An interview with Jockum Hallin

«Our form of hybrid garments»:
the philosophy behind Our Legacy

We interviewed in Milan Jockum Hallin, the co-founder of the Swedish cult brand When Our Legacy was first heard of in Italy years ago, the brand's aesthetic was lumped into the broad and varied strand of so-called "Swedish minimalism". And indeed, looking at the garments of the brand founded in 2005 by Jockum Hallin and Cristopher Nying, a certain idea of minimalism came to mind: the garments were mainly deceptively simple shirts, pants, and knitwear. Nothing about their collections shouted the word "conceptuality" even though, touching and looking closely at those garments, one sensed a subtle sense of the anarchic: washes and fabric workings, an essential but surgical design, a particular sensibility for textures and deconstruction, references to classic vintage silhouettes. Seventeen years later, Our Legacy has become a cult brand, one of those brands that fashion insiders collect and treasure, and above all, it has expanded to new horizons with the Work Shop project, which combines the creative studio, atelier, and retail, juxtaposing new and old Our Legacy collections with samples, used garments as reference, upcycling garments along with design objects, books, music, and films. The project, which is headed by Jockum Hallin, was born out of a facet of that intellectual curiosity with which the brand's mainline is infused, so much so that according to Jockum, whom we met in Milan at fashion week, told us that the project «suits my way of thinking» and that it actually functions as a kind of mind game in which the creative person gives himself limited options to find innovative solutions to design problems: «Only allowing myself to use deadstock fabrics, upcycling already existing things, has forced me to work “inside the box”. It has set positive boundaries actually, it has forced me to be creative and efficient with only what´s in front of me».

One should not be confused by the use of the word "mainline" referring to the brand's institutional collections: the existence of a mainline does not exclusively presuppose that of a sub-line as well. Work Shop is an offshoot of the brand's overall language, a way of existence that has taken its peculiar form from the combination of concept and simplicity. «Cristopher’s mainline Our Legacy collections often have very conceptual parts, and my Our Legacy Work Shop projects is usually something I´m very into that is taken and the conceptualized». Some examples? «Deadstock silkshirts overdyed in natural wine with Gabrio Bini, or residual Californian fabrics from the 90´s made into fresh new menswear with Stüssy». As can be seen, while the end result seems simple, the concept is often hidden in the very fibers of the product, in the ways in which a certain garment takes on its appearance. When asked why, in his opinion, Our Legacy is considered a cult brand Jockum replies that it is because the brand «has stayed curious, exploring, always progressing, creating our own little pocket over the years where we have been able to try new things […]. You can see the subcultural references in our collections, but they are never vultured». The basic philosophy, however, remained the same: «We create clothes that people feel comfortable in, without big logos or brands, those who know them can recognize them».

Delving deeper into the issue of the creative process, Jokum defines that of Our Legacy as «cross pollinating garments, like putting lightweight suiting wool onto windbreakers and trackpants, and putting technical nylons onto shirting or suiting in, it all took a new path from there». A phase that began when the brand was already mature, around 2013 and 2014, even though the brand's vision was already clear at the time of its founding-a vision that has not changed. Here's how Jokum explained it: «Our Legacy clothing is often subtle, yet made to empower or make you feel confident. Not by using external loud classic signals but providing for you a perfect cut, a custom developed fabric, combined in an unexpected way, creating our form of hybrid garments. Cristopher my founding partner and creative director puts a lot of time into research and development, “it often starts with the fabric” as he would say». The question of how to keep this inspiration alive intervenes at this point. Indeed, it often happens that a brand remains closed and defined by its own limited imagery, which stifles its creativity. But, as Jokum explains, Our Legacy's is a method rather than an aesthetic. Talking about what continues to inspire him and his partner he says: «Still our youth and formative years, art and music of course», even if it’s «people, working with amazing yet diverse people can spark ideas most certainly».