“When Beyoncé calls, you answer”: Meet the 24-year-old Beckman's student who tailored looks for the Renaissance tour

Hampus Ekman’s got it. Star quality. You can’t help but notice him – something Ekman thanks his confidence for. “I’m my own biggest hype man,” he says. “I’m very sure of myself and my worth.” Which is also what lies behind his many accomplishments; a list too long for someone who’s 24.

Right now, he’s finishing up his studies at Beckman’s College of Design, but when he’s not in school (where he spends 12 -14 hours a day), he’s interning with the Nordics’ only feather-maker, Tim Mårtenson, or getting experience in anything and everything the industry has to offer. “I’ve styled, worked on productions, the NK Galan, assisted at shoots and fashion week, costume assisted and modelled,” he says. “I don’t even know how I’ve found the time.

But Ekman’s made the time, because fashion is his lifeblood. “Ever since I knew I wanted to work in fashion, I’ve taught myself,” he says. “I eat and breathe fashion, always itching to learn more.” The hours are paying off. This summer he worked on the Beyoncé tour as a tailor, a full-circle moment given the artist inspired his fashion obsession from the start. “They called my boss last minute. He couldn’t take the job, so he gave it to me,” he says. “And when the Stockholm shows wrapped, they invited me to Paris.” It was way out of Ekman’s comfort zone, but that’s something he’s trained himself to overcome. “The more I expose myself to uncomfortable things, the higher that threshold becomes; the more I’ll grow as a person, and the more secure I’ll become,” he says. “And, when Beyoncé calls, you answer.”

For Ekman, it all comes down to one thing: mindset. “People are afraid of embarrassing themselves, of failing, standing out,” he says. “Many Swedes think ‘I don't want to take too much space, I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes.’ They don't want to be that person. But I’m like, ‘You have to be that person to get these chances.’ That’s the reason I’m sitting here today.”

Related: How knitting became this Swedish designer’s lifeline

He’s referring to the moment he approached our editor-in-chief, a leap that led to this interview. They were at a Popswap event, a platform for fashion enthusiasts to trade clothes and inspiration. He’s a bit of a “snackis” (hot topic) on the app because of his upcycled designs. Ekman creates from a sustainable perspective, using recycled materials to design clothes that aren’t trend-based, but timeless and multifunctional. “I’m such a thrifter, I hate fast fashion,” he says. “I see so much charm in re-use – in giving new life to something that’s already lived and been loved, and then I get to love it even more.”

Ekman’s garments take the everyday – old curtains and cassette tapes, discarded denim and scarves – and turn it into something singular and fantastical. The sort of garments that would be at home on a modern day club kid. Unsurprisingly, his biggest inspiration is Elsa Schiaparelli. “I love surrealism in clothes – humour and horror,” he says. A rarity for a Swede, Ekman’s confidence is enviable. “People ask me, ‘What are you most unhappy with that you’ve created?’ And I honestly answer, ‘Nothing’,” he says. “Why should I criticise something that I did my best at?”