Those within the anime realm, have experienced the safety mechanism that the genre has created. Those within the fashion world, have understood the liberation that style can guarantee. But within the intersection of these two groups, lies FINE CHAOS.
Geographically situated within the world of Scandinavian minimalism, FINE CHAOS is anything short of the aesthetic. But with conscientious design and rebellious energy at its core, FINE CHAOS is adopting a new vision of its birthplace, reshaping and innovating the fashion landscape.
With FINE CHAOS’ AW24 collection ‘Here, After, Eternity: Netherworld’ arriving at HBX, we spoke to the brand’s creative director, Marc C. Møllerskov about his influences, creative vision - and of course - good anime. Continue scrolling to read our conversation and shop FINE CHAOS now on HBX.
Since your last interview with HBX, how do you feel that FINE CHAOS has grown?
A lot has happened, especially a lot of milestones. We've done an amazing job, like hosting our biggest runway show with 700-800 attendees. It was super nice to see that we could progress into being a bigger brand. In the best experimental and personal way, I feel proud of that actually - not that the previous shows haven't had that aura but this previous one felt like such a milestone. The team has almost doubled as well. We might just be lucky, but I think it's because we are a very atypical Danish brand. We don't really have that like Scandi minimalism, that Scandinavia is known for. But [for FINE CHAOS] our storytelling, and the collections itself, they're very voluminous and maximalist.
Do you find it challenging being based in Copenhagen, being surrounded by all of this minimalism, to stay consistent with your vision?
I feel like maybe we can be like pioneers, not to put a halo on top of our heads or anything. But I would say it's nice to break the norms. We’re very much like that as people. But then again, I also want to say that the same people who are very different from us, still compliment us for what we're doing, so it’s not that we’re enemies or anything. Although sometimes I like to pretend that, because it can be motivating, but that's just fun and games.
So how do you as a Creative Director stay creative?
I watch a sh** ton of anime. (laughs)
I'm also very political, so I would say every morning and evening, I listen to a lot of what is going on around the world because that fuels a lot of the storytelling in the collections. The political landscape is definitely very important for inspiration in general. Clothes should be human.
Where did your love of Japanese anime come from?
Stems from my childhood. I think I was very inspired by anime like Dragon Ball Z and Yu-Gi-Oh!. And the way it was so playful, I loved the colors. And so the idea of escaping the real world to put yourself into another one, where you could just create your own new little life, that’s probably what appealed to me the most. It’s like an escape route for me.
Do you have a favorite one?
I would say I'm a big fan of Demon Slayer, probably because of the sonic landscape as well, it’s probably the most beautiful one ever. There's this amazing fight scene and the way the surround sound is mixed and mastered just fits the animation and everything so well.
Have any animes directly influenced your designs?
Not yet. If you compare the anime storylines to the movies and films of Western series’, the anime ones are very much more complex. I take some small bits of inspiration from this idea. I think it's just a nice way to make complex garments, and then it's my responsibility to make people understand it. Because then at the end of the day, it needs to be wearable stuff that looks good.
In terms of your creative process, does that mean your story comes first before the clothing design?
Yeah, I write a manuscript every time I start a collection. It's like a continuous one. Now we’re on our eighth installment and we’ve gone through four seasons now. Every time we start a new season, I just sit down and write like 20 to 30 pages and I try to write like a little story.
Do you draw out like in the mangas, or is it just written?
No, only written. [A manga] is a thing that is going to come at some point. I also want the whole manuscript to be a movie as well, like a one-hour piece. It's gonna happen, I don't know when, but it is gonna happen.
Recently we’ve noticed a lot of your pieces worn by K-pop idols. Do you have any connection with that world and how do you feel about your growing Korean fan base?
I love it. My girlfriend actually did an exchange semester in Korea, so she lived there for four months in Seoul. Our first and biggest store outside Denmark was actually Opener in Seoul. [Korea] is where we want to grow, and also where we feel that we are mostly suited. Going back to what we spoke about before, the Scandinavian scene can be very minimalistic, so I feel like our style, our intentions, and also maybe our messaging as well, suits [Korea.]
K-pop is very much about expressing a lot of feelings and identity when you perform, so I feel like our medium is a good enabler because we always design from the idea of boosting the identity of the wearer.
So yeah it's crazy to see. I mean, I've been listening to Stray Kids a lot, and we found out Lee Know was wearing our stuff as well. They also made the intro song for Tower of God.
I can't wait to do more events to meet these creators as well, because I love to go outside the fashion comfort zone. That's also why we do a lot of techno parties and such, just to mix our stuff with other people. And I would love, love, love, love, love to meet some of the K-pop stars, just to hear about their craft and everyday life. The way K-pop music is also composed is very complex, even though it might not seem like it at some points, all that stuff is fascinating.
So would you say that more of your inspiration comes from other sources, people, and cultures outside of yours?
100%. Yeah, 110% for actually. I think we also dare to take some inspiration from some topics that might be a little bit out there, in a sense. But as a designer, I feel like that's also the way you can create authentic stuff.
So when you work through these really difficult topics, do you find that it’s cathartic for you to process it through clothes?
