Paris Fashion Week: Ellen Hodakova Larsson makes her mark on the French capital

Imagine a giant cocooning ‘bubble’ coat made out of a myriad of fur hats – the type that a generation of ladies would once wear as Sunday best. Or perhaps a jacket with swinging sleeves constructed out of a series of men’s tailored trousers? Perhaps, a defunct cello (sans strings) turned into an alternative evening dress? And what about a glam rock jacket and jeans combo made from glimmering gold zippers? 

These were some of the marvels that Swedish born designer and LVMH Prize Winner 2024, Ellen Hodakova Larsson presented on the Paris runways this week to the sounds of thrash guitar music in a low-lit auditorium. As her tousled haired models paraded her absurdly beautiful designs entirely made from ingeniously upcycled deadstock, one is confronted with issues of consumption, built in obsolescence and waste. 

Dubbed the Greta Thunberg of fashion, this young woman who studied study fine art and sculpture at the Swedish School of Textiles, is offering up a solution to waste and attracting a legion of fans and supporters in her wake.

Do you remember seeing Cate Blanchett in a Hodakova corset made of 200 antique silver spoons? Blackpink pop star Rose, Julia Fox and Kylie Jenner are also champions of her artful, witty work. “Wanting to understand communication and pose questions is just so deep rooted in me,” says Larsson who is fully tuned in to the powerful medium of fashion. 

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The provocative message of the Hodakova brand is being keenly heard, with Larsson considered a cross generational inspiration for millions who are also on a mission to spend less, spend better and reinvent items be it furniture or clothing to suit changing needs and help protect the environment.  

Larsson’s own learnings and creativity were embedded as a young girl growing up on a farm in rural Sweden surrounded by fields. “I grew up on horseback,” she laughs noting how the discipline of equestrian life influenced her sense of commitment as well as her precise language of style.

Her parents instilled the virtues and rewards of upcycling. Her seamstress mother rarely purchased anything new preferring to reinvent hand me downs and wardrobe staples and customise household deco. “She is a crafty woman. I was always up in the attic and trying out her 80s styles - the big dresses and big shoulder pads!” smiles Larsson who alongside her brother enjoyed painting, making and craft.  

Rising to the top

Larsson’s breakthrough happened on graduation in 2021 when Vogue Scandinavia named her a future talent to watch and her ascent into the limelight has been swift.

She set about launching her own brand which is now sold online and across a network of stores worldwide including Corso Como and Dover Street Market. “I've always known that I wanted to be my own boss,” says Larsson who dresses as she designs in reconstructed men’s shirts and tailoring. She was a standout candidate for the LVMH Grand Prize Award 2024 (worth 400,000 euros and mentorship programme) and was chosen from a short list of 20 semi-finalists. 

Larsson, who works in Stockholm with a small team, is also tackling bigger issues of upcycled fashion which to date has involved time consuming handiwork that makes commercial success hard to achieve.

The team deploys AI tools to help sort and grade deadstock clothes (sourced via Swedish businesses and dealers) which expediates the selection process and analysis of possible usage. It means items can be produced at a modest scale. Online you can find asymmetric white shirts, camisole tops made from white bras and Hodakova’s best-selling bags made from layered up belts and buckles.   

Sweden’s strong government backed sustainability initiatives also makes the country a supportive laboratory ground for future growth. But what drives Larsson is ultimately curiosity and the determination to find solutions – after all isn’t that what design is about? 

“If I see a pair of trousers, what can I do with them?” asks Larsson who is compelled to make something different and better. As revealed in her latest AW 25 collection, those trousers (belts included) can be a headdress, a swingy jacket, or upturned into an off the shoulder dress. Symbol and cipher of our topsy-turvy world, perhaps?