INTERVIEW | Uncovering Helly Hansen’s HH-118389225 Line

Dec 26

Dec 26 INTERVIEW | Uncovering Helly Hansen’s HH-118389225 Line

Helly Hansen is a heritage outdoors brand that has amassed 140 years worth of experience in developing fit-for-purpose garments for some of the most extreme environments on earth. Their HH-118389225 line is an extension of that, dipping into the brand’s rich archive of workwear, sporting and protection apparel as a source of inspiration to build upon. With a more lifestyle-focused approach, they never lose sight of their polished and extensive roots, however. Modern tweaks are made to said garments to make them more appropriate for the wearer in an active urban environment, such as shortening the length, adding reflective detailing and removable utility bags, to name a few. HH-118389225 pays homage to the foundations laid before it by the Helly Hansen mainline. Functionality, authenticity and a fit-for-purpose product all remain an integral part of how the offshoot line approaches design. When it comes to the garments, only maximum protection against the elements will do for the wearer.

Given the natural and gradual progression of HH-118389225, eye_C spoke to Graeme Gaughan - ‘Creative Entrepreneur’, in short - and Dorte Vedal who is the design director for the brands ‘Urban’ category, to learn a bit more. Throughout the conversation, we touched on the qualities inherent to the brand, balancing function and form and the future of the line.

eye_C - First of all, please can you introduce yourselves and tell us about the role you play at Helly Hansen?

Dorte Vedal - Design Director Urban. Heading up the creative direction/concept creation for the urban category – The HH Urban category is in charge of the products that are not sport-specific. The products span from rainwear to highly technical outerwear used by professionals working in the arctic. We work tightly as a team in the process of making exciting and engaging products, category management, development and materials teams, and inspire and educate each other to keep making better products.

Graeme Gaughan - Brand Consultant, Art Director, Stylist and Publisher with The New Order Magazine. I was approached by Kristoffer Ulriksen who is the Category Managing Director for Helly Hansen’s Urban category shortly after they had started the concept for what would become the HH-118389225 program. I have always had an emotional attachment to the H/H brand going back to my teenage years, so when Kristoffer told me they were looking for an external consultant to come in and look at things from an outside perspective and bring a different visual language to the project, I was super stoked to get involved. I work closely with Dorte in an Artistic Director capacity and together we pool our resources and experience to define the look and feel of the collections from a design and visual perspective.

eye_C - As we prepare to see the AW ‘21 preview, could you tell us about the HH-118389225 line?

GG - It is essentially marrying the best of what Helly Hansen do on a professional level with a refined and distinctive visual identity, more relatable to a sophisticated lifestyle or fashion consumer. We take inspiration from the brands vast archive of vintage or current product lines and re-work these references into new premium capsule collections. At Helly Hansen, a lot of professional-grade products have item codes, and we wanted to stick with this lineage, so the line was called HH-118389225 which is based on an alphanumeric code for the word “archive”. With each season, the last 3 numbers of this code change to reflect the collections year and season.

DV - Each collection consists of highly technical garments inspired by both our history and future. When we started to work on this part of the line, it was more about going back to the historical archives and using the inspiration quite literally. We are still looking back at our archive, but it is just as much about technical aspects and inspiration from the tech categories and how this can be translated and made interesting in a different framework. We want to invite the lifestyle consumer into our stories and our approach to making clothes, and, by this, connect them to the product and environment it is created for. The garments in the collection should spark curiosity and interest on the rack and when worn.

eye_C - With close to 150 years of design excellence under Helly Hansen’s belt, what qualities are still inherent to the brand now that they were back then?

GG - I will let Dorte lead on this, but from my perspective, it is very much about product functionality and being fit for purpose. Every product in this line has functionality at its core and the exceptional levels of protection for the wearer, regardless of its intended use.

DV - Helly Hansen has been making professional-grade gear to help people stay and feel alive for more than 140 years - authenticity, staying true to who we are, always making clothes with a purpose is an essential part of this heritage. Our products are being created and developed in cooperation with professionals working in the harshest environments on earth, where the gear you have is your barrier between life and death. Helly Hansen gear is worn and trusted by professionals on oceans, mountains and worksites, and this line carries that DNA.

eye_C - The HH-118389225 line is heavily inspired by Helly’s history of producing workwear & professional grade garments. But, as a more lifestyle-focused line, how do you strike a balance between maintaining the aesthetic of that original garment but not producing, what is essentially, a similar product to mainline Helly Hansen?

DV - I would say it is inspired by the life and work of our professionals. In the last seasons, we have been especially inspired by sailing and the extreme conditions these clothes cater for. When working towards a lifestyle consumer, we have a kind of freedom, we can play around with fabrics, silhouettes and details – in a way you can not in professional-grade gear. The clothes are still highly technical, but maybe the jacket is a bit shorter, or the coat a bit longer than what would be practical on a sailboat. For example, in the 211 / SS21 collection, we have used a semi-transparent fabric for jackets and tops; in sailing, you would only use this on packable hoods, for example. We incorporate safety features like reflective materials, but do it in a much more subtle way than you would for the sailing products. So, I guess, it is about taking the ques from our tech wear and seeing it from a different angle.

