Hope (Q4766)
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Hope is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Hope |
Hope is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
Frida Bard’s fall collection for Hope (shown by appointment in the brand’s new headquarters) is ostensibly for urban gardeners. She said it was inspired by her newfound interest in growing things. She had also been looking at Georgia O’Keeffe’s austere personal style and watchedThe Well-Placed Weed, about the quirky American gardener Ryan Gainey. There are a few pieces in the collection—such as an apron dress, boilersuit, and some florals—that speak to the theme, but in most respects it’s a straightforward offering of jeans, suiting, and outerwear in a muted palette of charcoals, brown, and ivory.Bard cut pinstripes into chic pantsuits and skirt suits; the latter looked new again, especially with an undercurrent of 1980s dressing in the air. Like many others these days, the designer favors jeans low on the hip. The most substantial pieces were a deep-brown suit with a shaped waist and a herringbone coat with wider shoulders to give it an oversized fit. With the exception of an intarsia flower sweater, this gray-scale collection, though well executed, lacked a sense of fun and spark.
9 February 2022
Days before Copenhagen Fashion Week began, it was reported that Hope’s parent company had declared bankruptcy. That didn’t stop the digital presentation from going on, however. According to creative director Frida Bard, it seems like the brand will soon be acquired by a new company; happily, there seems to be hope for Hope.As Bard and her team designed spring in the dark days of the Swedish winter, they allowed themselves to indulge in escapist thinking. This set the framework for a collection that contains four stories, each of which speaks to dreams that were just out of touch in the early part of the year due to the pandemic. “All of a sudden I started dreaming about Stromboli and concerts that I haven’t been to,” says Bard, a pragmatist who usually applies her skills to sartorial problem-solving. “Basically fantasy has become much more alive.”What does fantasy mean in the word of Hope, the core of which, notes Bard, is a mix of tailoring and leisure? It means a seaweed-like squiggle of embroidery on the lapel of a jacket, tie-dye in primary colors, and pearl jewelry handcrafted by the designer herself. Grounding these (relative) flights of fancy are suits, some with pants, others with shorts; oversized shirting; and versatile knits.The problem that Hope solved this season was a way of looking sharp that exists somewhere in between a corporate uniform and stay-at-home sweats. Counterintuitive as it seems, casual dressing isn’t that easy to master (as anyone who lived through the confusion that was unleashed when casual Fridays were introduced in the 1990s can attest to). Jeans were part of the answer then, and Bard is hoping they will be again. The brand’s newly expanded denim range includes the usual fits, plus a more fanciful one: the mall rat’s go-to baggy silhouette that is fashion’s current fixation.
12 August 2021
Hope’s creative director Frida Bard and her team considered space from every angle for fall: “public space, personal space, local space, global space, IRL space, digital space, all these kinds of things, because it’s been so redefined,” she said. Bard translated the pandemic-sparked push and pull between the desire for intimacy and the need for distance into silhouettes that are very narrow or voluminous, and fabrics that are opaque or transparent.Bard is a crack tailor, and it’s the outerwear and suiting that stand out here, especially a black patinated coat. This is a pared-down collection, minimalist even. Adding a sort of Scandi noir to the visuals is the setting used for the look book, a massive brutalist building in Stockholm called, succinctly, A House.The fall lineup has a welcome tightness that belies the hustle and bustle of the behind-the-scenes action at Hope headquarters. There, Bard and co. are diligently investigating how they can take up space without imposing on Mother Earth. Besides incorporating more responsible materials, like second-life leather, Hope has entered into an ongoing collaboration with Vestiaire. Having taken the decision some time back to focus on the brand’s core competency, clothing design, Vestiaire now provides all the trimmings (jewelry, bags, shoes, etc.) for Hope’s online shoots.Bard has also decided to drop pre-seasons in favor of two main collections a year, each of which will be delivered in four drops. The idea is that the drops will provide a sense of newness and be more relevant to how the consumer is living. No bathing suits in January, especially not in Sweden.
