INTERVIEW #12 ANNA-SARA HJERTSTRÖM
Anyone who has met Anna-Sara knows she’s a passionated person in love with life itself. Born in Sweden but Italian by heart with several diverse skills and lifestyles, she doesn’t leave the room boring for sure. She’s been keeping cabins and staffs calm during flights, worked for humans rights in Israel and Palestine, supporting those in needs through the local church but you will often find her in the most fashionable dress and high heels in her own kitchen, preparing dinner for everyone in her local Italian community. She’s a perfect example of being in love with traditional fashion and female style, but at the same time being an advocate for human rights, is 100% possible (She wouldn’t hesitate for a second to wear a Fairtrade-banana costume if you promise here to always buy fair traded products). This interview are her words on the topic of a sustainable closet and I promise you, it will be anything than normal. Lagom, despite her Swedish heritage is just not her thing!
“A good tailor - It’s like a photographer who knows how to catch the motive in the right light and angle! ”
What’s your relationship with clothes?
Clothes are a way to express yourself. I have always been attracted to clothes. When I was a child I used to borrow my grandmother's clothes. I was fascinated by the history in those clothes. It was my way of travelling in time and in the world. My grandfather even bought a silk “nightgown”, from Paris for my grandmother when they were young. Now I have it and I’m using it as well. Since I love to sing and perform, I find clothes as a complement for that expression. That’s why I borrowed my grandmothers finest coat and high heals for the school graduation when I was 8 years old. I dreamed about wearing clothes that had an interesting history. At the same time as I want to create my own story in life with the clothes I chose to wear.
“My grandfather bought a silk “nightgown”, from Paris for my grandmother when they were young. Now I have it and I’m using it as well. ”
How would you describe your style?
“My travels tell the story of my style.”
All over the place? It’s a very difficult question. I’m not an actress but I like the variety of expressions. It also depends on where I am in the world. Not all clothes feel fit or appropriate in all cultures. My travels tell the story of my style. I can wear shoes from Bangladesh, a top hand-made in Italy with a coat from my best friends’ grandmother. When I get dressed it’s like painting, putting colors and shapes together based on the inspiration of the day. There is a beauty in the possibility to recreate yourself every day.
Style wise I have a weakness for shapes. How the body is shaped by the clothes. How you can highlight or hide your beauty and your flaws. The French are good at appreciating the beauty in flaws, we should learn from themin that aspect. I like the feminine style but that doesn’t mean wearing only pink (which by the way was a masculine color worn by the romans, that represented blood, war and power), it means to wear clothes according to your shape and materials that suits a female body type. I’m always fascinated and impressed with designers that know how to do this, the knowledge on how to make a particular body look great.
I work with a tailor named Frandré who doesn’t follow any standard template, he creates a unique one based on your body when creates! He takes one look at your body and manages to figure out how the material should be cut, sown and how it will fall on you, kissing your body! It’s like a photographer who knows how to catch the motive in the right light and angle!
How would you describe your closet?
“My closet is colorful and organized according to the colors and patterns of the clothes. It has to be structured. ”
There’s a lot of dresses and colors! I love dresses because you just put it on, and you’re dressed for the day! I have two skirt suites that I use a lot as well. One set of jacket and skirt is from my friend’s grandmother., they’re colorful with a lot of patterns. The other suite is from Karen Millen and it’s more than 10 years old! Together with a pair of classic black pants I alternate between what I have and combine the skirts, pants and jackets.
My closet is colorful and organized according to the colors and patterns of the clothes. It has to be structured. Recently, I have also started to become more aware of materials, more natural materials that feels good on the body!
I have plenty of shoes… 122 pairs to be honest. I love shoes! I don’t buy shoes only to wear them, to me they’re souvenirs, pieces of art! I remember all my travels by looking at my shoes. Making shoes is a craft and that’s what I want to find when I travel. I also have a lot of vintage bags from exclusive brands. I buy and sell when I feel like it. I love the history behind the models. Take the iconic NéoNoé bucket bag by Gaston-Louis Vuitton, from 1932. The original was designed to transport champagne bottles with style, and it works, you can fit 5 bottles.
What is a sustainable closet to you?
“It’s a closet where you don’t need to change the base after 10, 20, 50 years. It should be clothes you can keep the rest of your life, that live on with the generations after you”
It’s a closet where you don’t need to change the base after 10, 20, 50 years. It should be clothes you can keep the rest of your life, that live on with the generations after you. Clothes that makes you happy, clothes happy to have you as their owner. Clothes and shoes need to be looked after! I have never had any clothes I have worn until they look like trash, I look after my belongings. I also exchange clothes by creating clothing-exchange events with friends and in church. Like with shoes, you need to know how to care for your clothes, hang them right, use a kind soap, the right temperature, hand wash when needed and so on. Look after and care for your closet. When you get tired of an item, exchange, give it away or sell it.
What do you think about the fashion industry?
It makes me frustrated, yet I’m choosing to focus on the progress and new mindset we can see that is entering the market. There is a change taking place and there are plenty of heroes and newcomers out there. It makes me happy to hear about new innovations and solutions; like decomposable clothes! That’s amazing.
I believe we are going to see more of that. Fabrics made of fibre from oranges is another example on how we can decrease waste. Plenty of oranges doesn’t reach EU-standards. The change makers Orange Fibre saw this need and developed a new fabric, by creating threads from the cellulose from the orange. The thread is weaved into a silk-like fabric, all created from waste. Their textiles are also compostable.
In Italy, it’s hard for small scale entrepreneurs to find a good market. But it’s going to be the ones focusing on sustainability that will last in the long run! I would love to see the “made in Italy” keep its artistic side and the history but using new sustainable methods.
What do you believe needs to change?
Our mentalities… In Italy people are occupied following big brands and influencers. It’s not about quality or anything, it’s a social and culture behavior that’s not very healthy. That kind of materialism needs to change. Influencers have great power and with that comes responsibility. People make choices according to what they emphasize on in the market.
The big brands also need to contribute to the change… one of the old classical fashion brands just decided to stop their leather production this week! That is great news.
What can one do that seeks to create a more sustainable closet?
My tip is to:
Figure out how you use clothes. Do I buy clothes I use for years or do I easily get bored? What is your perspective on clothes? Chose a strategy that suits you. You can do fast fashion by renting clothes, buying second hand and exchanging with friends.
Figure out what materials you like! What feels good on your body? When I bought a high quality T-shirt in organic cotton, I could really feel the difference!
Find out how clothes are produced! How they are dyed, where the cotton comes from and so on. Madiva is a sustainable option that doesn’t use chemicals, only natural ingredients! They color with lemon for example, and you can smell the perfume of the fresh lemon when wearing it!
Buy clothes that makes you happy! Let leave the norms and start a new trend! It doesn’t always have to be as functional as possible. It should be clothes that you feel good about. Don’t always dress just for practical reasons. You will keep and look after what you love.
Don’t buy according to season! Buy what you love! I recently bought a winter jacket from a sustainable brand and it’s 22 degrees in Italy right now! I know I will love it in the fall!
Don’t get depressed and lose your sense of style just because you’re not living a fashionable life! Wear nice clothes for your own sake, cook food in high-heels to celebrate life! You can be fabulous any time you feel like it! It doesn’t have to be a certain occasion, time or day to look good. Wear clothes that makes every day of life more fun!
Follow Anna-Sara on social media!