GG - This is a good point! When a brand such as Helly Hansen (which has such a long history of professional-grade gear in the market) begins programs like this, it's essential we look at everything the brand has done across its timeline, and look to identify where we can bring something new to the table. That goes for both the functional design and how we reinterpret the technologies the brand has developed into each product, but to also make a clear visual distinction with how the product looks. As Dorte says, with HH-118389225 we are not shackled by the safety requirements needed on all professional gear which allows us the flexibility to create a more refined and minimalistic aesthetic. Don’t get me wrong, this product can perform to the highest levels. But, we understand this consumer is confident in the knowledge that this product can perform as it needs to, but they don’t need to look like they jumped straight off a boat. They need the product to visually work as part of their day to day wardrobe.

eye_C - It’s no secret that more brands are taking a technically-oriented approach to clothing, and workwear is often a focal point. What are you guys doing that separates you from the rest of the pack?

GG - I think it's interesting that with a brand such as this, that they could have easily just opted for a collaboration based strategy to boost awareness in the market like so many other brands in this sector have done. Yes, there have been a few collaborations over the years and there is a long list of brands wishing to work with Helly Hansen, but it has not been a real focus. Instead, they have taken a longer and more difficult route and stuck to the brand’s core principles with creating a line that can effectively channel what the brand does best in its ski, mountain and sailing categories. Helly Hansen has managed to make this work in the premium fashion ecosystem where performance and style need to work hand in hand to create a perfect balance.

DV - I think the most important thing that we do is stay true to ourselves, and stick to products and stories that reflect our brand values. The motivation for doing this is to have fun, seeing our products from a different perspective, and stretch what we can do on the product side. Also, it is the same product and materials team that work on the HH-118389225 pieces that also work on the award-winning Arctic Patrol parkas worn by professionals on Svalbard. This assures the consumer that we are not only using the tech as a story, but it is “the real deal”.

eye_C - What are some vintage Helly silhouettes that you’d like to re-work from the archive?

DV - Going forward it is more about taking details and features from several products, and bringing it into the future, more than basing the line on a specific style. We have been working with modularity in the garments for several seasons, and this is something we will continue working on and keep challenging ourselves.

GG - To concur with Dorte, it's not about recreating past styles even though there are some amazing pieces to be inspired by. But when we look through the brand's vast archives, there are so many styles that have interesting details or functional elements that can inspire and become springboards or anchor details for new products. It’s about how we re-work those elements in order to keep pushing things forward.

eye_C - Are there plans to incorporate more sustainable practices in the design process? Whether it’s using recycled fabrics, factory off-cuts or what-not.

GG - Yes, but perhaps not in a way you would expect. These ideas and concepts will be rolling out in Q3 & Q4 of 2021, so stay tuned.

DV - Throughout the brand, we aspire to make products that can last through generations. Today, Helly Hansen products from the 1970s can still be seen on the city streets and in the mountains. Using durable fabrics, we set out to make long-lasting products that can stand the test of time and we constantly strive to develop and work with materials with the lowest environmental impact. All the garments in this range use PFC free DWR, and all fabrics are Blue sign approved.

eye_C - What is in store for us in AW ‘21?

DV - A range of products inspired by the ÆGIR Smock top and based around modularity, with versatile garments that can adapt according to look and protection needs for active living and high performance in an urban landscape. Classic Helly details, tweaked but recognisable.

GG - As we developed outside of the lines in the first couple of smaller capsules, we have found our rhythm now; one where consistency and a more refined, minimal design language that is still 100% Helly Hansen has been set. From a product perspective, this collection has probably one of the most modular and adaptable coats I have ever seen in this sector. It can be worn in 5 different ways and, as Dorte mentioned, is derived from the brands “ÆGIR” Offshore program. The ÆGIR products were developed for sailors competing in the ocean race, often described as one of the longest and toughest team-based sporting events in the world. So, again, it highlights the level of technology and performance that goes into each HH-118389225 product.

As HH-118389225 prepares to unveil its Autumn/Winter ’21 preview, they are making a bold, fully-fledged assault on the field of technical outdoors wear, as we know it. Bringing forth over a centuries worth of expertise and bright minds like Graeme and Dorte, the future of the line will continue to push boundaries and innovate beyond what is currently known. Giving us an exclusive and unfiltered look into the brand, Kristoffer Ulrikensen - Helly Hansen Category Managing Director - commented on HH-118389225 beginnings and what the line means for the current design landscape. “We started this project to celebrate a long and unique history that we are very proud of. Since 1877, there have been so many great innovations and designs that have come out of Helly Hansen, and we wanted to draw from that 140-year history and continue to innovate. The HH-118389225 program allows us to have some fun and push the boundaries of what the brand is and what it can be in the future. It’s important to challenge yourself and not settle in the moment. Instead, we are taking all the great knowledge and technology we have from working with professionals in the outdoors, and bringing it forward with new designs that are conceptual, progressive and different."