Right: All clothing by ALTEWAISAOME.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: ALTEWAISAOME

Randa Saome and Natalia Altewai dreamed big and bold, and the silhouettes of their designs are no different. The Swedish friends are the visionaries behind Scandinavian fashion company ALTEWAISAOME, a brand that combines “Scandinavian simplicity and international high fashion,” according to the pair.

Altewai grew up in Malmö and Saome in Stockholm before they met in school. They became close “instantly,” says Saome, and even lived together while studying. Though they first began discussions of creating their own company during their second year in school, they decided to first gain experience working independently in the industry. They both moved to Italy to study and work in fashion—Altewai at Etro and Saome at Jato, an embroidery and textile design company.

After a few years in Italy, the fashion-focused twosome decided to finally pursue their longtime vision of their own clothing line. They moved back to Sweden to “create a brand with an international feel,” using the knowledge they garnered from Italy and from their parents: Altewai’s mother and Saome’s father are tailors, and the design duo were fortunate to have a “genuine interest in pattern-making” and knowledgeable parents to turn to if need be. The result was ALTEWAISAOME, launched in 2009.

“We didn’t want our brand to be associated with anything, which can easily happen when using words,” says Saome of choosing a name for their partnership. “So we decided that our names would be the best for our brand and we realized that they actually sounded good together.” The ambiguity of the unrecognizable brand name helps maintain a concept of unexpectedness, which is ideal for the way that Altewai and Saome design each season. The “clean-cut” layers, strict lines, and mixed materials of the Spring 2013 collection—including eight styles of sunglasses designed in a new collaboration with KunoQvist that mix courageous shapes and various colors—were inspired by the work of artist Raul Mazzoni “and his way of merging various geometric shapes,” according to the company, but Saome and Altewai are often wary of pointing to specific inspirations.

“In general, we don’t have a certain place or person that usually informs our collections,” says Saome. “It all depends on the time and what we feel inspired by at the moment.” Though they typically use black and like to incorporate color contrasts “in a subtle way,” their current inspirations also help them choose new silhouettes and colors each season as well. Each collection varies in hue and shape, but the consistent aspect of ALTEWAISAOME’s clothing is that it is targeted at all types of people who have one thing in common: “They are all confident and want to be seen.” The daring, modern structure of each piece demands attention from dinner partners, fellow partygoers, coworkers, and passersby. The simple palette and geometric shapes result in unique garments that provide a boost to poise and self-assuredness in a cool, minimal way.

For more information, please visit ALTEWAISAOME.com. Styling by Zara Zachrisson. Makeup by Georgi Sandev using NARS. Hair by Erika Svedjevik at L’Atelier. Model: Elena Bartels at DNA.

Emma Greenberg is a freelance culture writer based in New York. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in English and creative writing.

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All clothing by ALTEWAISAOME.

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