Anders Carleo On Giving Life Back To The Sea With A Trojan Horse
WITH ANDERS CARLEO
From his coral reef inspired design process to the flexible styling of his swimwear, everything is very sensibly “as it should be”.
Photography, Aron Pelcman
Words, Brandon Scott Roye In Conversation with Anders Carleo
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Learning about the finer details of Anders’ childhood, lifestyle, and swimwear brand, Marwida, two words kept coming to mind — intention and intuition. From his coral reef inspired design process to the flexible styling of his swimwear, everything is very sensibly “as it should be”.
Speaking to sustainability as the inevitable future of fashion, I found it particularly interesting that Anders compares his strategy to that of a Trojan Horse. Rather than making clothes which are “visibly sustainable” to reach eco-forward shoppers, he’s aiming to make an even bigger impact by reaching style-forward shoppers who are less concerned about sustainability with classic, unassuming designs.
In this way, even shoppers who aren’t eco-forward in their decision making are still helping the planet, whether they realize it or not.
The level of intention behind his brand and clothing truly rises above the “green washing” we see today. It’s truly quite difficult in any store if something really is sustainable. I’m not convinced we’ve reached a consensus on the definition of the word “sustainable” to begin with. Speaking with Anders left me wondering how I can take in the world around me in new ways and translate these impressions to pen and paper, canvas and paint, fabric and thread. All items which ultimately came from the earth.
Don’t buy into toxic male stereotypes. It’s important to think about your place in your community and respect people.
As you read through our conversation with Anders, I encourage you to reconsider the phrase, “it’s not personal, it’s business”. We all share the same home and statistically, the vast majority of businesses have not been a proper steward. Nothing could be more personal than saving yourself, family and friends, and future generations from what the world is turning towards.
Luckily with designers like Anders taking the helm, we can all save the world, in style.
BO: Let’s start with your childhood. Where did you grow up and how did that influence your love for the ocean and style?
AC: I grew up in the suburbs of Stockholm. It was an uneventful childhood in a way. Secure, quiet, a good start. There’s a group of islands in the middle of the Baltics called Åland in between Finland and Sweden. I spent my summers there and even back then in the 80’s, I was very aware of the pollution.
There were no rules for how you could dispose of trash back then. Everything got swept up by the currents and landed on our island. I knew when someone had recently sailed by because of the plastics on our shore. That’s my first memory of ocean pollution.
The ocean and nature there is fantastic.
BO: I’m sure pollution feels much more personal when it’s on your own beach?
AC: It truly does feel invasive. That was my personal kingdom and a big part of my childhood. It was a small island and nobody but our family lived on it.
And speaking to style, this is something you get very close to living in Stockholm. Not in the 80’s, but growing up and getting older, style has become a big part of life there.
BSR: If not the 80’s, when did you start paying attention to style?
AC: When you’re 20-25, you really start paying attention I guess.
At first, I thought I would be an artist and actually went to CalArtsin the US for graphic design. And now, I would say that I’m a multidisciplinary creative across branding, graphic design, products, objects, and more.
I think we’re disconnected as a society, the raw materials, and how things are made. This needs to be higher up on the agenda for consumers.
BSR: How do you hope the Marwida brand influences the lives of your customers?
AC: Well, I think design is all about sustainability. Not only in the materials, but in the design itself. That you can actually use for more than one purpose — more than just swimming in this case.
I see the Marwida customer as someone who wants to own less, but better. Not so much a luxurious, flamboyant life. It’s someone who wants to invest in stylish pieces who wear Marwida from the beach, to the piazza, and into the night.
And I know many people who do it. One of my friends told me the other day, “this summer, I lived in your swimsuits”.
BSR: Tell me about dressing-up and dressing-down a swimsuit.
AC: We always imagined that we wouldn’t release a swimsuit which you couldn’t pair with a nice linen shirt and feel natural. And dressing down, obviously take it off. [Laughter] You should be comfortable throughout the day for different occasions. There’s a lot of swimsuit designs which only work by the beach and the pool. After that, you want to change. We wanted to do something else.
BSR: Your patterns are modeled after different types of coral, right?
AC: Yes, on a very abstract level. I was looking into the cellular patterns of coral. They have millions and millions of small animals which connect together. I was looking into the ground structure of how they connect and used this as a starting note to simplify into a distinct graphic design.
Conceptually, it’s all about telling the story without showing everything right away.
BSR: What does the word “Marwida” mean to you?
AC: Marwida is the culmination of two Latin words, “mare” for the sea and “wida” for life — sea life. It’s about telling the story of our core beliefs. Inspired by, made for, and hopefully helps sea life in the long run. That was the key to building this brand and releasing any products at all. Obviously, we wanted to create something that’s good to the core.
I was thinking about how other brands make sustainable fashion. They sort of want to put that on your nose. They want to make it “look green”, sacrificing style to make products look more eco-friendly. It might work for a small group of “eco-warriors”, but we wanted to do something else and win over a bigger audience. One that cares about style by offering them clothing which is both recycled and recyclable.
I sort of branded this as a Trojan Horse, trying to reach people who might not even care about sustainability. They just buy it for the style. You don’t have to care about the message as long as you buy it. Either way, it still helps the planet.
And saying we’re “sustainable” might be a stretch, but at least we’re taking plastic out of the ocean to make swimwear.
BSR: That reminds me of the Levi CEO’s perspective on sustainability — eco-friendly products are great, but if the quality isn’t there, nobody will buy it and then you’re not really saving the planet.
AC: Today, you need to start from the core of sustainability. If your newly launched brand doesn’t help the planet, then you’re way off. I think we’re disconnected as a society, the raw materials, and how things are made. This needs to be higher up on the agenda for consumers.
Anything is possible right now, especially in the fashion industry. There’s no excuses anymore. Of course, it’s a bit more expensive and takes more research, but it’s worth it. People will connect with that — and ask questions when brands don’t.
BSR: Speaking of ownership, how do you get involved in your city?
AC: We’re donating to the Coral Reef Alliance based in San francisco which has projects all over the world. They have sewage processing plants which require new infrastructure to be built in coastal villages. It’s a win-win because you help the coral reef and the community benefits from the infrastructure improvements.
BSR: That’s a cool example of the symbiotic relationship we have with the ocean. Sometimes it feels like we have to give so much, as if we’re not going to get 10x more in return.
AC: When you live in a city, it’s easy to forget. It’s important to remember that the ocean provides us so much, and protects us.
I read an article that they’re planting new oyster reefs outside of New York to protect the city from storm surges. They’re so strong and break up the currents, so storm surges become less destructive.
BSR: How often are you on the water? Daily, weekly, monthly?
AC: In December? No. [Laughter] Soon the lakes will be freezing, so I’ll go out to skate. My next trip on the water is skiing in a few weeks.
BSR: Thinking about BOND OFFICIAL and our focus on modern men and modern stories, I’m curious to hear what the phrase “be a man” means to you.
AC: Know what you’re doing. Know what you’re talking about. Don’t buy into toxic male stereotypes. It’s important to think about your place in your community and respect people. And feel safe and secure in that.
BSR: What can we look forward to from Marwida in the coming year?
AC: New colors, new patterns, maybe new models. There is lots in store.
