Seriously Playful: Mori & Mimosa

There’s nothing more oxymoronic than death and a colourful flower. But when Christina Wemming and Sara Engberg founded their label Mori & Mimosa - the first part of the name coming from a skull necklace with wings Sara made and called ‘Memento Mori’, the second part being a reference to the mimosa flower - they never saw any contrasts between the two things, but an interesting juxtaposition of their serious and playful sides.

Dazed Digital: How did you two meet?
Sara Engberg: We met at a fashion fair. I was looking for a place to rent and Christina had a space to let. Soon we discovered we had a lot of things in common and did a catwalk show together, combining clothes and jewellery. We discovered that it was fun, continued to work together and decided to open our shop.

DD: What does fashion mean for you?
Christina Wemming: Fashion for us means to make something that lasts and that we really like, without caring about trends. Several Swedish fashion designers I know don’t want to say what’s their real job because there is a kind of negative edge to fashion. When you mention to some people the word “fashion”, they immediately think about trends and buying and throwing away stuff all the time.

DD: What inspires you?
CW: I really like the ‘60s; I love architecture, interior design and clothes from this decade.
SE: What really inspires me aren’t other designers, but things that happen to me or things that I see, the jewellery portraying swans was inspired by a couple of swans that lived close to where I lived for example; the skull jewellery was instead inspired by my mother’s death. Everything I make has got to have a very deep reason.

DD: One of your most striking collection is entitled “Morticia” and features alternative black wedding dresses in which you have incorporated striking pieces of jewellery. Was it difficult to work together on it?  
CW: We didn’t find it hard at all. The most important thing for us is laying out some guidelines that we both agree on and then start working.  

DD: How do you produce your clothing line?
CW: I make everything myself from scratch, I don’t have anybody making the dresses, and, though I like being in charge of every step, this can sometimes be a problem because I can’t do so many. Anyway, my goal was never to be H&M!

DD: Do you feel there is somehow a competition in Sweden between H&M and independent designers?
SE: A lot of young designers in Sweden are actually upset because H&M does not really promote us, but they promote people who are already famous, whereas they could help a young unknown designer emerging.

DD: Do you want to keep your venture as small as it is or would you like to go bigger one day?
SE: I think we will get on as it is, trying to keep an open mind and be creative. We don’t want it to become just like an ordinary business, as we want to keep it playful. Our designs aren’t about trends and seasons. This is also why we have decided to take a break from fashion fairs. We did so many fashion fairs all over the world until about a year ago, and, after a while, we felt a need to stop and think about where we were going and what we really wanted to do. We decided that we wanted to work in a different way, creating new collections and items when it suits us, and showing them when and where we want, regardless of the seasons and fashion weeks. Since we opened our own shop and showroom last February, we can work more independently and show our designs directly to the customers.

DD: What are you working on at present?
SE: We are participating in a gallery show in Tokyo during the 2008 Design Tide. The idea behind this exhibition is to create luxurious design objects using bubble wrap. We’re also working on our next collection of clothes and jewellery, entitled “Room 201”.

DD: Who is your favourite Swedish designer?
CW & SE:  Helena Hörstedt.  

Mori & Mimosa will be at the 2008 Tokyo Design Tide from 30 October to 3 November.