Blessings Counted

If life is what we make of it, why not go for a healthy bite? Birgitte Raben Olrik of Rabens Saloner explains how her fifth collection became her most enjoyable.

“To pass time on the plane back from the catalogue photo shoot, the make-up artist and I played a game of coin-him-or-her-in-one-word. You know, she is Devotion and he is Reflection and so on. When, inevitably, it became my turn I suggested that the new collection took my place. The outcome would really be much the same.”

“Enjoy seemed to be the very word. The whole set-up is so buoyant and full of good spirits that you must have a heart of stone not to be touched by it. The dresses are long and insanely sensual. There is so much silk and gauzy merino wool. The lines are either very long or ultra short, and on the whole there is a lot of focus on the body inside.”

“The goddess sandal is a key accessory along with leather belts and colourful, loosely woven gipsy scarves that cry out for jeans and bare feet. There are tons of bracelets in beads of horn, turquoise, coral and wood to mingle with those in silver with stones and little chiming tassels. We have talismans and medallions in horn, and I must not forget the little ballerina shoe in suede.”

“Gentle shades of beige and sand blend with aquamarine and coral to be broken by a dash of alarming yellow or monster green and the occasional giraffe print. It’s a subtle statement with an almost feline quality, but there is quite a bit of got it/flaunt it attitude, too.”

“It is really important for me to make something valuable in my life. On the one hand, to make a difference for the families that we trade with in the Far East, reverse history and give them something in return. On the other, it’s neither a matter of fashion and here- and-now. If you put your heart into it, there is a fair chance that these clothes will appeal to people and make you look gorgeous, even if you should come across them in the attic in ten or twenty years.”