Per Götesson's baroque punk vibe has the makings of Sweden's next big designer

“Ready set, go,” the production manager says, ushering us across an intersection of models and leading us swiftly into a large sitting room. I take a regal looking armchair, Per Götesson, a mahogany desk. The doors in front of us open out onto a grand stone balcony overlooking the water. On the walls, oil paintings of Queen Elizabeth stare down on us. We’re in a room that for over the past 100 years has greeted kings, queens, prime ministers and dignitaries. Today it welcomes one of fashion’s top next-gen designers to watch.

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“Snus,” Götesson answers without hesitation when asked what the first thing he does is after landing in Sweden. “I think about my Snus and then I go and get my Snus.” The designer also rattles off missing the light and the fresh air before reaffirming, “the Snus is really high up there”.

It is the first time in over two years that Götesson returns to Sweden. He is here to be part of the Fashion East runway, a UK non-profit project founded by Lulu Kennedy that works to discover, support and showcase emerging talent. Today Götesson is joined by three other breakout labels: HRH, Goomheo and Ashley Williams.

While Götesson is Scandi born (he grew up in Vimmerby, the home of iconic Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren); he calls himself a British designer. “I was trained there, and my network is there,” he explains. For him, leaving Sweden to get his formal education was an important step in becoming the designer and person he is today. Like many who grow up in a small town, he had an itch to see the world. From a personal perspective it was about “breaking something” and “looking for the other”. From a professional standpoint, he had a drive. “I felt there needed to be more. I needed more to be better. And I felt I couldn't have that in Sweden. I needed a challenge.”

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He, however, admits he’s now at a place where he’s “very accepting of my Swedishness and cultural heritage, and I can reflect it in my work as well. But I’ve had to kind of arrive at this place.”

Having one foot in Sweden and one in Britain has been a key recipe to his success. He’s managed to find a creative aesthetic that acutely straddles both design schools. “The approach with British designers is about being loud yet the Swedish approach, which I think comes from our culture, it's very much about finding common ground and being quite sort of careful.” He notes this is something he hated when he lived here, but “now I'm in the UK, and I can't really relate to the other way of doing things either. So I kind of carved out the space somewhere in between.”

Interestingly despite his life being in London, he has a strong passion for collaborating with Scandinavian brands. He’s done two wildly successful capsules for Weekday and has worked a lot with Absolut Vodka. He says he gravitates towards the “creativity” and “entrepreneurship” of these businesses. He also notes there is something unique about Swedish companies in that anyone can be given a shot. “I come from this working-class background. But it's possible to do that type of journey in Sweden [from working-class to high flyer]... and these companies share this value.”

While his adored collections are technically menswear, Götesson’s eponymous label is often celebrated for its gender fluidity and loved by all sexes. Interestingly, however, it's his “obsession with masculinity and the concept of masculinity” that inspires his designs. “It's hard for me to look at my things and say they are womenswear because I think so much about masculinity. But obviously, the way I think about masculinity is very fluid. [My clothes] seem to fit naturally in a [women’s] world too.”

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Götesson has now reached a point in his career where he’s showing at fashion weeks, dressing celebs (he thinks Joel Kinnaman is gorgeous), landing collaborations and winning awards (in 2018, he was named ‘Swedish Fashion Talent of the year’). So where does a budding designer go from here?

Götesson admits it’s a question he’s been thinking a lot about lately. “I’d love to be a creative director but still have my brand on the side,” he admits. I ask which house would be a dream. He laughs before deciding to throw it out to the universe. “I love Margiela,” he says. “But I would also be open to looking for Swedish options.” He pauses then adds, “Acne Studios, if they're interested.”