Take a look at these platform sneakers by Swedish brand EYTYS (pronounced "80s"). Aren't they kind of perfect? They're called Mother and they are the line's very first shoe style. Launched today, the unisex canvas platform is available in only limited quantites and at a limited number of retailers, including OC exclusively in the US. The brand's founders, three high school friends, trace their fashion roots back to the early days of Acne Studios, and the house's DIY spirit and pared-back aesthetic continue to inform their canny product design and branding. I e-mailed Max Schiller, one third of the team, some questions about the sneakers, working at Acne, and 80s comebacks.
Shop all EYTYS here.
Alice Newell-Hanson: Hi Max! Who is on the EYTYS team? And what are your backgrounds?
Max Schiller: EYTYS is Max Schiller, Jonathan Hirschfeld, and Charlie Hedin. We've been friends since we were teenagers. I got into fashion during high school, working at the very first Acne store, which was in a low-key galleria in Stockholm. Later I moved to Paris to set up the Acne network there. After a period working in graphic design at Baron & Baron in NYC, I ended up as a designer at Acne in Stockholm. Jonathan went to business school and later worked in banking (at one point with my oldest brother as his boss!). Charlie also worked at Acne, based in Paris and Amsterdam.
What was it like working with Jonny Johansson on Acne's menswear design? How did it help when you came to start your own brand?
Acne, and working with Jonny, has been the best school in the world. When I started working there at age 17, Acne was still very small and the setup was "everyone doing everything." To have been part of the journey to where Acne is today has been extremely inspiring.
What was the brief you guys came up with for creating your perfect shoe?
We wanted to create a shoe that gives the wearer a confident silhouette without dictating what else they wear. The unisex aspect is very important; it's about a confident silhouette, not femininity or masculinity. Our first model, Mother, is the starting point. We will only start working on other styles when we feel it's reached absolute perfection.
Do you remember the first pair of sneakers you ever really, really coveted?
Max Schiller: For me, it was black suede Converse skate shoes. I was 11 and I was getting like two dollars from my brothers every time I took their turn to walk the family dog. It took months of dog walking to save up for my first pair.
Jonathan Hirschfeld: Navy suede DC shoes. I was 12 and used to go to the school yard in my neighborhood, it was where all the skate kids went. Older girls used to hang out there too and smoke cigarettes… I think they fascinated me more than anything to be honest.
The EYTYS logo reminds me of 80s Interview magazine covers. What about this time speaks to you?
Andy Warhol's Interview has been very inspiring in terms of our graphics. But the 80s itself isn't necessarily very relevant to us. It's more about the people who were born then. As members of Generation Y, we where brought up with MTV and the Internet. It's interesting that with this generation, which from an early age had so much access to information, there has been a boom in multidisciplinary creativity.
What 80s phenomenon would you most like to see make a comeback?
The Memphis Group and Spandau Ballet (but a
Shop all EYTYS here.
Alice Newell-Hanson: Hi Max! Who is on the EYTYS team? And what are your backgrounds?
Max Schiller: EYTYS is Max Schiller, Jonathan Hirschfeld, and Charlie Hedin. We've been friends since we were teenagers. I got into fashion during high school, working at the very first Acne store, which was in a low-key galleria in Stockholm. Later I moved to Paris to set up the Acne network there. After a period working in graphic design at Baron & Baron in NYC, I ended up as a designer at Acne in Stockholm. Jonathan went to business school and later worked in banking (at one point with my oldest brother as his boss!). Charlie also worked at Acne, based in Paris and Amsterdam.
What was it like working with Jonny Johansson on Acne's menswear design? How did it help when you came to start your own brand?
Acne, and working with Jonny, has been the best school in the world. When I started working there at age 17, Acne was still very small and the setup was "everyone doing everything." To have been part of the journey to where Acne is today has been extremely inspiring.
What was the brief you guys came up with for creating your perfect shoe?
We wanted to create a shoe that gives the wearer a confident silhouette without dictating what else they wear. The unisex aspect is very important; it's about a confident silhouette, not femininity or masculinity. Our first model, Mother, is the starting point. We will only start working on other styles when we feel it's reached absolute perfection.
Do you remember the first pair of sneakers you ever really, really coveted?
Max Schiller: For me, it was black suede Converse skate shoes. I was 11 and I was getting like two dollars from my brothers every time I took their turn to walk the family dog. It took months of dog walking to save up for my first pair.
Jonathan Hirschfeld: Navy suede DC shoes. I was 12 and used to go to the school yard in my neighborhood, it was where all the skate kids went. Older girls used to hang out there too and smoke cigarettes… I think they fascinated me more than anything to be honest.
The EYTYS logo reminds me of 80s Interview magazine covers. What about this time speaks to you?
Andy Warhol's Interview has been very inspiring in terms of our graphics. But the 80s itself isn't necessarily very relevant to us. It's more about the people who were born then. As members of Generation Y, we where brought up with MTV and the Internet. It's interesting that with this generation, which from an early age had so much access to information, there has been a boom in multidisciplinary creativity.
What 80s phenomenon would you most like to see make a comeback?
The Memphis Group and Spandau Ballet (but a