Blk Dnm is entering a new stage of its business with a rebrand that repositions the denim and sportswear label as an “entry-luxury” brand.
The Swedish-American brand, which is pronounced “Black Denim,” said Thursday it is rebranding to bring the previously midmarket label into the entry-luxury category with a new logo, elevated aesthetic and retail strategy. The rebrand is being helmed by creative director Jessy Heuvelink, who joined the label last March.
“Blk Dnm has an excellent international reputation and a distinctive identity, but was in need of a new design direction to become more modern and relevant,” said Blk Dnm chief executive officer Toni Collin. “Under Jessy’s creative leadership, through his new collections and through the rebrand and new logo, Blk Dnm becomes elevated and more sophisticated, and returns to our core pillars of tailoring, leather and denim.”
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The rebrand starts with Blk Dnm’s fall 2023 men’s and women’s collections, which take inspiration from the original brand by elevating its core styles with higher quality fabrics and more of a focus on tailoring.
“With the repositioning of the brand, we’re touching more upon the entry-luxury level, but we’re not raising the prices for the sake of it,” explained Heuvelink, who previously had design stints at Christian Lacroix, J. Lindeberg and Adidas. “We are putting so much more attention into using the best fabrics and making sure the garments are produced in a proper way and using traditional tailoring methods. I really believe in investment garments — like if you want something beautiful and will last you a lifetime that you can maybe pass on to the next generation. I’d rather see our customers buying less, but buying better.”
Blk Dnm’s fall 2023 collection offers the denim, leather and tailoring that’s been the brand’s focus since its inception in 2010 by designer Johan Lindeberg. (Lindeberg left the brand in 2015 to focus on other creative pursuits.)
Heuvelink designed the collection in a mostly black color palette, with suits, separates, denim pieces, outerwear and dresses offered across men’s and women’s. The creative director explained he had myriad sources of inspiration for the collections, including the ‘60s and ‘70s, cowboys and fashion icons like Bianca Jagger, Jane Birken and Stevie Nicks, among others.
Instead of creating pieces that fit into seasonal trends, Heuvelink wanted to design elevated basics that are core styles in any customer’s wardrobe.
“I don’t really want to reinvent the wheel all the time,” he said. “Instead, I want to establish a wardrobe where people can come and buy the pieces that they love. Next season, maybe they’ll find small variations of that and maybe find new pieces they’d like to add to that wardrobe.”
Heuvelink explained that the men’s and women’s collections are intertwined and take inspiration from each other, with pieces like the men’s suits inspiring the tailored women’s pieces and the silk women’s pieces popping up in the men’s collection.
Blk Dnm’s fall 2023 men’s collection was debuted at Pitti Uomo last month. The brand is planning to host press previews during New York Fashion Week to debut the full fall 2023 collection. Prices for the collection range from $200 to $300 for the denim, $1,300 to $3,000 for the tailored pieces and $990 to $3,000 for the leather styles.
Along with the rebrand, Blk Dnm is debuting a new retail strategy. The brand is opening a flagship in New York City this fall and has plans to open others in major cities globally in the next few years.