We seem to be in an age of great fashion collaborations right now with plenty of high-end designers teaming up on affordable collections. Swedish high-street label & Other Stories is the latest to excite us with one – the brand today unveiled its new collection with luxury fashion brand Roksanda.
The collection has been "crafted with summer in mind" and influenced by Roksanda's "deep admiration for summer sunsets," the brand explained. In line with the collection's summer-centric approach, the pieces – which you can view here – will be available to buy from 15 May both in-store and online.
"I wanted to capture the lightness and nostalgia of late summer sunsets, lazy mornings, and the beauty of an endless summer days," Roksanda Ilinčić told us of her inspiration for the collection, her first with the Scandi label. "That feeling that is captured by the French director, Éric Rohmer in his body of work which highlights both the lightness and emotional depth of those fleeting moments. I was drawn to this duality — which is why deeper hues such as bronze and burnt orange appear throughout."
London-based designer Ilinčić founded her namesake brand 20 years ago, which continues to excel in its approach towards dressing the modern woman. Roksanda's pieces explore the space between femininity, modernity and "sheltering", the philosophy held by Ilinčić that dressing in her clothes serves as an armour to the woman wearing them, constructing the designs with a sense of protection and strength.
When it came to putting this collection together, the designer had to merge two distinct design languages, she explains, and the result is a striking edit of colourful cascading summer dresses, striking sculptural accessories, beautiful tailoring and unusual prints.
"It is important to respect both brands' design language," she explained. "I approached this partnership by honouring & Other Stories’ commitment to thoughtful, versatile design, while bringing in my own language of sculptural silhouettes and expressive colour. It became about merging two languages — practicality and poetry, precision and emotion. The modern woman lives in contradiction — she is strong and soft, structured and spontaneous."
This isn't the first time that Roksanda has worked with a high-street name to create an off-shoot capsule; the brand collaborated with Jigsaw in 2023, which saw a vivid collection of colour-block pieces and sculptural shapes take form. It's not new territory for & Other Stories either, which has previously worked with the likes of Susan Fang and Rejina Pyo on collaboratively-designed edits.
Of course, the beauty of a collaboration like this is that it opens the audience up for a longstanding designer, and will no doubt find her many new fans.
"It is a privilege to connect with women beyond my usual sphere — to offer something personal and considered, yet accessible," she says. "Fashion, at its best, invites dialogue. it is always rewarding when different communities connect through my work. I hope everyone enjoys these pieces as much as we enjoyed creating them."
Roksanda x & Other Stories will be available to buy from 15 May.
