The founder series:
Pelle Lundquist

When Pelle Lundquist co-founded A Day’s March, he had never designed a garment in his life. With a background in advertising, graphic design, film and interior, he instead had a clear vision of what the A Day’s March brand would be. “I’ve always had a huge interest in visual arts. I studied film and graphic design, and grew up in an architect family where we often talked about aesthetics and design. To me, interior and architecture is all about what kind of life should be led in a certain environment. It can be magical to watch old movies or documentaries as inspiration for collections. The scenography and clothes say so much about the time” Lundquist says. “In the same way I wanted to create a world for A Day’s March. In what contexts are the clothes worn? What is life like for a man of today?”

While fellow co-founder Marcus Gårdö figured out the business plan, Lundquist and Stefan Pagréus conceptualised a brand built on the modern, Scandinavian man whose work life and leisure time is intertwined.

“I became a father at the time of launching A Day’s March. To be a dad, make a career and being busy doing all the things expected, made us look towards a brand that would be someone’s support, a help in the daily struggles. The name, implies that you march through life with dignity, regardless of what you set yourself up to do,” he says.

The A Day’s March’ aesthetics is often viewed as Scandinavian, although with an “added colour palette”, Lundquist highlights. The philosophy is based on essential garments in simple silhouettes and shapes, without the unnecessary design elements. “It’s difficult for a designer to refrain from design details. Shouldn’t there be a red weave running through the zipper? Shouldn’t we be more fun? But we tend to be good at staying put, and dismantling such ideas,” he says. Instead Lundquist sees the beauty in raw materials, letting them speak for themselves. “I think beauty is a notion that one uses too little in contrast to what is cool. I love beautiful things. Simple silhouettes and shapes and beautiful materials that work on their own.”

Who do you design for?
- A person who cares a lot about what he is wearing, but who is confident enough not to have to buy the latest fashion release. A person who cares about details, fit and quality. Someone who also realises that the fashion industry is often offering a not so great product at a ridiculous price. It’s like a balloon that you can burst.

Is the way we consume clothes today changing? How can we slow down fashion even further?
- It's twofold. Fashion is a part of creating an identity, you don't want to prevent people from doing that, it’s a code for who you are. But trends are invented by a fashion industry that constantly wants you to buy things. If you make classic, updated garments you make a significant sustainability statement – you can keep them for many seasons. In the last five years we have noticed a bigger focus on the environment and sustainability, people are now starting to demand affordable, high quality garments that are produced in a nice way. That’s really what we set out to do from the start, and our customers appreciate that we use a lot of organic cotton and produce most of our garments in Portugal, but it’s also important to say that we by no means are any saints, we can do better and I hope to present more on that later this year.

Brands today are so much more than a piece of product, how do you create a lifestyle around it?
- A garment should have a higher value than just being neat. We believe it should be used for several different occasions. We were early on producing overshirts, which you can wear with jeans and t-shirt, but styled with a shirt and tie it covers completely different needs. Our hybrid shirts work as a sweater, but are also smart around the office. The way men wear clothes have changed and the dress codes are disappearing – today a tie is a rare thing. A Day’s March has an inherent thought that the clothes we make should work in many contexts. There are no longer boundaries between work and leisure.

What does fashion mean to you?
- It was a big part of my life when I was younger. I loved fashion - the magazines, the photograpers, models and campaigns, the whole industry, I was mesmerised by it. I still enjoy to go back to that era and thumb through The Face issues from the 1990s. I believe I’m still as curious today as back then but my focus has changed. Now I’m into other stuff, like I’m really into all kinds of craft, which is also reflected in my work at A Day’s March. It is less about fashion and more about style and quality. I’m focused on creating garments that last over time.