Just as a person speaks with a unique tone, the nostalgic meaning of EYTYS design from Sweden may be triggered by something in the designer's memory, or perhaps it is the result of the inadvertent fermentation of aesthetic ideas shaped by childhood experiences. It's not so much that EYTYS has a strong design style, but rather that the brand records more of the designer's personal narrative.
Born in the 1980s
Without a grand narrative or deep metaphors, the first outline of EYTYS's Spring 2022 collection was based on the personal experience of designer Max Schiller.
In Schiller's memory, his brother had a playmate named Robert, and Robert had a personal style — oversized bomber jackets, academy uniforms, jerseys and Jordan sneakers— pieces that were all the rage in Stockholm in the 1980s and 1990s, constantly impacting schiller, who was eight or nine years old. "He and his brother are nestled on the couch chasing the trendiest MTV and American drama 'Leaping Beverly', and no one knows how to interpret the Paninaro style better than Robert." he said. That's it, the brand's Spring 2022 collection is dominated by Schiller's personal memories, and gradually filled by the niche culture Paninaro style ("sandwich style").
EYTYS Spring/Summer 2022 collection
In milan sandwich bars and fast food restaurants in the early 1980s, a group of young fans of niche culture gathered. Rejecting Italy's slow-food culture, obsessed with the fast-food culture across the ocean, excited by the synth wave of music from Britain, flocking to typical American working-class clothing, Timberland boots, bomber jackets, Levi's and Stone Island jeans, brightly coloured Moncler down jackets, plaid shirts, and typical belts became the first choice for styling. American pop culture swept in, and Milanese teenagers, through new shapes and new ways of going across the ocean, on the one hand, pursued more glamorous and fashionable aesthetics and expensive brands; on the other hand, they freely expressed their disdain for the turbulent political partisan struggles of the previous decade. Most of these Milanese young people, known as Paninaro, come from the upper middle and upper classes, and a degree of financial freedom gives them the opportunity to chase these actually expensive brands, and their presence symbolizes a cross-Atlantic lifestyle and fusion of ideas.
For Schiller, who was born and raised in the 1980s, it is easy to find arguments and arguments that fit the traces of the past in the current life list, and even though many parts of the design process will change, "nostalgia" is still a relatively stable theme in brand design.
Paninaro style
The Paninaro style of the Spring 2022 collection is just a snapshot of EYTYS embracing cultural convergence in the context of globalization. Schiller believes that the third look in the series is the most typical symbol of this season - the costumes that embody different classes, occupations and identities are gathered in this set: a well-tailored preppy suit with a casual pink striped casual shirt underneath, and a rough jeans printed with cartoon-style camouflage patterns on the bottom. Schiller's design mystery is to rationally transform "conflicting contradictions" into the brand's unique style, the alliance between overalls and street casual, the casual frankness of denim materials and the exquisite tailoring, the hardcore exterior of "motorcycle style" and the soft privacy of light underwear. There is no doubt that this is a very inclusive brand, from some elements, pieces to styles, and extends to lifestyle, together forming a set of collection concepts belonging to EYTYS, witnessing the aesthetic evolution, cultural integration and concept renewal of this era.
The third look in the Spring/Summer 2022 collection of EYTYS
The locality and cosmopolitanism of identity
If you want to see the first impression, perhaps EYTYS belongs to the "world" more than Nordic brands. Unlike the minimalist and dull solid colors of the stereotype of "Nordic style", it is full of fusion of cosmopolitan aesthetics and absorbs popular culture inspiration rooted in different regions.
In the Spring/Summer 2021 collection, the designers combined the paninaro style belonging to the street with Robert Cavalli's gorgeous maximalism; in the fall/winter of 2021, they used minimalist straight lines, large black pieces, silhouette suits and extra-long trench coats to create the sci-fi atmosphere of abstinence in the movie "Men in Black". At the same time, the designer is also good at absorbing a variety of retro art styles, such as Schiller once expressed his passion for architecture and interior design in an interview. When it comes to the design of the flagship store, he said, "It's really exciting to transform the EYTYS universe into a physical space of the entity. ”
Left: EYTYS Spring/Summer 2021 collection
Right: EYTYS Fall/Winter 2021 collection
EYTYS London's london store décor is influenced by Brutalism, with white light tubes running through the exposed ceiling in a square space covered with taupe rough walls. Valuing the holistic sense of raw materials, regular lines and symmetrical structures, the characteristics of the rough architectural style are not only reflected in the environment in which EYTYS products are located, but also in the design of shoes. It is worth mentioning that the once lonely brutalism, once seen as a symbol of totalitarianism, was revived in the 21st century with the spread of Tumblr and Instagram, and young people who use social networks love its cold texture and visual impact, injecting this art with a cultural memory belonging to millennials.
All superficial mixes and mixes are actually traceable. Schiller completes the global nature of EYTYS, but the Scandinavian gene that connects the sea and nature in its veins is also dissolved in the brand like a chemical experiment.
EYTYS London flagship store
Patchwork and colourful streets, ancient street lamps, arched bridges on King's Road, dilapidated cash registers and clock towers... The ancient poetry hides the creativity of the pioneers, if it is not so desirable charm, how can the magical girl Kiki choose Stockholm when she leaves home to practice? Living in this city by the sea, Schiller receives the dual aesthetic graces from the city and nature, and through the concept of the free interweaving of tradition and modernity, the open and accepting design concept is consciously constructed in his consciousness. One of the memories that inspired Schiller's designs the most was the time spent paddling his boat deep into the forest on weekends, where he was picking mushrooms. Drawing inspiration from life and blurring the boundaries between work and life conditions, EYTYS has become a brand that reveals "self" everywhere, from the designer's growth environment, recall experience, to daily habits and life ideas, these wisps of self have all been transformed into the brand's design language. At a time when countless brands are trying to respond to the themes and social issues of the times through design, Schiller has contributed a sincere self-reflection to the connotation of EYTYS, like a relaxed intimate dialogue with the self.
