Amalie Røge Hove — Shaking Knit Up

Benjamin Schiffer: I met you for the first time in 2020 interning at a Copenhagen-based PR agency. Your creations were surely the most pulled ones by stylists and some of the most covetable titles. How would you explain the vast interest in your collections at this early stage?

Amalie Røge Hove: To be honest, I don’t really know. When you start working on something you ask yourself how people will react to it. Do they see the same as I do? The last thing the world needs is more brands. The first pieces I had at Spalt PR at that time offered something that no one else did even though they were so simple. I did not feel like I made something special – without sounding unambitious. I have always been surprised by the attention that we got. The moment the agency asked me to bring some of my pieces over, I was doubting that step, but then obviously people started knowing me.

BS: So showrooming actually helped you get your name out there. How did your particular interest in knit come about?

ARH: Before I got accepted to the Royal Academy of Design Copenhagen, I had one year at a different school. Back then, I applied for the regular fashion department. After being there for a week, I realised that I did not feel at home. I felt like the textile department was so much more interesting, so I asked if I could switch courses. They asked me if I had any experience in that field, to which I answered that I did a little. Let me tell you… I had nothing. They ended up switching me over since the fashion department was much more popular than textiles. Sitting down with a knitting machine for the first time, I was so fascinated and figured that this is how I would like to work with material and the body. It brought out a different process of working with the body and clothes than the fashion department did. In that sense it had a lot to do with how the machine worked.

BS: It’s so refreshing to hear of people who have a slightly different background other than the classic fashion design school route. Tell us about your design process!

ARH: We never really start a collection from scratch as we constantly have developments going on in our studios. We have never started with a particular theme in mind. Samples are hanging on our boards for many seasons, it´s a constant evolution. At some point we will make use of them, 153 sometimes it’s only small swatches. We constantly ask ourselves how we can build on top of what we already did while still making sure that people feel like they see something new from us. The premise of the brand is to push knitwear. It’s really a fine line keeping our DNA, but also making people wonder, ‘Is this still knit?’.

BS: Your ready-to-wear pieces are incredibly veracious and delicate, revealing some of the wearer’s most intimate body parts. At the same time, they shape the body like a firm sculpture. How do you achieve this almost optical illusion?

ARH: We work with and against the body. It’s always about dressing the body, but also about how the body might disturb the techniques that work. This transformation from hanger to body, from machine to body fascinates me. On a hanger a piece might look quite precise, but then once it is on the body you will see how it’s actually constructed, in which directions the garment is pulled creating lines or stripes. The ultimate goal for me is to create something quite simple, but the body makes it complex. If this happens, we usually know that we did a good job. Depending on the body type or the colour of the skin, you will get a completely new perspective on a garment. Closer to the shows we have a lot of fittings with people of different body types and personalities, so that we have this constant relationship with the body.

BS: What are your favourite materials to work with?

ARH: In the beginning, I was very limited with the materials that I used. We are trying to be more daring with that. The question is rather how we treat our materials. I’m really drawn to materials that have a stiffness to them or a life of their own. I remember in school always saying that I wanted to put life into textiles. I wanted things like a sweater to be able to stand on a table without falling together.

BS: Your work approach allows room for body sizes aside from size zero. Was this an intentional decision?

ARH: Of course, it’s a huge focus for us, but initially it all started from the inspiration that different bodies gave us. I did not intend to create this ‘crazy fashion brand that is diverse’. My approach came from being deeply interested in textiles and seeing how different body and skin types affect how we perceive them. I hate the idea of having a brand that would exclude a certain group of people. The worst thing about fashion is this sense of ‘fashion is not for everyone.’ I completely dismiss this notion. The sizing should not be the reason that keeps someone from wearing it.

BS: While we are speaking, you are in the last preparations for your next show. To what extent is the staging of the show adjusted to our use of the smartphone?

ARH: Personally, I am a very analogue type. It would be very difficult for me to do what I do without the use of our smartphones. We are as close to a Danish girl buying our pieces as a Japanese customer and I love that. We really need to see our clothes being alive on our customers for the process. I am personally quite private, but I do enjoy seeing the crazy digital life that a show like ours has afterwards. Because it’s digital, it feels strangely distant, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Everyone who knows me knows that I am terrible at picking up my phone or texting.

BS: Do you have a tip for someone balancing digital and analogue?

ARH: People need to work with their hands more. It’s important to have spaces that allow that. Even distinguishing between a work phone and a private phone could make a difference. I’m most afraid fashion could miss out on the physical touch, people interacting with textiles, and fitting things on a real body.