Yeah, that's a good way to put it. I was speaking with my mom about this some time ago, which is kind of funny. Whenever she hears about the inspiration, she's like, “How do you store all that stuff in your brain?” And I'm like, “I don't, I put it out there in the collections.” And that's how it's therapeutic for me.
That's a really interesting way to look at it, that it goes outside of your head.
I think that's also the way you spark a dialogue, right? If I voice an opinion or portray a scenario, you as the viewer have to make your own opinion on what you're seeing in interpretation. And the more diverse like interpretations, the better, basically.
Your most recent collection is entitled ‘Here, After, Eternity: Netherworld.’ Can you explain a little bit about the design elements of this collection?
It builds a lot on this utilitarian vibe. There's an almost exaggerated amount of detailing and commander-esque styles. For example, the jacket with all the cargo pockets on the sleeves where the hood is inspired by an old WWII jacket. There’s also a hand-knitted vest which is like an interpretation of resources being scarce in the [FINE CHAOS] story, where people living in the outer world make clothing from what is to be found.
I wanted to just have this very confronting look in many of the styles, whether it’s confronting it in aesthetics or an intriguing silhouette. Working with two opposites that meet, in a sense, was very important for me. Our color scheme was also very digital with nuances of blue.
Do you have a favorite piece out of the collection?
The bomber jacket is insanely good. It has a lot of volume to it, and it feels big and confronting, but also very light. I think it's probably because the silhouette is very cropped and slimmer around the body, but the arms are big - it's masculine and feminine in a super fun way.
In the story too, there’s a character who feels like she has a lot of weight on her shoulders, and she feels like she's the one to save the world, in a sense. So I wanted to create a lot of silhouettes that portray weighting on your shoulders.
So the whole collection is about post-apocalyptic, hyper-futuristic dangerous technology. Is that the main message you hope people take away from this collection?
I hope they think about what is going on in the world, first and foremost, and that they evaluate the innovations that we as people put into the world, and if it's for the better or not, because we can many times just be blinded by innovation and technology - I do myself as well. I hope this collection can fuel a conversation about what is going on.
Do you think that more optimistic or pessimistic about our future?
I feel like I'm portraying optimism in a pessimistic way.
What stories do you hope that you can tell in the future? Do you have an idea of them already?
Yeah, I do. Just to give you a little hint of where we're going, our next one is going to be named Ataxis, which stems from the Greek word “ataxia” which means peace of mind. It's a term that the Greek soldiers used back in the days before they went to war when they neutralized their feelings so they were not afraid of anything. And I'm going to utilize that in a way where I can portray us to become more fearless people.
The runway show as well will also have some fun ways to portray peace of mind, because peace of mind is something quite different for everyone - I want to portray everyone's peace of mind, so that's a psychological study, right there.
Do you think that you put a lot of yourself into your pieces?
Yeah, way too much. I feel like the way I started FINE CHAOS means that I always take personal stories into the collections, just to feel like I'm putting myself out there. I want it to feel like people are looking into my diary with very raw emotions every time I complete a collection - I feel like this I can get outside my comfort zone and perform the best.
Where do you hope FINE CHAOS is in five or 10 years? Do you have a vision of what you would want the brand to look like?
I hope FINE CHAOS is even more than just clothing in five years. I have a plan to start a whole building in Copenhagen where on each different floor is a different creative field. So when you enter, there's a cafe and a gaming cafe, so people can play and have fun, and buy some good bread or whatever, and have a good cup of coffee. And then on the first floor, you have our atelier. Second, you have sales, and then the next floor for jewelry, and then the next one is like a photo studio for example- I just want to create a whole building where every time you need assistance on something, you can just go, one floor up or down. That's like a really big dream of mine because I don't feel like that exists yet.
That's so cool.
Thank you. I would also love to have done shows outside Denmark and as I mentioned before, I would love to somehow have made an anime.
And I just hope I can inspire people also to create their own stuff.
We have a discord that is English-speaking, so it's not Danish and we have a lot of international people. The discord is meant for people to just connect - we have people who are musicians and then we have some people who are producers, and then the musicians and producers, they come together and they create music. I want FINE CHAOS to be a platform for that kind of stuff.
It’s quite unusual compared to a lot of other brands to have a Discord - it really targets a certain demographic of people and it works with the brand too.
It does, it does. When I was living in London for half a year and studied there, I used Discord so much, Within these spaces, you can talk about everything. And that's the thing, it translates so well with the brand because we have this physical space where we have this group of people that just come to all of our events. There are some people who are there for us every time we do something and I want to scale that community. It's easier to do online than physically because there's a limit to it in Copenhagen, but if we can translate the same thing online, that would be cool. I just really believe in it. I really, really believe in it.
To end our conversation, can you tell us what anime you’re looking forward to watching?
Oh, I'm looking so much forward to the Devil May Cry anime. That is gonna be so good, but also Solo Leveling as well, which I haven’t watched yet. And if you haven’t watched it yet, Dandadan is so funny. The animation style in Dandadan is very similar to Arcane and very experimental. I would recommend everyone to watch that.
FINE CHAOS is available on HBX now.
Thank you to Marc and Yugi for the interview.