Asket - the Slow Fashion Brand for a Minimalist Wardrobe
ASKET IS ONE OF THE FIRST SLOW FASHION BRANDS I LEARNED ABOUT WHEN I STARTED RESEARCHING THE OVERCONSUMPTION AND WASTE PROBLEM IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY. I WAS LOOKING FOR BRANDS WHO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY AND CAME ACROSS A FEATURE ABOUT THIS SCANDINAVIAN COMPANY ON ARTE. CO-FOUNDERS AUGUST BARD BRINGÉUS AND JAKOB DWORSKY ARE IN THE PURSUIT OF LESS, BUILDING THEIR BRAND ON WARDROBE STAPLES THAT ARE MADE TO LAST, WITH A QUALITY OVER QUANTITY APPROACH. THEY SPEARHEADED THE SLOW FASHION MOVEMENT AT A TIME WHERE SUSTAINABILITY WAS NOT A BUZZWORD IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY YET. I TALKED TO THE BRAND’S MARKETING COORDINATOR SIRI TEURNEAU-FORSLID AND AM THRILLED TO SHARE THE BRAND’S STORY WITH YOU!
words by SARAH MARIE DAY
images COURTESY OF BRAND
Asket’s Founding Story
Dworsky and Bard Bringéus met at Stockholm School of Economics and quickly became friends during freshman week in 2009. They started their slow fashion brand after their studies in 2015, originally with the purpose of bringing new sizing options to the market. Jakob is tall and slim and always struggled to find t-shirts that fit in length and width alike. Frustrated in their search for timeless elevated basics the two of them launched Asket. Learning more about the fashion industry’s inner workings, from production in dubious places to the overconsumption problem, they decided to do things differently. “With every garment they made it became clearer that they weren’t just making better items, but that they were actually changing people’s perspective on clothing. They started to consider garments an investment rather than something disposable,” shares Teurneau-Forslid. The concept is simple: instead of going with trends and seasons, they have one permanent collection that they add to. They create classic wardrobe staples in fair working conditions, with high-quality materials, minimalist designs and full transparency at an affordable price point.
Wardrobe Staples instead of Fashion Trends AND SEASONS
The idea of a permanent collection may seem simple, but offers so many solutions to the problems in today’s fashion system. Teurneau-Forslid explains: “It has proven to unlock a radical new way of working. There is no overproduction or waste at the end of seasons, time to trace and become accountable for our supply chain and no need for discounting that only encourages snap shopping decisions.” Asket doesn’t follow trends, but creates elevated basics that stand the test of time. Imagine the effortless and cool looks Hollywood movie stars such as James Dean or Steve McQueen already wore decades ago.
“Instead of producing one collection per season, we slowly but surely launch a garment at the time. We just launched our linen set which consists of a pair of shorts and a shirt which will be followed by some exciting new additions in the fall,” says Teurneau-Forslid. In the early days, the brand started with menswear only, but later added a women’s line in 2021. The first three items were: a classic white collar shirt, a white t-shirt and a timeless blue jeans. All three are made from organic cotton and the traceability label on the inside explains exactly where each piece of a garment comes from. They go as far as tracing the origins of the buttons and care labels themselves!
A New Twist on Fashion’s Sizing Model
At the core of the brand is their sizing model, which goes beyond the standard sizes XS-XXL by adding the option to choose one’s length. Each shirt comes in short, regular and long and their jeans can also be individualised in width and length. This ensures each garment fits their customers perfectly!
Stockholm Store in Minimalist Design
In the brand’s first 6 years, Asket was an online-only direct-to-customer brand. That changed in 2021, when the doors to their physical retail store in the heart of Stockholm opened its doors. The minimalist aesthetic of the brand shines through in every design detail, from the geometric wood shelves, polished grey concrete floor, to the mirrored changing room facade. Customers often meet the co-founders themselves in the shop, the two of them are frequently there to get to know their community and have conversations about slow fashion. They also host community events at their physical location and Teurneau-Forslid shares that “more often than not you would find either one of them or both taking part at the event.”
Transparency and Traceability as Key Pillars
One of the brand’s major goals is to inspire a change in how fashion is consumed. And the key to that is knowing more about the clothes we buy. Accordingly, Asket gives detailed information about each garment, offering complete cost transparency, origin transparency and impact transparency. All information is easy to find, this is a major sign for a truly sustainable brand (see our 5 Tips to Spot Greenwashing article to learn more). Their entire supply chain can be found on each product page and garment label as well as on their traceability page. While Asket creates apparel with a minimal impact and maximum longevity in mind, the brand still holds itself accountable for the impact each garment has on the environment, from the time it is produced until it is discarded. All facts are made available for the customers on the Impact Receipt and on each product page.
The Asket Restore Closes the Loop
Have you seen images of the mountains of secondhand clothes piled up in countries of the Global South, such as Africa or South America? Due to the cheap prices of fast fashion, garments are unfortunately often seen as a disposable item instead of a treasured possession and are often discarded after only a few wears. The waste problem is what the slow fashion movement is trying to change, and brands play a major role in that.
Asket offers “free repairs in our store and customers from all over the world are able to request spare parts e.g buttons should that be needed,” says Teurneau-Forslid. For garments their customers don’t wear anymore, Asket is closing the loop to circular fashion by having a take-back strategy called the Revival Program. Their community can send or bring unwanted garments back to the brand and receive a voucher for future purchases in return. Asket will repair or redesign pieces and resell them. “We have partnered with a facility in Gothenburg on the West Coast of Sweden, which cleans and mends the unwanted garments back into life,” shares Teurneau-Forslid. First this service was only done digitally, but since 2023 they have a physical retail location called The Asket Restore in Stockholm. Here, they resell upcycled Asket designs and you can find some great secondhand Asket pieces as well as prototypes that have only been used for photo shoots.
If you are shopping for elevated basics and are in search of sustainable alternatives to fast fashion brands such as Cos or Uniqlo, Asket is your best bet! They are leaders in the slow fashion movement, proving that there is a better way to make clothes. We hope they inspire not just consumers but also other brands to follow their example!
FURTHER READING
