The Swedish designer, Jonas Olsson, 35, is passionate about design and accessories. When joining the Danish company, ECCO, he immediately caught the atmosphere and essence of the brand and brought the knowledge to work with the AW14 collection.
“The DNA of an ECCO bag is built from elements like functionality, simplicity, quality, leather and craftsmanship, which is the profile I wish to strengthen even further. Not by using big logos on the bags but by catching the DNA in our design language through shapes and materials,” Jonas Olsson explains.
Jonas Olsson is born and raised among Scandinavian design.
Why do you think Scandinavian design is popular around the world?
“Scandinavian design is functionality. It’s minimalistic simplicity on a platform of quality and craftsmanship. Furthermore Scandinavian design is in colours and materials close to nature,” Jonas Olsson points out.
87 markets
With ECCO being present in 87 markets, international appeal is very important.
“It is a challenge to design something that is being sold in several markets but ECCO has the ability to develop a design language that has a high level of recognisability and a wide appeal,” Jonas Olsson explains.
Two of the most important tools are the Scandinavian heritage and the fact that ECCO has its own tanneries where both materials and designers are being challenged. Also Jonas Olsson is inspired by the work going on in the ECCO tanneries.
“It gives us endless possibilities, it challenges us and it pushes our boundaries. In building a strong design language for ECCO bags the work and development of leather is essential,” says Jonas Olsson.
Leather as inspiration
Leather is furthermore a source of inspiration to the Scandinavian designer.
“Often the idea for a design starts when I hold a piece of leather in my hands. It can be the look and feel of it that inspires me to a shape of a bag. Sometimes I start to draw, looking for the right shape and choose the leather afterwards. I have an open-minded and dynamic approach to design and my sources of inspiration,” Jonas Olsson explains.
The Scandinavian designer discovered his talent while painting. Graffiti.
“Graffiti on walls, comic and fantasy illustrations etc. One day I discovered that I had a big passion for fashion and that became my starting point,” says Jonas Olsson.
His travels and friends are among his biggest sources of inspiration.
“I often go to museums and exhibitions but also architecture, cars, exploring new cultures, meeting people and life in general inspires me,” he explains.
About ECCO
ECCO, a world-leading brand of shoes combining style and comfort, has built its success on quality and innovative technology. Founded in 1963, ECCO is one of the few major shoe manufacturers in the world to own and manage every step of the shoemaking pro-cess. Today, ECCO products are sold in 87 countries at 1,177 ECCO stores, 1,812 shop-in-shops and a total of 15,000 sales points around the world. The company is family-owned and the workplace to 18,500 employees from over 50 countries. More information, please visit ecco.com