“When the world went crazy, the role of the home became elevated,” says Kristoffer Juhl, co-founder of Danish textiles label Tekla, sitting in front of a rail of pressed pinstripe pyjamas while talking to me over Zoom. We're speaking a few weeks before the opening of the brand's new flagship store in Copenhagen and he is, of course, referring to the long stretches of lockdown in which the average living space suddenly took on the role of office, Joe Wicks-inspired workout space and quarantine zone. It being nice felt more important than ever, and Tekla was perfectly positioned to take advantage of the WFH boom.
Founded in 2017, the idea was always to create environmentally conscious, design-led products that made your life look and feel better. “Textiles play an important part in that; whether it's because it dries you when exiting the shower or whether it's bedsheets on the skin that makes you feel safe and comforted," Juhl tells me. "We trigger a lot of things, but we're still part of this overall trend of consumers valuing the space they call home and wanting to invest more in it.” Nobody could have predicted that people would soon be wearing the brand's bathrobes to Copenhagen Fashion Week, but then, nobody could have predicted much of what's happened over the past few years.
Poplin pyjama top
Cotton-terry bathrobe
Organic-cotton towels
Tekla's new store in Copenhagen opened its doors over the weekend. Built inside a 1930s building once owned by Danish publisher and modernist Egmont Petersen, the bricks and mortar space acts as the first embodiment of what Juhl refers to as the Tekla “universe”. In six years, they’ve established themselves as one of the arbiters of minimalist textiles, offering block-colour robes, linen bedsheets and Mohair blankets to be displayed on Instagram feeds as well as towel racks and sofas; you'll find the brand tagged on the grids of Alexa Chung and Harry Styles. Now, customers can have a tactile experience of the Futura-font world. The team is as stressed as it is excited by the prospect.
“Honestly, everyone at Tekla went into the [Easter] holiday knowing that they were coming back to the calm before the storm,” says Juhl. “I think that everyone just wants to make sure that if there's any way they can help make it better, they're willing to do so.”
With a IRL store comes customers who, by way of touch, get to 'try before they buy'. It's why the brand has focused on creating textiles that can't be faulted for its functionality, and doesn't just rely on fashion cred. Their towels are cut from 100% organic and Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 certified cotton and woven with 600-gram terry for a soft and heavyweight touch. The linen bedsheets are made with premium French flax for breathability, while their blankets are produced in Portugal and Lithuania by craft experts – says their website. Pieces are high quality and that comes with an equally robust price tag – the type that'll have you thinking about what colour pinstripe sleepwear to buy for longer than you thought.
Tekla’s ascent could easily (and quite dismissively) be solely attributed to what happened, or rather, didn’t happen, during the pandemic. But fellow founder and creative director Charlie Hedin’s idea came well before homeware hauls dominated design discourse. Hedin, of Acne Studios and Eytys alum, was struggling to find any home textiles that combined his passion for design and sustainable practices (Tekla has recently achieved B Corp status). He came to Juhl – a long-standing friend that he met while working with Hedin’s sister for jewellery designer Sophie Bille Brahe – with the idea and invitation to be his partner. “He had the idea from his own needs; textiles that are [fashionably] relevant and available to you no matter where in the world didn't really exist. You had to find a local heritage brand to buy from and that’s somewhat of a blue ocean.” It took a couple of years of grafting to be fully established. “We were on the phone together 24/7,” Juhl chuckles. “I think some people would call it completely unhealthy, the relationship we had back then. But that's sort of what it takes to kick things off.”
“We were one of Tekla’s first wholesale stockists, launching them back in 2019 just two years after they were first founded,” says Ella Joel, Matches Fashion’s homeware buyer. Having sashayed into homeware the year prior, the retailer's offering took a turn in aesthetics when stocking Tekla. Positioned next to fashion juggernauts like Gucci and Missoni, who were offering more eclectic ceramics and tableware, the Copenhagen-based label stood out for its stark minimalism like a Donald Judd sculpture.
“They were one of the first brands to cover the Scandi fashion/lifestyle crossover into the homeware space and have always had such a strong point of difference,” says Joel. The launch was “incredibly popular” and has remained so since then. “The concept of the dressing gown and pyjamas matching with towels and homeware saw such good traction. As one of the key brands for our own entry into the homeware business we worked really closely with them to ensure the right product dropped at the right time. There is such a demand for their core product, so we ensure this is always available, alongside exclusive colourways and sets.”
There is a reason why Tekla has been scooped up by luxury (and predominantly fashion-focused) retailers. Along with its design-centred ethos, the textiles company has aligned itself with trendy brands. First came a (now ongoing) partnership with Stüssy, of whom Hedin is a long-term fan. Jacquemus was another buzzy collab; the French fashion house produces clothing catnip for millennials chasing Instagram likes. Outside of the fashion realm was John Pawson, and while not sartorially focused, "the godfather of modern minimalism" could be attributed to writing the design codes for the everlasting trend within fashion. Three different brand identities but all with strong sense of who they cater for – and communities that'll buy into it.
Homeware was one of the few industries that benefitted from the pandemic. The now defunct MADE.COM found that more than two-thirds of UK adults shopped online for their homes at least once a month in 2020, while 40% of respondents claimed to have bought new home accessories throughout lockdown. And with more disposable income to play with, the more options there were to buy from.
“I still see it as a great accelerator of what was already coming,” says Juhl. “I think that even before COVID, we spoke of this trend in the market that the home was playing a bigger role [in culture]. I definitely feel that people care more about the home than ever before and I don't see that changing overnight, to be honest.”
While we still are obsessed with our homes, it's now the abodes of celebrities that are taking over social media platforms – there's a good chance that you've seen Lily Allen and David Harbour’s home tour with Architectural Digest, for example, which has accrued over five million views on YouTube. And sure, nosiness has always been popular, but it's also indicative of the growing interest in luxury home aesthetics. Marry that with the current fashion buzz term, 'quiet luxury' – the idea that wealth whispers rather than shouts – and there's a (clearly growing) group of people that want to reflect a more affluent lifestyle outside of their wardrobes. Tekla epitomises that, and whether their customers are part of that high pay grade barely matters.
“I think it's almost easier to say what this new wave of luxury isn't and I don't think it's necessarily a price. I don't think it's showing off, which go hand in hand with with the traditional way of thinking about luxury," argues Juhl. "We are part of something totally different – I see Tekla as a little bit of a spearheaded brand within our category.” After all, who doesn't want to treat themselves to a lovely set of towels?
