Image Courtesy of Axel Arigato.
Founded in 2014, Axel Arigato has emerged extensively. The people-powered brand built a positive platform through inclusivity, selling not only sneakers and high-end clothes, but thriving on positivity in its community and production. Their materials are carefully chosen, their products manifactured by a small amount of suppliers based in Europe. SLEEK sits down with both founders Max and Albin and talks about the challenge of growing their business without applying additional pressure on the environment. Which is more important than ever.
S: What’s the idea behind Axel Arigato?
M: Axel Arigato is a people-powered lifestyle brand and we launched it in 2014 in our hometown, Gothenburg with one main objective: to embrace the now and always look for the tomorrow. At the time, we were both working with ecommerce and wanted to create something new that was different to what already existed within the market. We also did not believe in the traditional distribution model or that high quality products needed to cost as much as they did during that period.
A: At first the idea was to begin selling only through our website and work with word-of-mouth and marketing through social media to increase brand awareness. We immediately started with our concept ”Drop of the Week” which allows us to forego traditional seasons and launch at least one new product every week.
S: You founded your label in 2014. How did your label evolve since then?
A: Axel Arigato has evolved tremendously since 2014, we opened brick and mortar stores around the world having our flagship stores in Soho, London and Le Marais, Paris and now Berlin, Germany. We have developed our innovative drop schedule to release one new style every week. This has become the heartbeat of our brand and due to the collections being designed and produced in season this allows us the ability to move quickly and bring newness across all of our customer touchpoints, such as the website, social media, in-store, gifting, etc. which then builds a closer relationship with our community and prevents overstock.
We also pride ourselves in building a strong community since 2014 and each store has a full calendar of events and pop-ups throughout the year which includes music events, pop-ups, album signing. This has been our way of bringing together cultural elements that are relevant to the Axel Arigato customer and give back to the local communities by supporting its young creatives. As a brand we will continue to take risks and find new ways of creating products that are innovative and customer lead. Our vision is to become a global brand known not only for our products but values.
S: Sustainability is more important than ever. How are you contributing to minimizing carbon emissions at the moment?
M: We have spent a long time in taking the necessary steps to better understand our product lifecycle and production and through this we have gathered a great understanding of our entire value chain through our climate measurement efforts and our partnership with BCOME and STICA. It’s not only given us the knowledge to be more sustainable but we believe the best way to make a difference in this industry for the better is by letting consumers make educated decisions in their purchasing and we have empowered our customers to make better buying decisions by allowing our information to be made accessible to the public.
S: What’s your future goal?
A: Our future goal in terms of sustainability is to ensure we integrate this into everything we do and to continue to grow within a sustainable way as well as minimizing our environmental impact and we have great confidence in this.
Image Courtesy of Axel Arigato.
S: Transparency is a great way to maintain trust to customers and credibility in one’s work. Which materials are you using mostly in your factory and where do you manufacture?
M: As a business our goal is to continue to grow without applying additional pressure on the environment. All of our products are manufactured in Portugal and we use a number of materials including cotton, leather and recycled polyester. Most of our cotton yarns are certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and our leather is Leather Working Group (LWG) certified and rated either Gold or Silver. This means we are able to trace the exact origin of the leather and ensures that the working conditions are ethical and environmentally friendly. Our recycled polyester is sourced from the SEAQUAL INITIATIVE. The community’s SEAQUAL® YARN is a 100% post-consumer recycled polyester thread. It is made up of approximately 10% Upcycled Marine Plastic and 90% post-consumer PET from land sources.
S: How do you translate your vision into your store design?
M: Back in 2016, when we were about to open the first Axel Arigato store in London, it was really important from the beginning to create a special retail environment. We didn’t want to do it the traditional way, calculating how many products fit in the store, but instead, we wanted the opposite, and lead with aesthetics. So, we wanted someone who understood us and the minimalist look and feel we were after, which is why we collaborated with Christian Halleröd. The design of our stores translates the right feel and energy that we want, but also things like functionality and materials.
For me, I really wanted to create spaces that are inviting and open, the same feeling you get when you walk into a gallery but I also wanted to allow flexibility for upcoming projects and collaborations which is why during over the year, as we host a of events and parties, the design approach needed to change, nowadays we are more inclined to use robust materials which can be transformed into an event space, or nightclub by night. Axel Arigato is a young brand that is constantly evolving. For us it only makes sense to create spaces that can evolve as well
S: What was your vision in designing your new flagship store in Berlin?
A: Our vision when designing the Berlin store was to transform the space from a former institutional restaurant to an immersive brand experience. The inside design of the store follows the traditional brand codes and palette, whereby an emphasis is placed on the physicality of the displays versus an overload of products. We wanted to create a feeling of juxtaposition within the space between light and heavy so we used roman travertine stone across the floor and podiums. The travertine podiums which are monolithic in their construction, almost sculpture-like, have been created in a variety of different shapes, sizes, and textures so they can be used in different ways, and create a strong visual base for products to be displayed upon.
Reflecting light, and creating a sense of contrast, the columns serve as both functional and visual – and contribute to a sense of curiosity. We wanted to keep a clean and minimal aesthetic as it’s a true reflection of the brand’s Scandinavian roots and mimics the footwear and ready-to-wear assortment, which further exemplifies those principles.
Image Courtesy of Axel Arigato.
S: How is it working together for such a long time?
A: It’s great – we have pretty separate roles and responsibilities which is the positive aspect of working together. We are never in each other’s way and are able to lead our departments the way we believe we should. For me being the CEO, I handle everything on the business side which I love doing.
M: Whereas being the creative director, my focus is design. I certainly have a great understanding and appreciation for the business side too, however I love being creative and as Albin mentioned as we have pretty separate roles this is the positive aspect of running a business together.
S: Positivity is an important aspect of your brand. What keeps you both positive personally?
Our community keeps us positive. For us it’s all about bringing people together and having memorable moments. We want to keep the energy of the next generation fresh and curious while having multiple avenues to explore which is why we are committed to build a positive platform that is available for all.