,000 pounds.
Earlier this year, ahead of the September runway show in Milan, Fila Global chairman Gene Yoon stressed the importance of Fila's foray into fashion.
“In the last years, the fashion world has shown a great interest in Fila. Sportswear became more and more important for the fashion industry, also because it's what customers are currently looking for,” said Yoon, who was formerly chief executive officer of Fila Korea and took direct control of the international group in 2007.
“We started doing interesting collaborations with fashion brands and retailers, such as Gosha
Rubchinskiy, Urban Outfitters and Jason Wu — this one locally for China — and we thought it was our moment to break the rules and to enter the fashion arena. We strongly believe that a fashion show is the best way to make our voice heard by the fashion system,” he said.