When Copenhagen’s hottest knitwear designer, Amalie Roege Hove, received a call out of the blue from her favourite jewellery house, Georg Jensen, to collaborate on one of their most classic collections, she was intrigued. She didn’t see how she was the right fit – after all, designing knitwear is a vastly different thing to designing jewellery but as she tells marie claire, it was a challenge and a privilege she felt compelled to take on.
What was your experience of Georg Jensen prior to working with them?
I come from a family where if anything happened in our life, like a milestone moment, we would be given jewellery as a gift to mark the occasion. So much of the jewellery I own signifies a special moment and quite often those pieces were Georg Jensen. It’s also always been part of our family traditions, such as the decorations we hung on the Christmas tree and pieces we decorated the tables with.
How would you describe the new Georg Jensen x A. Roege Hove collection?
It’s very expressive. It really combines and balances elements of both houses. On one hand, the designs reference my knitting styles, which are strict and systematic. You can see it in the parallel rows of graduating beads. On the other hand, it is born from Georg Jensen’s century-long expertise in metalwork, representing the brand’s iconic Moonlight Grapes collection in a new and different way.
You are a renowned fashion designer with a focus on knitwear under your brand A. Roege Hove. How would you describe your brand philosophy?
We do knitwear and we try to specialise in what we do best – garments with innovative silhouettes crafted from innovative materials. I’ve learnt that running a brand is not about building an entire wardrobe. It’s about specialising in something, becoming good at it, and creating that value to that product.
How did you marry your philosophy with the legacy and history of Georg Jensen?
I really struggled when I got the pitch because obviously, I’m used to designing something else. I think, for me, the trickiest part was that in the way that I like to design and do knitwear, is for things to be quite orderly. I like to see lines and very graphic patterns. Once I realised I could apply those principles to the design of Midnight Grapes, it all made sense to me. Because the barrier for me was that I am used to working with a fabric that’s very soft and flexible, but jewellery is not like that. I wanted to achieve a sense of movement still, and present it in an organised manner.
When did it click into place for you?
It was the moment when I decided that maybe it would be okay if I don’t design jewellery as a jewellery designer. Because in the end, I’m not one. That allowed me to move past the mental roadblock and approach it the way I would my own label.
The fashion industry in Copenhagen is gaining more and more global recognition. What do you want people to know about the local fashion industry?
I think what we’re doing in Denmark is wonderful. There is a lot of focus on responsible fashion sustainability, we have created a great place where there’s a lot of craft, there’s a lot of mindfulness in terms of not over producing, but I think we’re also in a good place in terms of creating accessible pieces.
The Georg Jensen x A. Roege Hove Midnight Grapes collection is available at Georg Jensen now.
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