Kristian Steinberg

AW11

“Scars”

For his debut collection “Scars”, Kristian takes us on a journey to his native Estonia exploring its history, crafts and the colors that blossom in the delicate Nordic light. He describes how the Green Baltic Sea crashes onto its rocky shores, and were the abandoned military bunker lies with its orange and turquoise painted guts exposed. These remains are like Scars, Kristian explains, and just like in the face of a soldier they tell an inescapable story of bravery and pain.

‘Scars’ is a journey to Estonia with its history of thousand battles - in the soft Nordic light, it is standing strong where its brothers have vanished. Green Baltic sea crashes onto rocky shores next to abandoned military bunkers with their orange and turquoise painted guts. The old ladies are still knitting, but this time it will be armor for the young men who have seen no evil.

The AW11 collection is the debut by Estonian-born menswear designer Kristian Steinberg. Kristian has spent years learning every side of the industry - from classical tailoring and textile arts to menswear design at St Martins - he has also cut couture dresses for clients like HRH Queen Rania of Jordan and Kylie Minogue.

The multi-talented designer established his own label in 2007 with a collection of mens shirts. Despite the strict framework it quickly revealed his innovative approach to cut and design. Kristians signature style is edgy and futuristic, yet extremely wearable, attracting men who see themselves as visionaries. It’s no coincidence that Billy-Bob Thornton, Brett Anderson from Suede and the Estonian rock star Tanel Padar - who will also perform an exclusive gig at the show- have become instant fans.

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Kristian Steinberg was born in Tallinn, Estonia in 1976. The family fled Soviet Union to start a new life in Sweden, ‘Moving to Sweden and leaving everything behind taught me to start over at any point, and with even stronger enthusiasm.’

Discovering his desire for fashion while doing a degree in Chemistry at the Royal University of Technology in Stockholm, he then went on to study at University College of Arts Craft and Design and the famous Stockholm Academy - a strict institution specialised in traditional cutting and tailoring. In Central St Martins, Kristian continued to develop a strong signature of anatomical cutting - inspired by the anatomy of the human body- and ultra tailoring, his final collection being chosen to represent St Martins menswear at Weekend Le Vif in Brussels. Music has been Kristians constant muse: ‘My collections are born from music- I want them to live like a rock star, and die when the last fan has died.”

Previously, Kristian has been working with designers like Alexander McQueen, Rafael Lopez, Amanda Wakeley and Marios Schwab.

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Prices from 600 GBP for knit wear and 900 GBP for tailoring