Better Off Red

Famously known as ahead of their time in denim designs, the small Swedish clothing line Julian Red emerged from the eclectic underground art and music scene below the streets of Sweden and is now hanging with top name designers and appearing in fashion weeks all over Europe. The men’s and women’s clothing line was named after head designer and mastermind Mattias Lind’s alter ego, Julian, who is himself based on a character from Bret Easton Ellis’ Less Than Zero, a story of a rebellious punk with a love of art, fashion and music. Red symbolizes being like no other colour and therefore is meant to mean “nothing in particular.”

In 2002, after Mattias graduated from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, he began designing denim that was stylistically different than what was ‘in’ at the time, and focused on jeans with a slimmer silhouette and used a variety of selvedge denims. Mattias’ early designs for Julian Red’s jeans were originally hand-made by a group of tailors who specialized in religious garments. The denim became popular after nightly appearances onstage on members of The Rapture and unannounced runway shows at nightclubs that stirred up so much attention that Julian Reds became the must-have item in New York City at the time.

Soon, with the help of a team of five passionate individuals spread out all over Sweden, with backgrounds ranging in engineering, economics, fashion design and art, Julian Red expanded from the little underground secret it was years ago to a well-known and respected clothing line.

Julian Red and its sister company, Julian Julian Julian, or 3-J as it’s known, are designed with spontaneous life choices in mind. Attention to detail, quality fabrics, affordability and pushing the limits are the design team’s mantra.

Mattias’ creative team is sure that by “the third word [Julian] you’re ours.” Having infused 3-J with the creative spirit of Julian Red, Mattias and his team are currently working towards “gracefully expanding” the lines in the near future and are looking forward to reaching individuals that value bold expression with high quality fabrics.

[www.julianred.com]
Words: Alana Turner
Photography: Konrad Junikiewicz