We really like Danish design label Won Hundred’s relaxed sophistication. Slim silhouettes, classic tailoring, functional fashion. Naturally we caught up with Won Hundred during our fashion week festivities. It would be very impolite to do so otherwise, considering they were a recent fashion feature on Canvas. A minimalist label, Won Hundred creates a style where each season sees subtle shifts in details and proportions, all the while staying true to an original aesthetic.
The last eight months, however, have marked a change for Won Hundred. Ultimately in the hands of designer and founder Nikolaj Nielsen, Won Hundred have proved too popular with local fashion enthusiasts, as they expand from a denim range to a more sophisticated fashion. Hence the need to find a new head designer to direct the brand. Enter Kelly Konings. With a degree in fashion design from the Arnhem Institute of Arts, and experience working in avante garde and commercial fashion, Kelly has encouraged a new direction for Won Hundred.
Entirely responsible for designing both the mens and womens basic as well as ready-to-wear lines, plus shoes and accessories (which have been extensively ‘appropriated’ by the local market), Kelly is creating a clean, sophisticated look with a strong nod to the label’s inherent masculine aesthetic. To start work in a new envrionment, with a new design team can be difficult. Trying to keep a singluar vision while differentiating a brand’s product line is tough too but Kelly seems to instinctively understand the label. Kelly and Nikolaj have developed a similar temperament when it comes to designing. There is still a language that is identifiable as Won Hundred but it’s better. It’s sharper. There’s an edge. An element of androgyny that is kind of girl as boy.
Inspired by straight lines and hard shapes, in reference to the Cubist era, the new Won Hundred winter questions what it means to be modern. The Cubists were the first to cut up and rearrange, to forge new relationships with objects seen and experienced. Won Hundred have translated this, in a not-too-literal sense, into the collection so we see an emphasis on structure, borderless, genderless forms, multiple viewpoints found hidden beneath layers. It’s as much maximum as Won Hundred’s minimalism gets.
