An intimate affair: Lazoschmidl's founders on designing outside of the conventional

Lazoschmidl has been bringing sexy back with their trademark sparkly party attire since 2014. The Swedish conceptual and non-binary fashion brand established by Andreas Schmidl and Josef Lazo has been making noise. With an erotic and bold take on menswear, the label has been raising eyebrows as much as it has been rising in popularity.

Schmidl and Lazo's coupledom expand beyond the realm of Lazoschimdl. They're partners both in work and in life. "You are naturally synced and understand each other," they explain, pointing to their natural collaboration. The duo comes from different backgrounds. Lazo studied at London College of Fashion and worked in the design studios of Marios Schwab and Luise Goldin before returning to Sweden. Schmidl, on the other hand, studied literature and worked in advertising. Their joint brand was born as a creative experiment when the duo wanted to explore new territories and combine their separate disciplines.

Known for confronting stereotypes and taboos, their signature teeny-tiny speedos and jockstraps fit into their devil-may-care attitude to gender and sexuality. With a colourful over-the-top aesthetic and frequent use of shiny fabrics such as lurex and vinyl, the brand has gathered a cult following on social media and claimed a coveted slot at Paris Fashion Week for the past couple of seasons.

The starting point is always the same for each collection: a written text. "The format changes. It can be a book, a script, a song, a poem - then we dress the characters in our minds and develop the looks."

Not known for their stagnant nature, Schmidl and Lazo keep expanding the Lazloschmidl universe. For SS22, the brand debuted womenswear; "We collaborated with our close friend Ana Hernandez and re-interpreted the menswear collection in the form of one-of-a-kind couture dresses," the duo explains. "The design process was very organic and at the same time logical, upcycling leftover fabrics and turning them into desirable garments."

Even though Lazoschmidl creates categorised 'menswear' and 'womenswear', they don't limit their design process to conventionalism. Instead, they want to design clothes for everyone and empower individuals to wear what they want to wear, beyond gender.

When I asked the design duo what gender fluidity means to them, they quoted Swedish singer Agnes. With lyrics like "Free your mind and free your body" and "The soul has no gender. Your spirit has no gender. Set yourself free", the pop star embodies the brand's values. Defined by the celebration of individualism, the lines resonate with the unconventional consumer.

In addition to gender inclusivity, the idea of freedom is essential to Schmidl and Lazo. They define the concept as being who you want to be and feeling how you want to feel each and every day.

Lazoschmidl is showing its new autumn/winter 2022 collection digitally during Paris Men's Fashion Week next Saturday. And even though the collection remains a secret until the show, the designers promise it to be a very intimate affair.