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The national sentiment the FIFA World Cup always stirs up—national pride—was also in play today at Danish brand Sunflower’s Pitti Uomo debut. The brand was chosen to represent Denmark as part of a special collaboration between the Italian organization and CPHFW in honor of its 20th anniversary. “Of course, we should stand up and show our muscles,” said Ulrik Pedersen, speaking on Zoom about the responsibility of such an accolade.
Pedersen, who co-founded Sunflower in 2018 with Alan Blond, is a seasoned player, having established NN07 in 2007, a business focused on a casual wardrobe with a focus on denim and knitwear. Reportedly, 400,000 pairs of the brand’s Simon chino were sold during his tenure there; Pedersen left the company in 2016. Blond is equally experienced, and the duo likes to think of Sunflower in terms of music, offering their customer “notes” with which they can compose a look.
The show was titled “No Soundtrack” because Danish musicians August Rosenbaum and Jakob Littauer improvised music live during the show. That idea of spontaneity, of participating in life as it happens, is key to understanding Sunflower. Pedersen makes clothes–many based on classics, or renewed through unusual materials—for everyday use. The designer, who likes to contrast casual pieces with tailored ones, opened the show with a Canadian tuxedo worn with a sharp, structured overcoat. This season, Pedersen also wanted to contrast Italian and Danish style. “When it comes to colors, shapes, and also materials, there are a lot of mid- to late-’90s references from Italy,” he said. The most Italianate touches here were the bright silk shirts, though cinephiles might associate the pinstripes with film characters. Special note should be made of the painted white denim (looks 28 and 29). Pink, sage, and ochre dyes also colored jeans. Leather is another Sunflower signature, and Pedersen prefers a neat, cropped jacket for spring.
While in The Boot, Sunflower decided to launch their made-in-Italy footwear—cowboy boots, “as a natural extension of the brand,” according to the notes. That’s a small but important distinction because, as Pedersen says, “we are not doing clothes for everybody. We have a clear statement of what we are and who we want to be, and then we just go from there.”
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