Asked if the design at this stage feels limited, Schiller said that when empowered by unlimited possibilities, he can always jump out of his comfort zone if he wants. Denim was chosen for the same reason. Artistic processing, printing, a variety of splicing, washing and other processing processes, there are countless design and operation possibilities in denim materials, and the diversification of the results obtained through the experiment of arranging and combining them is even more surprising.
Denim design in EYTYS's Spring/Summer 2022 collection
It is worth mentioning that also in the Spring/Summer 2022 collection, Schiller tried the blue dyeing process, making the denim material like solenite, showing an indigo blue and shiny crystal clear effect. Also on this season's cargo twill fabric, the common element of camouflage printing after cartoon art treatment, more reflects the popular pop art characteristics of the 1970s, together with the neat plate shape of the workwear, as if forming an absurd sense of humor.
Expand your business footprint
Being able to unleash freedom and a casual mindset on your design may be inseparable from the core architecture of the EYTYS brand, after all, there is nothing more relaxing than working with childhood friends. "I am in charge of creativity, Jonathan Hirschfeld is in charge of business", the brand concept formed in one shot, the responsibilities and division of labor of each person, and the tacit understanding formed by long-term cooperation day and night are all catalysts for creativity. Schiller said, "Starting a partnership is like getting married. You have to ask yourself if you're willing to spend a long time with this person. Of course, in order for your business to survive, complementary capabilities are also crucial. ”
EYTYS CEO Jonathan Hirschfeld（左）
With Creative Director Max Schiller (right)
Focusing on retro fashion and youth culture, establishing cross-border cooperation of 1+1>2, and gradually entering the mainstream market by joining well-known boutiques, in a sense, EYTYS's successful path in the past eight years seems to have considerable commonalities with other emerging brands. The difference may lie in the personal creation that Schiller has always insisted on. For him, cooperation and co-branding often come naturally and immediately.
In 2017, they teamed up with Yung Lean, an experimental rapper also from Stockholm, and launched a co-branded sneaker called "Spider" with their own brand, SadBoys. Featuring bold all-black leather and fastening plastic cable ties, the collection combines the practical rules of industrial design with the oppressive feel of BDSM. In 2019, EYTYS teamed up with Japanese designer Michiko Koshino, known for her bold blending of fabrics, to create sporty inflatable coats and cargo jeans inspired by the dance culture. The most powerful inflatable top in this collection is equipped with an adjustable rubber air valve, which allows the wearer to freely adjust the volume and size of the garment by adjusting the air valve - the textbook general functional fashion design guide.
Top: EYTYS's collaborative series with Yung Lean
Bottom: EYTYS's collaborative series with Michiko Koshino
On how to maintain or highlight your brand identity in different collaborations, Schiller generously said: "In creative work, you spontaneously move closer to the source of inspiration. So our collaborations with artists or musicians always happen naturally because they were very important sources of inspiration for me at the time. When we worked with H&M, the opposite was true – they wanted to create products inspired by EYTYS. "At the beginning of 2019, EYTYS partnered with local fast fashion giant H&M to launch a co-branded collection, just like the latter's historical designer collection, and Schiller also unreservedly invested its own brand connotation in it.
Like any other emerging brand emerging in the era of street photography and social media, EYTYS has seen the ups and downs of the trend in its eight years of success. In 2014, EYTYS opened its first offline flagship store in Stockholm and subsequently opened a branch in London, and it can be said that EYTYS still maintains a fairly restrained pace of opening stores to this day. As an emerging fashion brand, EYTYS's great success in the global market is of course inseparable from the spread of fashion boutiques. As early as 2013, the brand already had a booth at London's Cover Street Market, and occupied a place in high-end fashion concept stores such as Opening Ceremony and Colette, and in 2015, it painted the brand logo of 10Corso Como on the co-branded works. With the changes in consumption patterns in recent years and the inherent inadequacy of the buyer's store model, these well-known names no longer have the same influence as before.
Eytys x 10 Corso Como x Jessica Hans co-branded series
For the two masters of EYTYS, the "small and beautiful" delicacy of the boutique, although it is inevitable to face the dilemma of high and low today, has always represented the essence of the fashion industry, "the current social media has brought new ways of information dissemination, but for the concept of the product itself, the most important thing is to be able to be truly seen, touched and felt in the environment in which it is located, which cannot be fully realized by digital channels." We are happy to open more retail stores to connect with customers in the real world. ”
In 2021, the EYTYS Tmall flagship store was launched and settled in a number of trendy boutiques in Shanghai, and the two clearly realized the cultural connotation of the brand and its integration with contemporary culture is crucial for current Chinese consumers. They also insist that the best way to spread is still to combine online and offline experiences. "Brick-and-mortar stores have great potential and play an important role in our brand space." In fact, before it really entered the Chinese market, EYTYS had already captured a considerable number of fans through the star effect. As Gen Z grows into an increasingly important fashion consumer group, EYTYS's reimagined spiritual picture of the 1990s fits their most intimate fashion enlightenment.
Written by Mulan & He Binglun
Edit Mark Liu