When some of Scandinavia’s most stylish people like Pernille Teisbaek, Annabel Rosendahl and Maria Kragmann are enthusiastic about a luxury second-hand shop, you know it has to be good
I Blame Lulu is a pre-loved fashion destination that began in Copenhagen but has now extended beyond Denmark's borders to reach fashion lovers around the world. Co-founders Camilla Kleemann and Kathrine Gøtke have built their success on a model of sophisticated simplicity, winning a host of famous fans in the process.
The brand was born out of love for clothes and the mindset of not letting that love go to waste. When Gøtke was pregnant, she found herself with piles of brand-new clothes that didn’t fit and that she wanted to sell. "A lot of people were interested in buying my clothes, and some other women wanted to sell their own items too," she says. "We started a blog and very quickly it became bigger and bigger."
She soon enlisted the help of her friend and fellow fashion lover Camilla Kleemann. "We ran the blog together for a few years and our community grew," says Kleemann. "At some point, we thought 'why not take it to the next level?'"
Photo: I Blame Lulu
And so they did. In 2013 both Kleemann and Gøtke quit their jobs to launch I Blame Lulu.
It's not your typical name for a second-hand fashion store, something the founders are quick to admit. "People often ask us who Lulu is, and what she did that we blame her for, when in fact it was just a confluence of circumstances that led us to picking this name," says Kleemann. "We didn’t want a name with the words vintage, second-hand, or pre-loved in it," explains Gøtke. "My sister’s name is Louise - we call her Lule – and I had heard of a French rock band called I Blame Coco, that’s how I Blame Lulu was born."
A few years later I Blame Lulu has grown into a true fashion destination with a carefully curated selection of pre-loved clothes in the brand's physical and online stores. What makes them stand out from all the other vintage stores is their unique eye for modern yet classic items that you will cherish forever. "People are more and more looking the same, it’s difficult to stand out these days," says Kleemann. "That’s why pre-loved fashion is so great; you can find beautiful items from past collections that give your style a unique twist."
Gøtke agrees: "We focus on modern styles that have a timeless appeal but with a twist that makes them subtly stand out. We love the Balenciaga era of Nicolas Ghesquière, and what Phoebe Philo did at Céline." The two are clearly in sync, something which further strengthens the brand. "It takes us two seconds to decide which items are a match and which aren’t, we know exactly what we are looking for," says Kleemann.
Photo: I Blame Lulu
Photo: I Blame Lulu
Besides their shop in the fashionable Frederiksberg neighbourhood, a strong online presence on Instagram makes I Blame Lulu accessible to international fashion lovers from all over the world. "I think we were one of the first second-hand places in Copenhagen that launched a webshop," says Gleemann. "When we are in the shop, we are equally busy with our physical customers as the ones online. We reply almost 24/7, it’s a really important platform for us."
Not that the bricks and mortar shop is redundant - far from it. "Not even ten percent of what we get in the store is featured on Instagram because we simply don’t have the time," says Gleemann, noting the importance of true vintage hunters making the effort to go to the physical store.
In addition to their collections of beautiful pre-loved items, the duo also decided to launch their own brand under the same name. Bestsellers are the Alexis knit, the cashmere beanie, and the Carmen sweater – beloved by some of Scandinavia's most stylish individuals such as Pernille Teisbaek and Amalie Moosgaard. "It felt like a natural extension to build our brand, and people seem to love it," says Kleemann. "We never asked any influencers to wear our clothes. When Rosie Huntington-Whiteley sent us a message that she was interested in one of our sweaters, that was huge."
Photo: I Blame Lulu
So what's next for I Blame Lulu? More great pre-loved fashion for sure, but also some additional pieces to their own collection. "We bought left-over fabrics from great designer brands to create new pieces," reveals Kleemann. "We have lovely materials from an old Céline collection that we use to create coats and pants, which will launch this fall. Discovering the right balance in simple, yet timeless pieces is the hardest to create and to find in a piece of clothing," she adds. "But that is what we have been doing the past years, and that’s exactly our plan for the future as well."