COMMON SS13: Wilderness

A great debut collection can, in theory, be all about good luck. But produce a second season with equally great fits, mesmerising fabrics and eye catching prints and you're obviously on to something. Common - aka Swedish design duo Saif Bakir and Emma Hedlund - today showcase their sophomore season on Dazed. Entitled 'Wilderness' it's in many ways based on the AW12 collection in terms of fundamental sartorial ideas, but you can tell that the last few months has been used to perfect bomber jackets, trench coats and suits. As is customary, Bakir and Hedlund brought on a guest collaborator for this season as well; Hans Krondahl's legendary textile prints can been seen on various pieces throughout 'Wilderness' - both in original colourways and a Common-designed version - giving the collection an extra edge visual edge on top of the refined aesthetic Bakir and Hedlund already has established.

Key pieces are developed from the AW12 blueprint, such as the collarless oversized jacket in sky blue Japanese denim. The printed shirts and silk trench coat from our Common Grounds collaboration are some of our favorite pieces

Dazed Digital: What's the SS13 collection's main theme?
Common: For Spring Summer 2013 we continue our quest for an elegant modernity that we fuse with the rough and harsh realities of boot camp. We are driven by our fascination with a 'bad boy' attitude and men’s inner wilderness.

DD: Who is Hans Krondahl?
Common: He's is one of Sweden’s most celebrated textile designers. His work is documented in worldwide institutions such as Cooper-Hewitt in New York, Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Art Institute in Chicago.

DD: Tell me about the print...
Common: The Gallop print was initially developed for the iconic fashion house Katja of Sweden. The futurist painter Giacomo Balla’s work and the photographer Eadweard Muybridge and his studies of motion inspired Krondahl to develop this print back in 1972.

Shirts, silk scarves and swimwear come in a small scaled version of Krondahl's original navy, white and red colour combination, while the flowing silk trench coat appears in our reinterpreted version of bronzed yellow, black and white.

DD: This feels like a natural and organic follow from last season's collection, is that correct?
Common: Our collections are continuous, a story under constant development. The idea is having the ability to combine pieces across our collection.

DD: What are the key pieces for this season?
Common: Key pieces are developed from the AW12 blueprint, such as the collarless oversized jacket in sky blue Japanese denim and a dark brown bomber jacket in nylon taffeta. The printed shirts and silk trench coat from our Common Grounds collaboration are some of our favorite pieces.

DD: Where was the lookbook shot?
Common: This shoot took place in deep woods of Epping Forest. As with our collections it’s a constant play on contrasting elements and we wanted to mirror this in our lookbook by building a clean white studio backdrop in a wild and rough forest setting.

DD: What's up next?
Common: This week we are planning the launch of our AW12 collection in Trés Bien and Storm. We are working on our next project and are currently looking for a new and interesting collaborator for Common Grounds.

Photography: Patrick Lindblom
Art Direction: Stinsensqueeze
Styling: Andrej Skok 

Common's AW12 collection is sold at Trés Bien and Storm from today. Find them on Twitter HERE