LONDON — Axel Arigato, the Swedish footwear and accessories brand that specializes in sneakers, plans to launch a men’s clothing range and expand into China.
The label, run by creative director Max Svardh and chief executive officer Albin Johansson, plans to launch a men’s clothing range, including sweatshirts, trousers, hoodies and T-shirts. The minimal aesthetic takes its cue from the sneaker range. The hoodie and sweater will be available in five colors, while the trousers will be done in different fabrics.
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The brand launched its first flagship on Broadwick Street in London’s Soho earlier this year, and now wants to evolve it into a concept store, carrying a range of brands including Matthew Miller and the Swedish jewelry designer Göran Kling. The company is currently in talks with other labels, and plans to filter them in later this year.
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“The whole platform from the beginning has been to create a place where you can buy in terms of price range,” said Svardh. “Not only sneakers, or a piece of clothing, but you can buy books and you’ll be able to buy rings, skate boards, different interior objects. We want to create this interesting place where everyone can go in and find something unique.”
The label is also expanding its product offering. In addition to launching a unisex accessories range — consisting of a card holder and wallet — earlier this year, it has designed a range of bags, currently available at the store. The lineup includes a leather and suede backpack, a leather briefcase and an oversize leather tote with a top handle. The price range is 300 pounds, or $365, for a briefcase to 345 pounds, or $419, for a tote bag.
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The brand plans to expand into China through a local partner, with a web site to launch next week. A select range of product will be available on the site.
“We have a lot of Asian customers living both here in London and in the U.S. and Canada,” said Johansson. “So we do think we have a big potential in China and also Japan [and] South Korea. Singapore is one of our largest markets already as it is. The problem with being active on the Western social media channels is that the Asian consumers are not using Facebook, Instagram or YouTube the same way we are, so we haven’t been able to reach out to them and meet our consumer, we have only been able to reach the ones who use our sort of channels, so this will be a good test in order to see if we will be able to have strong brand awareness.”
Launched in 2014 by Svardh and Johansson, the brand has a flagship store in London and is sold at Harvey Nichols, Le Bon Marché and through the brand’s web site.