This week, ZOOT Magazine chats with Freeman, Artistic Director at progressive urban fashion label CTRL Clothing, to discusss the brands Helsinki skatepark background, NYC inspirations and his personal journey towards a land of palm trees and swimming pools…
By Lucy Mclean
ZOOT Magzine: How and where did CTRL Clothing begin?
Freeman: CTRL was born in 1995 in Helsinki, Finland by a group of healthy young men who decided to start a local skateboard brand that slowly evolved into a fashion label.
ZOOT: Tell us a bit about your background and how you ended up as Artistic Director for CTRL …
Freeman: I was always into skateboarding and everything that came along with it; music, arts, graffiti, loose attitudes and such… and then I started studying graphic design and web design and I was already working with CTRL since the beginning so I guess it was only natural that I became the art director and designer for CTRL… it’s a dirty job but somebody’s gotta do it ! I never studied clothing design and learned it all by doing it, trial and error.
ZOOT: What inspires you to create a new collection?
Freeman: Travelling is the most inspiring thing, meeting new people and seeing new places, luckily I get to travel a lot for work. Also the great great internet is a good source of inspiration too.
ZOOT: The Sweet Jesus campaign for SS11 was shot around the streets of NYC, do you take a lot of inspiration from this city?
Freeman: I guess New York has been the most inspiring city for me, it’s the neverending hustle in the city that never stops to amaze me. I spent a couple of months in New York last Winter and that’s why the look book was shot there too.
ZOOT: What can we expect for next season from CTRL Clothing?
Freeman: Colors & grown up comedy
ZOOT: What music are you listening to at the moment?
Freeman: The new PJ Harvey and panda bear (some random EVR.com too)
ZOOT: We really like your artist collaborations, this season having created designs with Yau and Antti Uotila, how do you find these new artists? Do you have any other exciting collaborations planned?
Freeman: Usually everyone I work with or do collaborations with comes through a friendship so it’s only natural to work together. For the next season I’m doing a collaborative collection with this interesting group of artists from new york city.
ZOOT: The collections have a very urban/street vibe, what sort of person is the CTRL boy/girl?
Freeman: It could be anybody from cindy to peter. Hang & loose types, the late bloomers, the rich, the winning and all the European asians too.
ZOOT: Which designers or brands are your favourite fashion inspirations?
Freeman: I was just amazed by looking at the new Adam Kimmel stuff. I admire the renaissance man types, like Vibskov for example.
ZOOT: What do you hope for the future of CTRL Clothing, and for yourself as a designer?
Freeman: I would like to be able to live between three cities, Helsinki, New York and somewhere with palm trees, and there will be CTRL flagship stores around the world in carefully chosen cities. The main goal is to be good, healthy and happy.
ZOOT: And finally, seeing as it’s nearly Friday, describe for us your perfect weekend in the city…
Freeman: Getting out of the city and going to a summer house for swimming and sauna, then watching Malick’s ‘ The Tree of Life’ with some nice red wine with my sweet sweet girlfriend. Forever.
