Despite its name, Sunflower is an urbanized brand with an inherent tenacity more like the proverbial weed that grows through cracks in concrete. Despite its idyllic side, Copenhagen is a capital of courage, which is what creative director Ulrik Pedersen and co-owner/founder Alan Blond love. and perfect shape. They showed their fall collection in a cramped showroom that included local musicians. The titular theme is supergroups, “the idea being that each look has what it takes to be a lead vocalist,” the press release said. It’s a fascinating summary that points in the direction of the values that drive the brand. “For us, it’s more about us grabbing the right guy than following the trend,” Pedersen said during the walkthrough.
With the brand name in the singular, not the plural (sunflowers are often grown in abundance in fields), you get the sense of Pedersen and co. The brand is built on the belief that individuals have the power to choose what they want to wear and how they want to wear it. “In Europe, people rely on brand names,” he points out, rather than establishing their own style. His approach is to make clothes that he and his friends like to wear, and hope that others like the vibe. It’s not exactly the overall look that Sunflower advocates, in fact Pedersen advocates a mix of relaxed and tailored pieces, a bit like the way a DJ makes a playlist. It’s not a new idea, but it rings true for a brand that is expanding rapidly in Asia.
Sunflower’s approach to making its own rules means that this collection, at first glance, has no through lines; a little of this, a little of that. The relationship between a pair of sparkly pink corduroys or a funky jacquard shirt and this season’s staple tailoring is hard to trace, aside from the fact that they’re both tied to the sunflower universe. More coherence would be welcome, and would complement the (relative) tightening of the series as Pedersen pushes it in a sharper and dressier direction. Blond points out that the return to tailoring is actually a return to their roots after the Covid-forced disruption. Pedersen’s aim was “to take a more contemporary look at the suit; we’re a big believer in the contrast between something really relaxed and something really sharp.”
