Slow fashion label Asket: “We are almost anti-fashion”

Fewer collections,
longer lasting creations – rarely before did the future of slow fashion
look so realistic. Swedish slow fashion label Asket focuses on an ascetic
lifestyle; less is more. This is why the Stockholm-based brand has been
concentrating on timeless basics and only one permanent collection since
its founding days in 2015. FashionUnited spoke with Asket co-founder August
Bard-Bringéus about managing a transparent supply chain, the effects of the
corona crisis and possibly offering clothes for women soon.

German fans of the brand were recently happy to hear that Asket is
stepping up its efforts in the country. Are you planning to customise your
approach for different markets?

Asket started with one website, one language and one payment method to
keep everything as simple as possible for a unified concept. We then grew
organically and wherever a small group of Asket fans emerged, we increased
our attention. Together with Sweden and the UK, Germany is one of our focus
markets. Our warehouse is located in Germany and therefore, most items can
be delivered within 24 hours – not only in Germany. But otherwise there
will be no adjustment, because this is quite costly and does not correspond
to our basic idea. So if for example the website would be translated, then
a German customer service has to follow and we don’t have the capacity for
that at the moment.

But the German customer is very interested, very progressive, travels a
lot and perhaps expects our website to be international. Therefore it can
be positive that everything is in English. If we were a traditional company
where growth is all that matters, we would have done it long ago, but as a
niche company, we rather focus on a better, sharper product.

You almost answered my next question – what does the typical Asket
customer look like – if he exists?

He is about 30 to 32 years old, urban, progressive, does not follow
fashion trends, but wants to know what the future has to offer, what is the
latest, the smartest. Asket is almost anti-fashion, so the label appeals to
many people, from 16-year-old football kids to 70-year-old pensioners. Some
want minimalism, some want our special sizing system, some love us because
we are provocative, some like our circular business model.

In times of Corona, have you noticed more demand for your label? How
has the pandemic affected your business?

It has been quite a rollercoaster ride; everything here was turned
upside down, the whole hierarchy of needs. Since mid-March, it has been
more about ‘how are my parents doing, how is my grandma, how are my
friends’ instead of a general buying mood. For us, sales plummeted by 70
percent during this period and we set up a contingency plan because we did
not know how long this would last.

We had to actively intervene, cut our budget by 50 percent and reduce
working hours; one employee even had to be let go, but the situation
recovered relatively well by April/May. We work on a better cost basis and
as an online-only company, we are very well equipped, with slow fashion
especially as we are not dependent on seasons and we made it so far without
sales and discounts. How the situation will affect demand in the long term
remains to be seen.

How has the crisis affected your supply chain?

We pay many orders in advance and were able to communicate well with our
suppliers. We were able to agree with larger suppliers that we would accept
all the goods, but that we would need better payment terms. We were then
able to pass these on to smaller suppliers and thus reallocate resources as
needed. We visit every single supplier at least once a year, so we know
them personally. It also depends on how many new projects we have, then
more frequent visits may be necessary.

Two years ago, Asket introduced for all products that make
tracing the origin of each part possible. How has this been received?

Much has happened since launching the labels. By now, other brands have
followed suit – even large companies such as H&M, which, however, only
specifies the first factory. In the meantime, many progressive companies
have joined the trend towards more transparency. This helps to raise the
standard among customers. We have subconsciously tightened up the
customers’ criteria. For many, traceability labels are just a bonus.

Let me add that traceability is not synonymous with sustainability, that
is nonsense. What we want to do is to calculate and indicate the footprint
etc. based on transparency and traceability. After all, no product is
sustainable per se, all products have a footprint. But you can also use
products longer and thus increase their sustainability.

Last but not least, we would like to know where August buys his clothes
when he is not wearing Asket?

(laughs) Meanwhile we offer 32 products, so like many people in the
office, I wear only Asket. But we do not make bags, belts and accessories.
When it comes to shoes, I prefer Allbirds, they are great in terms of
communication and product. Otherwise I also buy second-hand or for bags,
for example, from Swedish brand Sandqvist.

Even though many of your garments are unisex, at the moment you are
focusing on men – is something planned for women as well?

We have many female fans, about 15 to 20 percent of our followers on
Instagram are women. We have about 60 percent female employees on the team
and they all wear Asket. Given these facts and our goal to end the era of
fast fashion, we plan to offer products for women in the not too distant
future too.

Photos: courtesy of Asket