10 February 2021
This season, Hope relocated from its hometown of Stockholm to show in Copenhagen, which has become the pole for Scandinavian fashion. Designer Frida Bard staged a presentation inside a stark, circular office and retail complex, with models walking out mostly in groups, all wearing a similar suiting or color story. Some individual models made their way around the room too, one in a lime green shirtdress with a drawstring waist, another in a crisp white button-down and two-tone sand-colored trousers. The casting was a purposeful mix of androgynous boys and girls, a decision meant to emphasize the fact that Hope’s selling point is its gender-neutrality.Bard’s training at Acne prepared her well for these kinds of blurry lines. Her suiting was particularly noteworthy, especially the grouping of clean black jackets and pants, one of which was styled with a sheer dress. It was an intriguing point for Bard to make, especially considering that some of the other groupings, like the mismatched stripes and a pair of light purple Mary McFadden–style accordion pleat tunics didn’t fit as seamlessly with the minimal lineup. Bard is a talented tailor, and she’d be wise to build on that strength at Hope.
8 August 2019
The Fashion Week here in Stockholm is under new management, which has implemented many positive changes. Whereas once most collections were presented in a single location, now assorted press and influencers are experiencing the city as they trek among venues. At the same time that the ground covered is expanding, several designers have taken more intimate approaches to their presentations. One of them was Frida Bard, who personally talked her audience through a selection of Fall looks in Hope’s offices, explaining details and fabrications as well as familiarizing the crowd with her overarching approach to design.It’s been a bit of a bumpy ride since Bard joined the house from Acne in 2017. In part, that may be because the designer has been simultaneously both pursuing a social agenda and defining her design goals. All Hope pieces, for example, are labeled with men’s and women’s sizes in an effort to blur the distinction between genders, and choices can be made based on style. Undoubtedly, this is an admirable and lofty goal. The trouble was that sometimes the fabrication of the clothes seemed not to reach such heights. The company was recently restructured, and now, even from a “courtside” seat, the quality looked better.The team’s m.o. was to avoid ruts by stretching their design capabilities. To that end, Bard explained, their focus was “on the things we normally reject,” including even “bad taste.” As an example, the designer admitted she’s never been much into lace. She overcame those reticences and dreamt up a guipure men’s shirt and slip dresses banded with the stuff. Similarly, Bard overcame her lack of enthusiasm for tracksuits by reworking the classic track jacket with ripstop trim, remaking it in Lurex with a high, ruffled collar. These she layered under shirts and versatile menswear-y outerwear to dramatic (but not dressy) effect. “I’m not sure the news value is in the garments,” this quietly elegant designer mused. Rather, she continued, “it’s how you put things together and the context in which they are shown.” What initially seemed like a thought-provoking statement turned out to be one that makes a lot of sense at Hope, a brand known for “elevated basics,” many with a utilitarian spin. Bard’s sphere is everyday clothes—usually fairly minimalistic. It really is both how you put them together and how many ways you can do so that gives them value.
For Fall, they came together with playful touches in terms of palette (purple), fabrics, and pattern mix. It gave this viewer hope for more good things to come.
7 February 2019
In Hope’s Pre-Spring collection are pieces that will be familiar to those who have been following the brand since Frida Bard made her runway debut last year.Spring 2018’scamping references, for example, reappeared in the form of crinkly army-green pants and a similarly colored bucket hat, which received a chic remake with the addition of tasseled cords. These also appeared as ties on an asymmetric, two-fabric“Frankenstein”wrap dress, which struck a fresh and feminine note. “Our work around dresses and drapes is completely new this season,” notes Bard. “This is something we usually don’t do.”The brand’s anchor, and Bard’s forte, is tailoring, and this collection had a wide range of it, from business-ready blazers to pieces with casual-Friday chic, like a pair of cropped workwear pants with rave-like width that were shown with a matching belted jacket, both made of a sturdy navy fabric that was enlivened with red top-stitching. Shirting was offered in stripes and, for fun, overprinted with flying saucers. Toying with seasonal trends were chunky knit sweaters and a ’70s-inspired patent leather and faux-fur coat with patch pockets.Bard’s, and Hope’s, mission is to create accessible, quality building-block pieces with which customers can build, and tell, their own individual style stories. Bard delivered those in this collection but left undeveloped the narrative that would tie them together. Sure, there was a Céline-esque cape-throw that readI Want to Believe—a reference to the team’s abstract seasonal theme, “collective, uniform dressing.” What this collection needed wasn’t a slogan but Bard’s voice to come through, loud and clear.
