Erik Bjerkesjö / Ballroom 010
While trapped under a most opportune cloud of volcanic ash during Salone del Mobile this April, we caught up with Swedish designer Erik Bjerkesjö, who is in the midst of launching a shiny new – eponymous – label. The fresh upstart, complete with an atelier and showroom tucked into the pristine and happening Mariatorget area of Stockholm, is the fruition of a long process of refinement for the shoe designer’s vision of a synthesis of beautiful, thoughtful design and entirely manual, bespoke production.
The label’s aura is unmistakably Scandinavian in its honest detailing and purity of materials, but is pollinated with sly details and a heavy dose of exclusivity that, upon close consideration, transcends stolid notions of luxury footwear and effectively infringes on rococo mystique.
The result is an intelligent and endlessly sophisticated collection, much like Mr. Bjerkesjö, who himself is always incomprehensibly stylish and pores over his work through handmade replicas of Yves Saint Laurent’s iconic spectacles. Although Bjerkesjö’s brand is a newborn, his signature subversive style has been a long time in the making. He completed advanced studies at Polimoda under the guidance of Patrick de Muynck and in his nascent career has already garnered a considerable amount of praise.
Last year his work was featured alongside Rick Owens and Ann Demeulemeester in the obsessively curated and always progressive window of Luisa Via Roma, a holy institution of creative fashion patronage in Florence, known for being a barometer on upcoming designers and a prime showcase for conceptual artists like Felice Limosani.
He’s also exhibited at Copenhagen International Fashion Fair, and has also cooperatively shown with We Are Group, the Swedish bureau that also works with H&M, Ann-Sofie Back & Comme des Garçons. Fancifully called Ballroom 010, the inaugural collection is being entirely hand produced both by the designer himself and in Tuscany by the same master craftsmen who construct for some very famous, very drool-worthy – and very secretive – heavyweights. Needless to say, quality for the bespoke pieces is above and beyond superlative. Keep an eye out for accompanying projects, including work with video artist Igor Zimmerman and an all-out shoot with a certain – as-of-yet-secret – supermodel. Oh, the mystique! The collection officially drops in July 2010.
By Tag Christof – images courtesy of Erik Bjerkesjö
