This year, Gothenburg-based denim brand Dr. Denim celebrates 20 years of redefining casual fashion. We caught up with founder Alexander Graah to discuss how the brand went from indie beginnings to becoming a household name, gaining global attention with stars like Harry Styles, and what's next for their future.
Ulrika Lindqvist: Congratulations on 20 years of Dr.Denim! Please tell me a little about how it all started 20 years ago? What is your background and why did you found Dr.Denim?
Alexander Graah: Dr. Denim was born in Gothenburg in 2004 as a true garage brand. Within years, the brand had become an explosively popular household name in its native Sweden, before subsequently going international. Now, twenty years since its founding, Dr. Denim products are sold across dozens of markets around the world and continues to produce some of the world’s finest denim garments at its price point.
Dr. Denim was essentially born from the idea that we wanted to right some wrongs in the world of denim. With a focus on exceptional quality and longevity through craftsmanship and an obsessive attention to detail, we wanted to challenge the notion that you must pay through the nose to get hold of a great pair of jeans. I think it’s fair to say we were predestined to get into denim. My brother and I grew up around denim, collecting denim, breathing denim, and we’re third generation entrepreneurs in the fashion industry. We’re very much self-taught, never studied fashion design or anything like that – we’re both economists – but at the end of the day you get far by being determined and passionate about what you do.
UL: I’ve heard that you are inspired by your father, Morten, what about him inspired you?
AG: Growing up in a family of small business owners teaches you something about being 100% committed to what you do, about the importance of building something independent that’s not subject to the whims of banks and venture capitalists who don’t care about what you do for a living. Morten is also the reason we encountered denim pretty much from birth. And he’s a bit of a weirdo, in a good way; he’s always taught us to go our own way and not care about what others think.
UL: What would you say are the core values of Dr.Denim?
AG: The six of them are:
Hard-working but easy-going
Passionate
Wry
Unpretentious
Honest & Authentic
Detail-obsessed
UL: Please tell us about the process in creating the FW24 collection?
AG: Relatively speaking, our collections are timeless staple fits, so for us it’s a matter of spending time with our product developers reiterating until we have it right, tweaking fits, getting the little details right. There’s no shortcut. To celebrate 20 years in action, we’ve taken a deep dive into our archives to create anniversary pieces, a sort of a trip down memory lane with re-issues of denim and other things that brought us to where we are today.
You’ll find the return of our skinny straight unisex jean Snap which was launched in 2004 and quickly became the (un)official indie uniform of the 00’s and changed the Scandinavian denim landscape. We’re also releasing Dash - Stream Dry with detailing inspired by its 2004 ancestor, the Unagi. The point here is not to make a heritage denim product but to bring back some of the good stuff and provide a take on our not-so-brief history. The Annivarsity Jacket is exactly what it sounds like. A varsity jacket celebrating our anniversary, featuring artworks from past collections to celebrate what has been and will continue to be.
UL: How would you describe the Dr.Denim customer?
AG: Global consumers who appreciate responsible, long-lasting garments in ultra-modern but timeless fits at affordable price points. We have a pretty broad range of customers which is how it should be. Appealing to many, the brand has a two-way relationship with many denim-loving subcultures.
UL: What have been the most challenging aspects these 20 years of Dr.Denim?
AG: It’s inevitable that a lot of things happen over the course of 20 years. The entire landscape has changed. I mean, we used to work with a huge range of independent stores which are now long gone, replaced by e-commerce and highly complex logistics, so we’ve had to transform our business in a lot of ways which probably sounds easier than it is. These days, it sometimes feels as if we’re running a tech business as much as a denim business. What I mean by that is that fashion and craftsmanship are, of course, the core of what we do, but we’ve had to put enormous resources into tech around that core in order to thrive in the landscape as it looks today.
UL: Please tell us a memorable moment from these 20 years?
AG: There was that one time when Harry Styles wore a pair of our jeans. It wasn’t a product placement or anything – just him choosing to wear jeans from an independent Swedish denim brand.
UL: What are your plans for the future for Dr.Denim?
AG: We plan on continuing to do what we do because, by now, this is our way of life and part of our identity. As much as things have changed, we believe the need for what we do remains out there, not least with all those cheap disposable garments churned out by that site which shall not be named. Collectively we have to consume fewer and better things which don’t end up in a landfill after a few uses. I hope we can continue to inspire people in some small way to think about the purchases they make and appreciate the value of buying something that lasts.