18 June 2018
Frida Bard’s Fall 2018 collection for Hope was the strongest she has presented since making her debut two seasons ago because she let the clothes speak for themselves. Postshow the designer explained that the team had been thinking about how wardrobes were built in the past, with every piece being treasured, and it did feel that Bard had considered each item as a perfected object, whether it was a crisp button-down shirt or a herringbone grandpa topper.Though many of the pieces in the collection were classics, they had been given a makeover; fits were tweaked, and there were unexpected fabric combinations, like the pairing of silver lamé with traditional materials. This was not a theme collection, but the proportions and styling communicated a strong slacker vibe. Pants were pleated and a bit too long or snapped down the side, check sweaters slipped off shoulders, and belts dripped with chains. These were clothes for copping a chill attitude. In contrast, the model casting was purposeful and demonstrated that Hope doesn’t only value diversity on paper.
24 January 2018
There is buzz around Hope, a Swedish brand originally built on tailoring and utility that's in the process of getting a makeover from Acne alumnus Frida Bard. This reimagining is driven by aesthetics and by philosophy. Before the invitation-only show, some members of the design team and their friends walked the streets and rode the subways of Stockholm wearing pieces from the Spring collection. This so-called “guerilla teaser” essentially democratized the fashion week experience by making it available to more people. We mean that in more ways than one; this collection is non-gendered: All Hope clothing will now be marked with men’s and women’s sizes, which is a step forward for inclusivity. This expansive thinking was applied to other areas, as well; Bard described her collection as “season-neutral.” Not only is she using her whole wardrobe all year round, but Spring clothes, she explained, land in stores in January, when it’s still winter in some parts of the world, including Scandinavia.This approach explains the tweedy coats and plaids that appeared throughout the collection. The references to active fishing- and hikingwear nodded to the utilitarian heritage of the brand, though the fish-print and intarsia sweater were lighthearted novelty items. Throughout the presentation, male and female models often appeared in similar looking clothes, which might have been a way to visually represent a kind of gender-neutral dressing but which also sometimes created a borrowed-from-the-boys Annie Hall effect. At times it felt the collection was focused very much on wardrobe staples that were reimagined in terms of (non) gender rather than current trends, though the higher-waistline, seen throughout the week, was shown here too. Especially noteworthy was an easy blue-and-white striped A-line shirtdress. Bard can tailor a mean jacket and the blazers, too, were standouts.
1 September 2017
Founded in 2001 by Ann Ringstrand and Stefan Söderberg, Hope is an established Swedish brand in the process of getting a makeover. Frida Bard signed on as creative director about a year and a half ago, after working at Acne Studios for 13 years, and she sees Hope, once defined by utility and minimalism, as having “a little bit of a punk soul.” One of the ways she’s updating things is through a new way of labeling: Men’s and women’s sizes are indicated on every garment so that it’s easy for the customers to make their own choices. “For us at Hope,” Bard says, “what’s important is celebrating individuality. It’s really important that people can act and live as the people they actually think they are.”With changes like these, Bard’s debut presentation at Stockholm Fashion Week was highly anticipated. Built around tailoring, it featured pinstripes and checks, unexpected proportions (the opening look layered a pantsuit over a midriff-cropped sweater), and a dark palette enlivened with neon. While not gender-bending, the womenswear had a definite tomboy vibe. Updated classics would be a good all-around description.
31 January 2017
You might be surprised to learn that it’s always summer in Sweden. Hear me out, here. Swedes get through the country’s dark, cold, and seemingly endless winters by constantly dreaming of sun. At least the ones working at Hope seem to do so. Frida Bard’s pre-fall collection is really a summer one. The season’s print, a photograph of a magical azure sky, was taken by a team member in Stockholm.Known for her expert tailoring, Bard started introducing dresses a few seasons ago, and the selection has grown for pre-fall. The strongest were roomy shirtdresses in solids or plaids that captured some of the lazy ease of June and July. Bleached denim looked fresh as well. Well-known in Sweden, Hope is slowly making inroads in the American market. Pants are a big seller. The pre-fall collection continues that push, and its appeal isn’t brand- but piece-driven. That maybe explains the abstract look book imagery, which offers fleeting glimpses of garments rather than focusing on total looks.
18 December 2019